Details of Award
NERC Reference : NE/T007354/1
Using population synchrony to target conservation action
Grant Award
- Principal Investigator:
- Dr SJ Butler, University of East Anglia, Biological Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Professor J Gill, University of East Anglia, Biological Sciences
- Co-Investigator:
- Dr R Robinson, British Trust for Ornithology, British Trust for Ornithology (Norfolk)
- Grant held at:
- University of East Anglia, Biological Sciences
- Science Area:
- Terrestrial
- Overall Classification:
- Panel C
- ENRIs:
- Biodiversity
- Global Change
- Science Topics:
- Population dynamics
- Community Ecology
- Anthropogenic pressures
- Biodiversity conservation
- Bird migration
- Community structure
- Conservation management
- Land use change
- Conservation Ecology
- Population dynamics
- Biodiversity
- Population Ecology
- Abstract:
- Rapid declines in many widespread species are challenging traditional conservation approaches, and new strategies are urgently needed. Conventional approaches of identifying and reversing the effects of specific environmental drivers are rarely feasible for widespread species, because a broad range of environmental changes can be contributing to population declines across species' ranges. Instead we need to a) identify achievable routes to recovery by boosting productivity and/or survival and b) target funding and conservation actions to locations and/or time periods in which demographic rates are low and could be boosted. However, the effectiveness of such an approach will depend on the scale and consistency of variation in demographic rates across species' ranges. Consistent spatial variation in demography (eg productivity always high in some sites and low in others) would facilitate targeted long-term conservation action (eg through habitat management) to increase the frequency of sites with high productivity. However, annual variation in demographic rates could mean that targeted conservation actions are best delivered in specific years (eg by providing food or managing predators). This spatial and temporal variation is captured by measures of synchrony, a fundamental feature of population and community dynamics. In this study, we exploit synchrony in counts, demographic rates and associated environmental conditions for breeding birds across Europe, to deliver a step-change in understanding of how to address declines in widespread species. Synchrony can be defined as the correlated fluctuation in, for example, the number of individuals present across sites. Synchrony can be relatively localised (often reflecting local habitat conditions and community interactions), or it can operate over hundreds of kilometres (often reflecting climatic conditions). Synchrony can also vary across species' ranges and through time. We will exploit this 'geography of synchrony' and any temporal changes in it to examine whether spatial and temporal patterns in synchrony reflect equivalent patterns in demographic rates (productivity and survival) and associated environmental conditions, and if they are consistent for species with similar characteristics. Strong links between synchrony in counts, rates and environmental conditions across communities would provide the platform for disrupting these patterns, enabling us to identify key sites for conservation actions and the temporal delivery of actions needed to reduce the frequency of conditions with low demographic rates and abundance. Opportunities to quantify spatio-temporal variation in synchrony are rare because they require long-term data across broad spatial scales. Bird populations are excellent model systems because citizen science schemes exist that generate standardised measures of abundance and demography over requisite scales. Using European bird survey data to explore the demographic drivers of synchrony can also provide a current and critical conservation application of the ecological advances delivered. Across Europe, many widespread bird species have declined severely in recent decades, with declines most apparent amongst farmland birds, African-Eurasian migrants, and specialist species. Actions capable of addressing these declines are urgently needed but have remained elusive. We will use survey data from 80 species, collected from over 16500 sites across 18 countries to quantify whether the geographies of count and rate synchrony are 1) similar within species; 2) changing over time and 3) more similar for species sharing ecological traits. Linking these three key features of synchrony with equivalent patterns in environmental variables will allow identification of the environmental conditions influencing demographic rates, the scales at which they are operating, and thus the types and scales of conservation actions most likely to achieve population recovery.
- NERC Reference:
- NE/T007354/1
- Grant Stage:
- Awaiting Event/Action
- Scheme:
- Standard Grant FEC
- Grant Status:
- Active
- Programme:
- Standard Grant
This grant award has a total value of £459,342
FDAB - Financial Details (Award breakdown by headings)
| DI - Other Costs | Indirect - Indirect Costs | DA - Investigators | DA - Estate Costs | DI - Staff | DA - Other Directly Allocated | DI - T&S |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £15,448 | £167,037 | £66,438 | £40,138 | £151,444 | £2,890 | £15,948 |
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