BOU Conferences

NEXT BOU EVENTS

2012-01-24T06:52:00.000-08:00

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES:
DO WE NEED BIRDS?

BOU Annual Conference 2012
University of Leicester, UK
3 – 5 April 2012

DETAILS | VENUE | STUDENTS

Draft programme - see here.

Bookings now open - see here.

MARINE RENEWABLES
AND BIRDS

BOU Autumn Conference 2012

Peterborough, UK

26 November 2012

Details - see here.

Marine renewables and birds

2012-01-24T06:45:00.000-08:00

BOU Autumn Conference 2012

Great Northern Hotel, Peterborough, UK

26 November 2012

Marine renewable developments are playing an increasing role in the deliveryof clean and secure energy, as governments strive to meet targets to combatclimate change. Within the UK, the government has acommitment to obtain 15% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2020and the development of both onshore and offshore wind energy, in particular, willbe instrumental in reaching this target. Consequently a number of offshore windfarms are now operational or are currently under construction and many moredevelopments are proposed. In addition, there is considerable interest in thedevelopment of “wet renewable” devices, designed to exploit wave and tidal energyresources.

Large numbers of seabirds, seaduck and other waterbirds, includingthose breeding at protected sites may utilise proposed areas for marinerenewable developments. As such, there is concern regarding the potentialimpacts of marine renewable projects on bird populations.

Following on from the BOU’s “Wind, fire and water: renewable energy andbirds” conference in 2005, this conference will consolidate ourunderstanding of the potential impacts that renewable developments may have on birdsin the marine environment by showcasing current research. It will exploreeffects ranging from displacement, barrier effects, and collision, to changesin habitat or prey availability. The conference will review these effects,present case studies and highlight the importance of being able to understandthe population-level consequences of impacts.

The conference will cover the following topics:

An overview of marine renewables, their potentialimpacts on birds and the importance of population-level research;
Displacement and the use of habitat associationstudies to evaluate this effect;
Studies of avoidance behaviour and turbine collision;
Environmental and prey effects;
Connectivity between bird features of protected sitesand marine renewable developments;
Population modelling studies.

The conference will be international in scope, though with a particularemphasis on knowledge gained from northwest Europe.

The conference is aimed at academics, conservation organisations, industry,statutory government agencies and those engaged in policy, advocacy andconservation management.

Conference aims:

To demonstrate how scientific study has informed ourunderstanding of the effects of marine renewable developments on birdpopulations;
To provide effective links between research and policyso that advisors and regulators can make informed decisions;
To highlight knowledge gaps;
To provide recommendations as to the best way forwardin addressing these gaps.

Conference Organising Committee:

Dr Sophy Allen, Joint Nature Conservation Committee

Dr Niall Burton (Chair), British Trust for Ornithology and Chair BOU’sMeetings Committee

Dr Francis Daunt, Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

Dr Rowena Langston, Royal Society for the Protection of Birds

Dr Chris Thaxter, British Trust for Ornithology and the Seabird Group

Dr Stephen Votier, Plymouth University

Andy Webb, HiDef Aerial Surveying Ltd and the Seabird Group

Further details, programme, bookings, etc to follow.

NEXT BOU EVENT

2011-11-18T04:24:00.001-08:00

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: DO WE NEED BIRDS?

BOU Annual Conference 2012
University of Leicester, UK
3 – 5 April 2012

DETAILS | VENUE | STUDENTS

Draft programme - see here.

Bookings now open - see here.

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: DO WE NEED BIRDS?

2011-11-18T04:15:00.000-08:00

BOU Annual Conference 2012

University of Leicester, UK

3 – 5 April 2012

PROGRAMME | BOOKINGS | VENUE | STUDENTS

supported by

BTO / University of Hull / University of Newcastle / University of Sheffield

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND BIRDS

The United Nations Millennium Ecosystem Assessment has led to a burgeoning interest in the economic benefits of nature and represents a paradigm shift for conservation. Humans benefit from a multitude of resources and processes that are supplied by natural ecosystems. Collectively, these benefits are known as ecosystem services and can be grouped into four broad categories: provisioning, such as the production of food and water; regulating, such as the control of climate and disease; supporting, such as nutrient cycles and crop pollination; and cultural, such as spiritual and recreational benefits. Birds play many roles within ecosystems, including as predators, pollinators, scavengers, seed dispersers and predators, and ecosystem engineers. In terms of cultural services, birds provide enjoyment to millions, through recreation and sport, can be ‘flagship’ species for conservation and are used as measures for the quality of human life. However, quantifying the ecosystem services provided by birds is a significant challenge and the underpinning evidence on which to base policy is still lacking. Moreover, valuing birds in this way potentially represents a move away from traditional species conservation, with profound implications for setting conservation targets and practical management.

This conference will consolidate our understanding of the ecosystem services provided by birds and showcase current research into the importance of birds in ecosystem functioning. It will also explore the cultural services that birds provide and consider how Government and non-Governmental organisations are engaging with this new approach in policy. Debating the philosophical and practical problems surrounding the ecosystem services approach will be a key feature of the conference, as well as finding new opportunities for bird conservation. It will cover the following topics:

· The provisioning, regulating and supporting ecosystem services provided by birds, avian functional ecology and relationships between bird diversity and ecosystem functioning;

· The cultural significance of birds and how this is valued;

· How Governments, policy-makers and conservation organisations around the world are responding to and implementing the ecosystem services approach;

· Management strategies, trade-offs and the consequences for traditional species based conservation and practical management.

The conference scope will be international, with a focus on how to integrate ecosystem service science with practical bird conservation into policy.

The conference is aimed at academics, research and conservation organisations as well as statutory government agencies and those engaged in policy, advocacy and conservation management.

CONFERENCE AIMS
The conference aims to:

· consolidate our understanding of the provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural ecosystem services provided by birds;

· showcase novel methods for determining and valuing bird ecosystem services, focussing on functional ecology, spatial relationships between bird diversity and ecosystem functioning and the socio-economic importance of birds;

· examine the response of Governments, policy-makers and conservation organisations to the ecosystem services approach and discuss what this means for traditional species conservation;

· consider the evidence needs for decision-makers looking to integrate ecosystem service science and species conservation, and the implications for bird conservation in the 21st Century.

POSTER PRESENTATIONS
If you would like to contribute a poster to this meeting please please send an abstract (max. 500 words) to the BOU Office by 31 January. Priority will be given to students.

PROCEEDINGS
We aim to publish the proceedings from this conference in 2012 on the BOU's conference proceedings site, www.BOUPROC.net. Further details will be announced at a later date.

Conference Programme Organising Committee
Dr Darren Evans (Chairman), University of Hull (email)

Dr Helen Baker, JNCC (email)

Dr Niall Burton, British Trust for Ornithology (email)

Dr Karl Evans, University of Sheffield (email)

Dr Mark Whittingham, University of Newcastle (email)

PROGRAMME | BOOKINGS | VENUE | STUDENTS

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: DO WE NEED BIRDS? - BOOKINGS

2011-11-17T02:35:00.001-08:00

BOU Annual Conference

3 - 5 April 2012 | University of Leicester, UK

supported by

BTO | University of Hull | University of Newcastle | University of Sheffield

PROGRAMME | DETAILS | VENUE | STUDENTS

Bookings now open!

CONFERENCE RESIDENT - book online here

Conference place with overnight accommodation on campus
Or download a booking form here - PDF or Word.

CONFERENCE NON-RESIDENT - book online here

Conference place with no overnight accommodation (you arrange your own accommodation if required)
Or download a booking form here - PDF or Word.

STUDENTS - book online here

Students from Europe and developed countries can attend the whole conference, including accommodation, for as little as £50. Students in developing countries can even come for free! For more information see here.

PROGRAMME | DETAILS | VENUE | STUDENTS

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: DO WE NEED BIRDS? - programme

2011-11-17T02:26:00.000-08:00

BOU Annual Conference

3 - 5 April 2012 | University of Leicester, UK

supported by

BTO | University of Hull | University of Newcastle | University of Sheffield

BOOKINGS | DETAILS | VENUE | STUDENTS

DAY 1 / Tues, 3 April / evening only

17:00 onwards / Registration

19:00 – 20:00 / Dinner (self service)

PLENARY

20:30 / Mike Clarke (RSPB) / Ecosystem services and the future for bird conservation

DAY 2 / Weds, 4 April

08:30 / Registration

SESSION 1 / Ecosystem services and the future for bird conservation

09:00 / Conference opening / Jenny Gill, BOU President

09:05 / John Fanshawe (BirdLife) / Cultural services of birds

09:25 / TBC

09:45 / Andy Clements (BTO) / Bird conservation in an ecosystem service context

10:10 / Stewart Clarke (Natural England) / Ecosystem services resulting from bird conservation

10:30 / Coffee / Time to view posters, displays and bookshop

SESSION 2 / Birds and ecosystem functioning /Chair

11:10 / TBC

11:30 / Haldre Rogers (Rice University, USA) / Silent forests of Guam

11:50 / Pedro Jordano (CSIC) / Bird-plant mutualisms

12:15 / David Edwards (Princeton University, USA) / Bird functional diversity

12:40 / Paramasivam Balasubramanian (Salim Ali Centre, India) / Indian forest birds

13:00 / Lunch / Time to view posters, displays and bookshop

SESSION 3 / Cultural services provided by birds

14:30 / Andy Gosler (University of Oxford) / Ethno-ornithology

14:55 / Prof. Ken Norris (University of Reading) / Birds and cultural services

15:15 / Martin Dallimer (University of Sheffield) / Human wellbeing and avian diversity

15:40 / Jacob Kronenberg (University of Lodz, Poland) / Polish ‘stork villages’

16:00 / Afternoon tea / Time to view posters & displays

SESSION 4 / Valuing bird ecosystem services

16:30 / KEYNOTE / Matthew Johnson (Humboldt State University, USA) / Economics of pest control by birds

17:10 / Chris Panter (University of East Anglia) / Birds as proxies in assessing ecosystem value

17:30 / David Johnson (Northwest Habitat Institute, USA) / Habitat and biodiversity accounting tools

17:50 / Presentation of the BOU Union Medal

18:00 / BOU Annual General Meeting

/ Young Researcher Workshop

/ Free time – time to view posters & displays

20:00 / BOU Annual Dinner

DAY 3 / Thurs, 5 April

08:30 / Registration

SESSION 5 / Integrating ecosystem services and species conservation into policy

09:00 / Peter Costigan (Defra) / What’s Government doing?

09:20 / Prof. Steve Albon (Hutton Institute) / The Valuing Nature Network

09:45 / Ian Bainbridge & Prof. Des Thompson (Scottish Natural Heritage) / Integrating approaches into policy

10:10 / TBC

10:30 Coffee / Time to view posters and displays

SESSION 6 / Management strategies and trade-offs /Chair

11:10 / Simon Butler (University of East Anglia) / Birds as indicators

11:30 / Phil Atkinson (BTO) / Management strategies and trade-offs

11:50 / Prof. Chris Spray (University of Dundee) / Wetland ecosystem services

12:10 / Darren Evans (University of Hull) / Ecological networks

12:30 / Matt Granger (World Pheasant Association) / Review of bird ecosystem services

12:50 / Lunch / Time to view posters and displays

SESSION 7 / Knowledge gaps and future direction

14:00 / KEYNOTE / Prof. Andrew Watkinson (University of East Anglia) / Partnerships and strategic challenges

14:40 / SUMMARY: ECOSYSTEM SERVICES: DO WE NEED BIRDS?

15:00 / Panel/Discussion

16:00 / Close of Conference / Jenny Gill, President of the BOU

/ Afternoon tea and departure

+ Also a debate about the implications of the ecosystem service approach for bird conservation

+ More speakers to be confirmed – please check the BOU website for programme updates

+ Plus Subbuteo Natural History Books, Second Nature second-hand books, Wiley journals, poster presentations and displays.

BOOKINGS | DETAILS | VENUE | STUDENTS

Ecosystem Services: do we need birds?

2011-07-13T08:22:00.000-07:00

BOU Annual Conference 2012
University of Leicester, UK
3 – 5 April 2012

PROGRAMME | BOOKINGS | DETAILS | VENUE | STUDENTS

CALL FOR PAPERS

This conference aims to:

1) consolidate our understanding of the ecosystem services provided by birds;

2) showcase current research into the importance of birds in ecosystem functioning;

3) explore the cultural services that birds provide; and

4) consider how Government and non-Governmental organisations are engaging with this new approach in policy.

Debating the philosophical and practical problems surrounding the ecosystem services approach will be a key feature of the conference, as well as finding new opportunities for bird conservation.

Most of the programme is by invitation but we do have a small number of slots for which we invite offers. Priority will be given to students. We have 20-min slots available in the following themed sessions: valuing bird ecosystem services, management strategies and trade-offs and integrating ecosystem services and species conservation into policy.

Please send a short abstract of your presentation to the BOU Office by 31 August 2011.

NEXT BOU EVENT

2011-06-27T03:08:00.000-07:00

AVIAN RECOVERY PROGRAMMES

BOU Autumn Scientific Meeting 2011

Great Northern Hotel, Peterborough
23 November 2011

Supported by

RSPB | WWT | Natural England

DETAILS | PROGRAMME | BOOKINGS | VENUE

Species Recovery is the process by which the conservation community takes a species with an adverse conservation status and takes action to ensure it enjoys a more favourable conservation status. Sometimes this process is relatively simple, sometimes it can be extremely difficult. The principles underlying species recovery remain constant between species, although the delivery mechanisms may vary widely. This conference will examine the discipline of species recovery, and emphasise the central role of research and monitoring. It will also, by way of a series of case studies, explore the range of different delivery mechanisms and tools available to conservationists.

The challenges facing the natural world are growing daily. More and more species are in decline. The conference will attempt to address the following questions:

· is a species-based approach to conservation still valid in the 21^st Century. How does such an approach fit in with new thinking on landscape-scale and ecosystem approaches?

· which delivery mechanisms might prove most useful in tackling the challenges posed by our changing climate?

· The number of species in an adverse conservation status continues to increase. Which should we tackle first? How can we ensure that we deliver the best possible outcome in terms of the number of species we can help given existing resource limitations?

Bookings now open

PROGRAMME | BOOKINGS | VENUE

Avian Species Recovery - programme

2011-06-27T02:58:00.000-07:00

MEETING CANCELLED

2011 Autumn Scientific Meeting

23 November 2011

Great Northern Hotel, Peterborough, UK

Supported by

RSPB | WWT | Natural England

PROGRAMME | BOOKINGS | VENUE

Session 1: Theory behind species recovery

09:15 Welcome | Jenny Gill, University of East Anglia | BOU President

09:20 Triage in Conservation: taking an overview of species recovery | Andy Evans, RSPB

0940 The role of science in species recovery | David Gibbons, RSPB

10:00 Birds and climate: minimising losses, maximising opportunities | Chris Thomas, University of York

10:20 The role of disease and its control in species recovery | Matt Hartley, Zoo and Wildlife Solutions

10:40 COFFEE

Session 2: Case studies illustrating different delivery mechanisms

Advocacy

11:10 Ridding the environment of a widespread toxic pesticide: the organochlorine story | Ian Newton, Centre for Ecology & Hydrology

Habitat creation and management

11:30 Forestry: open spaces for species recovery | Jonathan Spencer, Forestry Commission & Nick Phillips, RSPB Site Protection measures

11:50 Site protection in a flyway context: the WOW factor | Vicky Jones, BirdLife International

Translocation

12:10 Return of the crane | Damon Bridge, The Great Crane Project

12:30 LUNCH

Session 3: More Case studies illustrating different delivery mechanisms

Agri-environment schemes

13:30 Design is everything – what have agri-environment schemes ever done for us? | Phil Grice, Natural England

Direct intervention

13:50 Seychelles and Hawaii – what works and what doesn’t? | Jim Groombridge, DICE

The need for Arks

14:10 Establishing captive breeding populations to ensure species survival whilst specific environmental problems are addressed (Vultures, condors, spoon-billed sand pipers & Madagascar pochard) | Debbie Pain, WWT

Reserves Aquisition and management

14:30 Reserves Aquisition for species recovery: which species and why? | Jo Gilbert, RSPB

Persecution

15:00 An overview of the problem in the UK and preventative measures which can be taken | Jeff Knott, RSPB

Meeting summary and close

15:40 Obstacles to species recovery in a changing world. How can we up our game? | Mark Avery, Independent Ecological Expert

16:10 TEA & DEPARTURE

Avian Species Recovery - bookings

2011-06-27T01:59:00.000-07:00

MEETING CANCELLED

BOU Autumn Scientific Meeting 2011

23 November 2011

Great Northern Hotel, Peterborough, UK

Supported by

RSPB | WWT | Natural England

BOOKINGS | PROGRAMME | VENUE | DETAILS

Full-day inc. lunch £125 - book your place

Half-day, morning inc. lunch £75 - book your place

Half-day, afternoon inc. lunch £65 - book your place

STUDENTS - special full-day discounted rate (inc. lunch) £70 - book your place

BOOK NOW!

NEXT BOU EVENT

2011-02-01T05:28:00.001-08:00

MEETING CANCELLED

AVIAN RECOVERY PROGRAMMES

BOU Autumn Scientific Meeting 2011

Great Northern Hotel, Peterborough23 November 2011

Species Recovery is the process by which the conservation community takes a species with an adverse conservation status and takes action to ensure it enjoys a more favourable conservation status. Sometimes this process is relatively simple, sometimes it can be extremely difficult. The principles underlying species recovery remain constant between species, although the delivery mechanisms may vary widely. This conference will examine the discipline of species recovery, and emphasise the central role of research and monitoring. It will also, by way of a series of case studies, explore the range of different delivery mechanisms and tools available to conservationists.

The challenges facing the natural world are growing daily. More and more species are in decline. The conference will attempt to address the following questions:

· is a species-based approach to conservation still valid in the 21^st Century. How does such an approach fit in with new thinking on landscape-scale and ecosystem approaches?

· which delivery mechanisms might prove most useful in tackling the challenges posed by our changing climate?

Programme due May 2011.

Bookings will open July 2011.

Migratory Birds - talk abstracts

2011-01-26T03:32:00.000-08:00

DETAILS | PROGRAMME | VENUE | STUDENTS

Trade-offs between shorter migration and warmer winters: carry-over effects of winter site choice in migratory shorebirds

José A. Alves¹, Tomas G. Gunnarsson^2,3, Daniel Hayhow¹, Peter M. Potts⁴, William J. Sutherland⁵ & Jennifer A. Gill¹

¹ School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK

² University of Iceland, South Iceland Research Centre, Tryggvagata 36, IS-800 Selfoss, Iceland

³ Gunnarsholt, IS-851 Hella, Iceland

⁴ Solent Court Cottage, Chilling Lane, Warsash, Southampton SO31 9HF, UK

⁵ Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing St., Cambridge, CB2 3EJ

For migratory birds, timing of arrival on the breeding grounds can strongly influence breeding success through improved access to higher quality resources and breeding locations and increased numbers of potential breeding attempts. Previous studies have shown that arrival dates can be influenced by conditions during winter and/or on migration. For species that winter over large geographic and latitudinal ranges, individuals wintering in different parts of the range will encounter very different environmental conditions. The impact of these carry-over effects may therefore vary across the range, through trade-offs between winter site quality, costs of migration and the consequences for timing of arrival on the breeding grounds.

Icelandic black-tailed godwits (Limosa limosa islandica) breed almost exclusively in Iceland, but their winter distribution ranges from Britain and Ireland to the Iberian Peninsula. Individuals at different ends of the range are thus likely to experience very different environmental conditions and migration costs. Using an energetic model paramaterised for this species, we compare the net energetic benefits for Icelandic godwits wintering in three distinct sites encompassing the entire range. We then estimate the migratory costs during spring migration and assess the different wintering strategies by comparing individual arrival dates on the breeding grounds. We show that choice of winter location has huge implications for individual fitness during winter, and for strong carry-over effects into the breeding season. The inequalities in fitness arising from different wintering strategies have important implications for population dynamics and for the evolution of migratory systems.

Effect of endogenous and exogenous factors on departure decisions of sedge warblers, Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, from a stopover site during autumn migration.

Miren Andueza¹, Juan Arizaga², Eduardo J. Belda³, Emilio Barba¹

¹ “Cavanilles” Institute of Biodiversity and Evolutionary Biology, University of Valencia, C/ Catedrático José Beltrán 2, E-46980 Paterna, Spain.

²Txingudi Ringing Station, Aranzadi Science Society, Alto de Zorroaga 11, E- 20014 Donostia-San Sebastián, Spain

³IGIC, Politechnic University of Valencia, Crta. Nazaret-Oliva, s/n, E-46730 Gandía, Spain

Departure decision from a stopover site is an important aspect of bird migration, since it affects the speed and duration of the migratory journey. The factors that determine this decision can be exogenous (environmental factors) or endogenous (related with the internal circannual program). So far, the effect of these factors has been studied separately, although interactions among them are much expected. The aim of this study is the simultaneous analysis of both endo- and exogenous factors that are likely to determine the departure decisions of sedge warblers (Acrocephalus schoenobaenus) from a stopover site in northern Spain during the autumn migration period, and quantifying the relative importance of each factor in that decision. We included meteorology (rain and wind aloft, expressed as a tailwind component) and population density (expressed as number of sedge warblers captured/100 m of mist net) at the site as exogenous factors, and date, days of stay in the place, fuel load and age as endogenous factors. We estimated departure decision probability with Cormack-Jolly-Seber (CJS) models using program MARK. From the 107 models tested, only one had substantial support, according to the AIC criterion. Such model included a significant and additive effect of date, wind and population density in the area. As expected, sedge warblers were more likely to depart with high tailwind values and late in the season, but departure probability increased with decreasing population densities. The negative relationship between departure likelihood and population density was the opposite of what was expected. Possible explanations are discussed.

Current knowledge - future perspectives

Franz Bairlein

Institute of Avian Research, Wilhelmshaven, Germany

Migratory species are of particular challenge for effective conservation because of their reliance on not just intact breeding grounds but at least of similar importance on stopover sites and often far distant winter grounds. Long-distance and trans-Saharan migrants are of particular concern because their population declines during the last few decades are much more severe that those of within-Europe migrants and resident species, respectively.

For successful migration most of these long-distance migrants rely on internal energy reserves they have to accumulate before facing inhospitable areas such as sea and deserts with no feeding opportunities. In many species fuelling happens immediately before crossing ecological barriers or shortly after the obstacle to replenish used body reserves and to prepare for the continuation of migration and subsequent breeding. Thus, intact stopover sites are crucial for successful migration and overall fitness, respectively.

Habitat deterioration due to human practice and climate change will have severe impacts on staging, stopover ecology and fuelling in migratory birds, though the effects of these changes are still very speculative due to the lack of detailed studies and the uncertainty in climate models. The talk will summarize current knowledge and will emphasize several of the important issues we have to address for better understanding and effective conservation of migratory species in a changing world. Future focus should be in particular devoted to understanding spatial connectivity between breeding, stopover and wintering sites, and un-ravelling carry-over effects between the different annual life-history stages.

Cues and the optimal timing of migration under environmental changes

Silke Bauer & Lucas Jenni

Swiss Ornithological Institute

The timing of life-history activities within the annual or life-cycle of an organism is widely considered to have important fitness consequences. Particularly in seasonal environments, timing is the all-dominant predictor of success: activities need to be initiated within a specific – often very restricted – timeframe. Penalties for not starting preparations at the optimal time point may range from slight reductions in reproductive success (e.g. raising fewer offspring) to fatal consequences (e.g. mistiming of migration leading to starvation). Besides such immediate penalties there may also be time-lagged consequences (e.g. carry-over effects) since current mistiming may bear a cost later in life.

Ideally, thus, individuals perform an activity when conditions are (most) favourable and thereby, match peak requirements with peak resource availabilities. This, in turn, requires animals to forecast the development of conditions. This applies even more in migratory animals: Migrant birds visit several distant sites during their annual cycle, each site having its own phenology with varying peak resource availability. However, how can migrants predict the (future) conditions on (distant) sites? They probably use local information (‘cues’) that indicates the ‘optimal’ timing of activities, e.g. migratory departure. In particular in the light of global changes, knowledge of such cues is all the more required as this predicts whether species will likely face mismatches and hence, experience negative fitness consequences. Therefore, we review the cues that have been identified to influence the timing of migration in birds. We categorize the cues according to the type of the cues, its quantitative effects on timing of migration, and the ecology of the species that uses this particular cue, i.e. its environment and main food.

Environmental changes can affect the optimal timing of activities, the cue, or both by changing their respective means and variances but also the correlation between cue and timing may be altered. Whether or not such changes will have substantial implications for the affected species is difficult to assess. Therefore, we introduce a conceptual model that predicts the (immediate) fitness consequences of changes in cue or timing or their relation. We explore specific cases of such changes, which are likely to be expected from present and future climatic changes and show that their consequences need not always be negative but are highly dependent on the way the relation between cue and timing changes.

Getting to the Arctic on time: adaptive resource management of Horseshoe Crabs to protect migrating Red Knot

Nigel Clark, Phil Atkinson, Jacquie Clark, Simon Gillings & Rob Robinson

British Trust for Ornithology, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU, UK
Arctic breeding waders are often constrained by the availability of resources at stop over sites on their northward migration to the breeding grounds. These constraints become most acute at their last stopover before they reach the breeding grounds as late arrival, or arrival in poor condition, may lead to a reduction in breeding productivity and subsequent survival. The situation in Delaware Bay, USA is particularly difficult for migrating waders, as they depend largely on the eggs of Horseshoe Crabs that are exposed on the beach surface. These surface eggs are abundant only when there are extremely large numbers of breeding crabs. In the early 1990’s there was a dramatic increase in the Horseshoe Crab fishery which lead to a major reduction in spawning crab numbers. This lead to a reduction in the rate of weight gain of migrating waders, particularly Red Knot, and coincided with a dramatic decline in the population. Initial responses of the conservation community were to call for a permanent ban on Horseshoe Crab fishing which lead to the imposition of harvest quotas, and in some States a complete moratorium. The first signs of a recovery in the Horseshoe Crab population are beginning to appear, which has in turn lead to the call from fishing interests for increases in fishing quotas. Here we explore issues behind the development of an adaptive resource management plan and the role of wader migration and Horseshoe Crab population research in the development of the plan.

Population-level responses of migratory birds to environmental change

Jennifer Gill

School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, UK.

Large-scale environmental changes can provide the basis for the evolution of migratory behaviour, and changing environmental conditions may benefit species in some circumstances. However, current declines in many migratory bird populations may be occurring in response to on-going rapid and extensive changes in land use and resource availability. Understanding these responses to environmental changes is key to the development of appropriate conservation actions and policies, but the responses of migratory species can be particularly complex because the environmental pressures that they face may vary within and across the migratory range. The impact of environmental pressures in one season may be either exacerbated or moderated by the conditions experienced during other seasons in other parts of the migratory range. Using examples from a range of systems, I will explore the environmental changes currently influencing migratory bird populations, the factors influencing population-level responses to these changes and the importance of understanding the nature and influence of seasonal interactions in migratory systems.

Pacific traveller – the epic migration of the long-tailed cuckoo Eudynamys taitensis

Brian Gill¹ & Mark Hauber²

¹Auckland Museum, Private Bag 92018, Auckland, New Zealand

²Department of Psychology, Hunter College of the City University of New York, USA

Long-tailed Cuckoos (Eudynamys taitensis; 125 g) breed only in New Zealand, parasitising three species of endemic Mohoua (Pachycephalidae). After performing perhaps the most remarkable overwater migration of any land bird, cuckoos winter in a vast arc of Pacific islands extending 10,000 km from Palau (134.5°E) to Henderson Island (Pitcairn group; 128.3°W). Such an epic migration by so small a bird was originally doubted. After systematic collecting of birds on south Pacific islands by the Whitney South Sea Expedition (1920-32), a 1937 paper by Bogert established the bare details of the migration. Our study aims to reassemble data on the long-tailed cuckoo’s migration, using specimens and literature records. The sexes are alike, but immatures (spotted back, pale brown underparts) are readily distinguishable from adults (barred back, white underparts), allowing new analysis of migration dynamics in relation to age. Preliminary results show that many birds in the wintering grounds have intermediate plumage (are presumably moulting from immatures to adults). At the start of the breeding season (spring: October-December) practically all birds in New Zealand are in adult plumage. Immatures (from New Zealand) in museum collections are overwhelmingly restricted to late summer and autumn, showing that these are young of the most recent breeding season and have not retained immature plumage during a cycle of migration to the Pacific. Data also show that adults move north ahead of immatures in the autumn migration. One of the three hosts (yellowhead M. ochrocephala) is now critically endangered. This must mean that the populations of cuckoos adapted to parasitising yellowheads are endangered or extinct now, in proportion to the decline of their host. Certain Pacific islands to which the yellowhead-cuckoos migrated may now lack cuckoos.

Migratory birds and climatic change

Brian Huntley¹, Michael Brooks² & Nathalie Doswald^1,3

¹ School of Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Durham University, UK

² Animal Demography Unit, University of Cape Town, South Africa

³ UNEP World Conservation Monitoring Centre, Cambridge, UK

Models were fitted to describe relationships between climate and the breeding and non-breeding distributions of 229 European breeding migratory birds, including 164 trans-Saharan migrants. The models were then used to simulate species’ potential breeding and non-breeding distributions for future climate scenarios.

To assess whether species may already be showing expected responses, data from two Southern African Bird Atlas Projects (SABAP1 and SABAP2) for 51 trans-Saharan migrants whose non-breeding ranges extend to southern Africa were used to estimate recent range changes in that region.

Simulations project a mean increase in extent of non-breeding ranges and a mean decrease in extent of breeding ranges. Both breeding and non-breeding ranges on average shift northwards, north-westward for breeding ranges and north-eastward for non-breeding ranges. Mean range centroid shift by 2025 is ca. 400 km for breeding and ca. 600 km for non-breeding ranges. These shifts result in projected ca. 25% mean increases in migratory distance. The greater shift in non-breeding range offsets the mean increase in extent resulting in mean overlaps of ca. 60% between present and future breeding and non-breeding ranges by 2025, decreasing to ca. 50% by 2085.

Those species whose non-breeding ranges extend to South Africa have mean projections very similar to those for all migrants. Comparison of SABAP2 and SABAP1 data shows that, over the 20 years between surveys, substantial changes have occurred. At 0·25° grid cell resolution (used by SABAP1) range extent in southern Africa has on average decreased by 50%, and the SABAP2 and SABAP1 ranges overlap by only 28% on average. Even when aggregated to the 1° grid used for modelling, mean range extent decrease is 35% and overlap only 53%. Centroids of ranges within southern Africa have shifted by a mean of ca. 90 km in a north-easterly direction. Mean rate of centroid shift, at ca. 4·5 km yr^-1, is comparable to published results, but only ca. 35% of projected rates of centroid shift; this discrepancy also is comparable to that reported by previous studies.

Visual comparison of projected and observed range changes shows similar patterns for most species, 28 having a good or fair match between observed and projected patterns of change. Only 9 species show a poor match, the majority being species associated with wetlands. As in previous studies comparing model projections with observations, results indicate that model projections generally are robust and consistent with observations.

Amongst the implications of the projected changes in location of species’ breeding and non-breeding ranges is potential for species to change their migratory strategy in response to climatic change. Up to 40% of species that currently are exclusively trans-Saharan migrants have potential non-breeding areas north of the Sahara by 2025, whilst > 55% of short-distance migrants have increased areas that they potentially may occupy throughout both breeding and non-breeding seasons. Whilst such upheavals to migration strategies probably also occurred in the past in response to the climatic upheavals of the late-Quaternary, the rate of current changes appears to be out-stripping species’ ability to respond.

The science and the art of international action planning for migratory birds

Tim Jones

DJEnvironmental, Harpers Mill, Sterridge Valley, Berrynarbor, Ilfracombe, Devon, EX34 9TB, United Kingdom

International collaboration to develop and implement action plans for the conservation of migratory birds has developed enormously over the last 30 years. There is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach, with a variety of models being followed for different groups/species and in different regions of the world. Some action plans have been developed within intergovernmental frameworks, such as the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) and its daughter Agreements. Other processes have been much more informal and primarily non-governmental in nature. Action plans may cover singles species, certain populations of a species, or whole groups of species. They may extend to entire flyways covering many countries, or be restricted to bilateral cooperation.

Much of the early work focused on waterbirds, especially Anatidae and Scolopacidae but increasingly action plans are being drawn up to cover species from other families, including migratory seabirds, raptors and passerines.

Whatever the model of action plan followed, writing the plan – and even agreeing it with the key stakeholders – is just the first step. Implementation is the acid test. Experience shows that successful international action planning needs:

- a strong science base

- a clear platform/mechanism for collaboration

- a participatory process

- effective leadership and coordination

- adequate and stable resourcing

- clear objectives, targets and indicators of success

- effective monitoring and evaluation

- periodic review

It is particularly important to recognise that scientific and technical merit alone are insufficient to deliver a successful action plan, and that neither ‘soft’ nor binding international law can guarantee implementation. The ‘art’ of international action planning depends on integrating these more tangible characteristics with cooperation, commitment, enthusiasm, mutual respect and shared will. International NGOs such as BirdLife International, Wetlands International (and their predecessor organizations) have played a key role in helping to ensure that these disparate elements are brought together in a way capable of delivering concrete conservation outcomes.

Examples will be drawn inter alia from the International Single Species Action Plans (SSAPs) for Lesser White-fronted Goose Anser erythropus and Sociable Lapwing Vanellus gregarius, both established under the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA), in the framework of the CMS and adopted by the Range States in 2008 and 2004 respectively (the latter plan currently undergoing revision); as well as from bilateral and multilateral processes in the Americas and Asia-Pacific.

What we know about raptor migration within South America

Matias A. Juhant

University of Maribor, Slovenia

Although South America has the world’s richest avifauna, the migration of birds within the continent is largely unknown. Raptors are a good example of how little we know. Most studies of raptor migration have been made in North America, Europe and Asia, while few studies have been made in South America. Ninety-six species of raptors are found in the continent, 43 of which migrate in part of their range (45%). Five species are complete migrants, 22 partial migrants and 16 irruptive or local migrants. These migratory species correspond to three migration systems: Nearctic-Neotropical; Intratropical; and Austral-Neotropical. The raptor migration in South America is confusing and complex because there are three types of migration systems, and there are not enough data available. We do not have data to answer the most basic question, like when the different raptor species leave from and arrive from their breeding areas? And which are the main wintering and bottlenecks areas in South America? Only eight raptor species that migrate in the continent were studied by satellite tracking. Thirty-five watchsites are in the continent, but only two of them have available data for at least one full season-count. In this presentation, I will review our current knowledge of raptor migration in South America focusing in the Nearctic-Netropical and Austral-Neotropical migration systems, and I will suggest points where we should focus our research.

Evolution does not optimize - should we?

Hanna Kokko

Australian National University, Canberra, Australia

Modelling of partial migration in birds has progressed from simple graphical representations to sophisticated analyses that use evolutionary invasion analysis to determine how the success of the two strategies (stay year round on the breeding grounds, or migrate) can become frequency dependent. Here I build two models to relax two assumptions commonly made in models and often violated in nature: that individuals do not vary in any trait other than their migratory propensity, and that the prior residence effect (which grants priority access of good habitats to non-migrants) operates at maximum strength. The same framework can incorporate and merge aspects of various hypotheses proposed to explain partial migration (dominance, body size, arrival timing, and limited foraging opportunities), and shows that either small (subdominant) or large (dominant) individuals may emerge as the more likely migrants; the latter case occurs when it is easy for socially dominant migrants to win back prime breeding locations upon their arrival. The dynamics of territory acquisition is shown to be an important and understudied topic, as variations in the relative importance of prior residency versus resource holding power can shift a population from complete migration to complete year-round residency. These models also highlight exceptions to a tacit assumption in discussions of evolution of migration under climate change, which is that populations can decline if genetic adaptation or phenotypic plasticity do not occur fast enough. Competition can also yield the opposite pattern where adaptation itself leads to a population decline.

Mini biography: Hanna Kokko is a professor at Australian National University and an Australian Laureate Fellow. She is interested in linking individual level behaviours to their population dynamic consequences, and has studied a wide range of examples of this kind, from sexual selection to studies of sustainable harvesting. She has also authored a textbook on modelling methods in biology (Cambridge University Press).

Can we study the winter distribution of Aquatic Warblers with feather isotope analyses?

Steffen Oppel¹, Deborah J. Pain^1,2, Jeremy Lindsell¹, Lars Lachmann^1,3, Ibrahima Diop⁴, Cosima Tegetmeyer⁵, Paul F. Donald¹, Guy Anderson¹, Christopher G. R. Bowden¹, Franziska Tanneberger⁵, Martin Flade⁶

¹ Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL, U.K.

²Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust, Slimbridge, Gloucestershire GL2 7BT, U.K.

³ Polish Society for the Protection of Birds (OTOP), Ul. Odrowąża 24, 05-270 Marki, Poland

⁴ Parc National des Oiseaux du Djoudj, BP80, St Louis, Senegal

⁵ Institute of Botany and Landscape Ecology, University of Greifswald, Grimmer Str. 88, 17487 Greifswald, Germany

⁶ Brandenburg State Office for Environment, Dept. Large Protected Areas and Regional Development, Tramper Chaussee 2, 16225 Eberswalde, Germany

Stable isotope analysis of feathers can be useful in the study of seasonal interactions and migratory connectivity in birds. For the Palaearctic-African migration system, however, the lack of isotope data from feathers of known origin in Africa renders the geographic assignment of birds captured on European breeding grounds to potential wintering areas problematic. Rectrices of the threatened aquatic warbler (Acrocephalus paludicola) grown in Africa were sampled across six European countries to assess whether birds in different breeding populations shared similar isotopic signatures and so were likely to have wintered in the same region in Africa. Freshly grown feathers of aquatic warblers collected at the only known wintering site in Senegal showed high variation in carbon, nitrogen, and hydrogen isotope ratios. Due to similarly high variation in isotope ratios of African-grown feathers within all breeding populations, it was not possible to determine whether different populations wintered in different regions. However, isotope signatures of 20% of birds captured on European breeding grounds fell outside the range of those captured in Senegal, suggesting a wider wintering distribution than is currently known. We therefore assessed whether the origin of these feathers could be estimated by trying to establish isotopic gradients across sub-Saharan West Africa. Feathers of three ecologically similar surrogate species were sampled from wetlands across a 3000 km east-west and a 2000 km north-south transect. Within-site variation in feather isotope ratios was frequently larger than the difference predicted by gradients across West Africa. Thus, predicting the origin of individual feathers using single-isotope gradients was not reliable. The large within-site variability of feather isotope ratios of a habitat specialist species like the aquatic warbler indicates that using feather isotope ratios will require large sample sizes from many locations, and may thus not be an efficient tool in identifying wintering areas of Palaearctic-African migrants.

Directions in modelling partial migration: how adaptation can cause a population decline and why the rules of territory acquisition matter.

Urbanisation effects on migration behaviour of short-distance migratory birds

Mikkel Willemoes Kristensen

Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, University of Copenhagen

Urban area is one of the fastest growing types of land use. As it grows on the expense of other habitats, species able to adapt to a life in an urban habitat are likely to be successful, whereas species not able to adapt will decline. To be able to properly predict the effects of the increasing urban land use on a species, all aspects of that species’ biology must be investigated. For bird species, important life history characteristics include not only feeding and breeding behaviour but also migration behaviour. This study investigates the relation between migration behaviour and distance from breeding site to urban area in 9 species of common Danish short-distance migratory passerines. The data used are Danish ringing data and a GIS-layer of Danish land use. There was no relation between distance from breeding site to the nearest urban area and distance travelled by migrating individuals. There was however, a highly significant relation between the distance from breeding site to nearest urban area and the chance of a bird choosing to migrate, i.e. the urban populations had lower proportions of migrating individuals than rural populations. The proportion of birds migrating declined significantly during the last 50 years in rural populations but not in urban. These results suggest that birds breeding in urban habitats adapt their migration strategy to the changed environmental conditions. Presumably the higher temperature in urban areas provides a less hostile winter environment.

Studying birds in the context of the annual cycle: carry-over effects and seasonal interactions

Peter P. Marra

Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute, Migratory Bird Center, National Zoological Park, WAshington DC, US

Migratory animals spend different periods of the annual cycle in geographically disparate places. For all such species, these periods are inextricably linked, such that events in one period are likely to influence events in subsequent periods that take place, in some cases, thousands of miles away. This simple fact has enormous implications for how we study and interpret facets of both the ecology and the evolution of migratory species. Such a perspective is equally important for the implementation of conservation strategies of migratory birds. Indeed, the conditions and selective pressures at winter locations are likely to affect individual performance during migration and breeding, and vice versa. Such events are likely to occur both within and between generations and thus will influence both ecological events as well as evolutionary processes. For example, the size and composition of summer populations are likely to be strongly influenced by events on the wintering grounds and simple mathematical models illustrate the effects of density-dependence on population dynamics. Events on wintering grounds are also likely to affect arrival time, body condition and reproductive readiness of individual birds on the breeding grounds. These parameters are likely to have important consequences for breeding behavior and success, natal dispersal and annual survival. In addition, the evolution of body size and plumage quality and color are all likely examples of trade-offs that can act throughout the year to drive individual traits. Unfortunately, although the importance of many of these ‘seasonal interactions’ has long been recognized, they remain poorly understood within most bird migration systems largely for two reasons. First, the majority of research on migratory birds is still focused on a single season, breeding, leaving us with an inadequate understanding of the fundamental natural history and ecology of migrant birds during other parts of their annual cycle. This is despite the fact that most migratory birds spend the majority of the year on their non-breeding grounds. Second, we have a poor understanding of migratory connectivity - how individual birds and populations are connected between specific breeding and non-breeding (migration and winter) locations.

The playing field, however, is changing rapidly. New scientific tools and techniques allow for unprecedented advances in the pace and magnitude of data collection, analysis, and modelling of animal movement. The use of satellite transmitters, geolocators, stable isotope analysis and genomics are advancing our ability to track animals throughout the annual cycle, allowing for significant improvements in our understanding of migratory connectivity and seasonal interactions. In this keynote address, I will describe through several specific examples how understanding seasonal interactions, such as carry-over effects, will greatly improve our fundamental understanding of migratory bird biology. Furthermore, I will emphasize that if we hope to implement effective conservation strategies and policies to protect wildlife species, it will be essential to study all biological phenomena in the context of the entire annual cycle.

Can we use stable isotope analyses to trace the migration of Atlantic seabirds?

Militão T.^1*, González-Solís J.¹,

Institut de Recerca de la Biodiversitat i Departament de Biología Animal (Vertebrats), Universitat de Barcelona. Avinguda Diagonal 645. 08028 Barcelona, Spain

Tracking devices, such as geolocators, are revealing many new aspects of the migratory dynamics of seabirds but it is often unfeasible to use them in large numbers, on non-breeding birds or on small species. In these occasions intrinsic markers, such as the analysis of stable isotope ratios on feathers, can be a useful alternative to trace migratory movements. However, in contrast with the terrestrial environment we still have insufficient sea baseline knowledge for linking isotopic signatures of different feathers to movements amongst distinct water masses. In this study we determined the carbon and nitrogen signatures on feathers from tracked birds to link specific water masses in the Atlantic Ocean to the isotopic signals in feathers. We sampled and analysed the1^st primary, 8^th and 13^th secondary and 6^th rectrice feathers in three seabird species: the great (Puffinus gravis from Gough Island), the Manx (P. Puffinus from Iceland) and the Cory’s (Calonectris diomedea borealis from Canary Islands) shearwaters. These species breed in different archipelagos but share several feeding grounds throughout the Atlantic (e.g. the Arctic Atlantic or the Patagonian shelf) in different periods of their annual cycle. Stable isotope signatures in different feathers corresponded well with the areas in which we inferred that they were grown. Thus, stable isotope analysis of feathers is a powerful tool to trace the migratory movements of seabirds in the Atlantic.

Shifts in breeding phenology in the willow warbler: implications for population trends

Catriona A. Morrison¹, Robert A. Robinson², Jacquie A. Clark², David I. Leech² & Jennifer A. Gill¹

¹School of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, NR4 7TJ, UK

²British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, IP24 2PU, UK

Over the past 40 years there have been large declines in the abundance of many long-distance Afro-Palaearctic migrants which breed in Europe. While changing rainfall patterns in the Sahel region of Africa have been linked to lowered overwinter survival for some long-distance migrants, changes in productivity may also be implicated in these population declines, particularly as the population trends for several species appear to vary through the breeding range. As many of these species breed at temperate latitudes, seasonal variation in resource availability means that timing of breeding can be a key driver of productivity and ability to fine tune timing of breeding in response to these changes may play a key role in a population’s dynamics. Since the 1970s, the breeding dates of many temperate breeding bird species have advanced, and the extent of these changes has been linked to both wintering and breeding ground cues. Using data from the BTO Breeding Bird Survey and the Birdwatch Ireland Countryside Bird Survey, we show that population trends for one of Europe’s most abundant Afro-Palaearctic migrants, the willow warbler, Phylloscopus trochilus, are highly variable across Britain and Ireland. We then use data from the BTO Nest Record Scheme to investigate the extent of changes in seasonality of willow warbler breeding productivity across the UK and how these interact with changes in timing of breeding to influence patterns of population trends. Our findings suggest that advancements in laying date may be buffering population declines in some regions, but constraints on advancement of laying date may be exacerbating population declines elsewhere.

The Ecology of bird migration patterns

Ian Newton

Centre for Ecology & Hydrology, Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, Wallingford, OX10 8BB, UK

Migration in birds is often defined as a regular return movement between breeding and wintering areas. It is evident mainly in seasonal environments, whether driven by temperature or rainfall, in which food varies predictably between abundant and scarce during the course of a year. In such seasonal environments, two types of bird migratory behaviour have long been recognised, now most commonly called obligate and facultative. In obligate migration, all main aspects are viewed as under firm internal (genetic) control, with limited scope for year-to-year variation. Obligate migrants thus typically show a high degree of annual consistency in the timing, directions and distances of their migrations. For the most part, each individual behaves in the same way year after year, migrating at similar dates and for similar distances. Obligate migrants often leave their breeding areas before food-supplies collapse, their movements being ‘anticipatory’. Typically, they exploit foods which are predictably absent in the breeding areas during winter. Individuals tend to return to the same breeding areas each year, and often to the same wintering areas. Examples include those insectivorous species, such as the Pied Flycatcher and Common Cuckoo, which migrate long distances to winter in the tropics.

In contrast, facultative migration is viewed more as a direct response to prevailing conditions, especially food supplies, and the same individual may migrate in some years but not in others. It occurs in populations whose food supplies in breeding areas vary greatly from one winter to another, according to weather or other variables. Within a population, depending on prevailing conditions, the proportions of individuals that leave the breeding range, the dates they leave and the distances they travel, can vary greatly from year to year, as can the rates of progress on migration. This type of migration is typical of many partial migrants, but is most evident in so-called irruptive migrants that depend on inconsistent food sources: for example, finches that depend on sporadic tree-seed crops, or owls that depend on peaks in rodent populations.

It will be argued that the nature of migration varies with the types of food supplies to which different bird species are exposed. Regular (obligate) migration is associated with food supplies that are predictable in time and space, and is consistent in timing, direction and distance from year to year; whereas irregular (facultative) migration is associated with food supplies that – to varying degrees – are unpredictable in time and space; and is variable in timing, direction and distance from year to year. In its most extreme form, facultative migration is manifest as irruptions, and individual participants show little or no site fidelity from year to year. Both systems are adaptive, the one to conditions in which resource levels are predictable in space and time, and the other to conditions in which resource levels are unpredictable. They are best viewed not as distinct types, but as representing opposite ends of a continuum in bird migratory behaviour.

Large scale patterns of demography in Palearctic warblers

Rob Robinson, Sarah Eglington and Ali Johnston

British Trust for Ornithology, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU, UK

Over the last couple of decades there has been increasing concern over the adverse biological impacts of changing climates. Migrant species are thought to be especially vulnerable as these may be impacted by changes in multiple areas (breeding, non-breeding, stopover) and their ability to adapt to phenological change may be constrained by their need to move between breeding and non-breeding areas in response to increasingly asynchronous cues used to time these migratory journeys. Several studies have recently correlated population declines with response to increasing temperature, and further changes have been predicted using a range of climate envelope models. However, in order to fully understand the nature of these changes we need to quantify the demographic mechanisms that underlie them. We use data generated by a large-scale monitoring scheme that uses constant effort ringing to quantify changes in productivity and survival of a suite of migrant Afro-Palaearctic warblers to assess the demographic impacts of the changing climate across western Europe.

Who is who? – Olivaceous Warblers in West Africa

Volker Salewski

University of Osnabrück, Department of Behavioural Biology, Barbarastr. 11, 49076 Osnabrück, Germany

Since ornithologists correlated crashes of breeding populations of Palearctic-African long-distance migrants with droughts in the African winter quarters in the late 1960s, the awareness that the understanding of the population dynamics of migrants has to consider conditions experienced during the entire annual cycle have to be taken into account grew rapidly. This is expressed by the growing number of publications that correlate population changes as well as demographic factors like survival and/or reproduction with conditions experienced on migration or in the non-breeding staging areas. There is growing awareness that the protection of migrants needs the implementation of integrative conservation strategies taking breeding areas as well as non-breeding areas into account.

However, for a number of Palearctic-African migrants crucial information about migration such as migration routes and the location of non-breeding staging areas are still missing. In some cases this is due to the unobtrusive behaviour or the habitat use of the respective species. In case of the “Olivaceous Warblers” the lack of knowledge is mainly due to the difficulties to distinguish between several species and subspecies of which there are even African resident populations overlapping with non-breeding areas of Palearctic migrants.

The “Olivaceous Warblers” have recently been split and the genus renamed from Hippolais to Iduna. Two species are currently recognized: the Western Olivaceous Warbler I. opaca (monotypic) and Eastern Olivaceous Warbler I. pallida with the subspecies pallida, reiseri, elaeica and laeneni. All species and subspecies are difficult to separate in the field and even in the hand. Therefore, few details are known about migration and non-breeding areas of these different taxa.

In recent years, enhanced fieldwork, aided by better knowledge with respect to identification, helped to shed some light on the distribution, migration and non-breeding areas of at least some of these taxa. The Western Olivaceous Warbler has a scattered breeding distribution on the Iberian Peninsula and in north-western Africa. It spends the non-breeding season in sub-Saharan Africa mainly in the Sudan savanna zone and in the northern Guinea savanna zone. Migration through Mauritania occurs mainly during August and September and during March-May. The westernmost subspecies of the Eastern Olivaceous Warbler I. p. reiseri occurs further west than previously thought and concentrations of singing males reach unknown high densities in south-eastern Morocco. Migration of birds of unknown origin through central-Mauritania probably takes place mainly in September and during March and April, but some individuals may spend the non-breeding season there. Further non-breeding areas were recently identified in the valley of the Senegal River in north-eastern Senegal.

Despite the enhanced information with respect to migration and locality of the non-breeding staging areas of the various taxa of “Olivaceous Warblers” our knowledge is still fragmentary. As this is also due to the low density of ornithological projects and birdwatchers in the area, new technologies like stable isotope analyses or the application of geolocators may be paramount for a better understanding of “Olivaceous Warbler” migration ecology.

EU Species Action Plan for the Corncrake

Norbert Schäffer & Boris Barov

RSPB, The Lodge, Sandby, Beds, SG19 2DL, UK

The Corncrake (Crex crex) has long been classified by BirdLife International and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as a globally threatened species (category "vulnerable") because of the rapid decline in its numbers in Western and Central Europe. Here we have seen that even large Corncrake populations can disappear within only a few years as a result of land use, in particular the poor timing of mowing in permanent grassland. Better data gathered in the 1990s from Eastern European countries, particularly from European Russia, showed that the world population of Corncrakes was much larger than thought for a long time. In addition, and more relevant to its status on the global Red Data Book, the collapse of agriculture in many Eastern European Countries, including Russia, resulted in an abandonment of many meadows and, through this, to a rapid increase in Corncrake numbers from the end of the 1990s. Consequently, the Corncrake was down-listed to the category "near threatened" in 2004 and finally to "least concern" in 2010 (BirdLife, 2010).

In the EU, the Corncrake is still seen as a priority species. As for all other EU priority species, the EU funded the development of a EU Species Action Plan in the 1990s. Species Action Plans were seen as the backbone of species protection work in the EU. In a parallel process, the Convention on Migratory Birds (CMS), the Bern Convention and the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) also developed Single Species Action Plans for threatened species. Compiled by the key experts for each individual species, EU Species Action Plans summarise the current conservation-relevant knowledge of the biology and ecology of each species. The Plans also describe the threats to the species, set recovery objectives and suggest conservation actions. Today, there are 54 Species Action Plans for priority species and subspecies in the EU, and most of those adopted before or soon after 2000 have been reviewed at least once.

The EU adopted a SAP for the Corncrake in 1996 (Crockford et al. 1996), which was consequently expanded to cover the non-EU range and endorsed by the CMS (2000). In 2006, the original EU SAP was replaced by the current International Single Species Action Plan (Koffijberg & Schaffer, 2006), commissioned by AEWA. The EU SAP underwent implementation reviews in 2001 and 2004.

Today, we have more than 15 years of working experience with the EU Species Action Plan for the Corncrake as well as other bird species. Over this period, we have learned what makes such a plan successful and where the limitations are. In our talk, we will briefly present the Species Action Plan for the Corncrake and describe our experience with this tool – both good and bad. Based on this, we will make recommendations for the further development of this tool.

The impact of increased food availability on reproduction in a long-distance migratory bird

Adam Seward^{1, 2}, Rob Thomas¹, Colin Beale³, Lucy Gilbert² and Hefin Jones¹
¹Cardiff School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Cardiff, CF10 3AX, UK
²Macaulay Land Use Research Institute, Macaulay Drive, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen, AB15 8QH, UK
³Department of Biology, University of York, Wentworth Way, York, YO10 5DD, UK

Climate change has major implications for ecosystems and populations. The unevenness of climate change across the planet presents particular challenges to long-distance migratory birds because they have to time their migrations to coincide with food availability at locations hundreds or thousands of kilometres apart. Since 2008, we have been conducting feeding experiments to simulate a climate-linked change in food availability of a migratory bird, investigating the effects on breeding productivity, body mass regulation and annual survival.

Food availability may limit the reproductive output of migrant birds by limiting the number of offspring fledged in individual nesting attempts, or by limiting the number of nesting attempts. Climate variation is therefore likely to have strong effects on the breeding productivity of migrant birds by affecting their invertebrate food supply. The northern wheatear (Oenanthe oenanthe) is a long-distance migrant bird that has recently extended its range northwards and is therefore considered likely to be sensitive to climate-induced changes in food availability. We have carried out food supplementation experiments (by providing mealworms, Tenebrio molitor) on Fair Isle, Shetland, to investigate which stages in the reproductive cycle of wheatears were most sensitive to climate-driven changes in food availability. We have been maintaining a study population of colour-ringed wheatears to enable individual identification in the field, allowing effects linked to food availability to be studied at the individual level.

Assessing the migration routes of the Sociable Lapwing Vanellus gregarius using historical records and satellite telemetry

RD Sheldon¹, J Kamp², M Koshkin³, PF Donald²

¹RSPB Scotland, 2 Lochside View, Edinburgh Park, Edinburgh, EH12 9DH, United Kingdom.

²RSPB, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL. United Kingdom.

³Association for the Conservation of Biodiversity in Kazakhstan, ul. Beibitshilik, 18, office 203, 01000 Astana, Republic of Kazakhstan.

The Sociable Lapwing Vanellus gregarius is a Critically Endangered long-distance migrant that has undergone a large decline in range and population size over the last century. With the extinction of the species in Ukraine and south-western Russia, the breeding population of the Sociable Lapwing is now concentrated in Kazakhstan. Detailed work on the species’ habitat selection and breeding ecology suggests that the population is not currently limited by habitat availability or productivity on the breeding grounds, but could be limited by factors operating on either the migration routes or the wintering grounds.

Sociable Lapwings migrate to wintering sites in Africa, the Arabian Peninsula and India. A database of historical and recent sightings has been established to identify key staging areas along the migration routes and wintering grounds. This has identified eastern and western migratory routes. Subsequent targeted survey work by a network of Birdlife partners has resulted in the identification of a number of important new sites. Key stopover sites have been discovered in the Manych wetlands in south-western Russia, where daily counts in excess of 1000 birds have been recorded in September 2009 and 2010. In Ceylanpinar, eastern Turkey a record flock of 3200 birds was observed in October 2007. Hunting of Sociable Lapwings has been confirmed in Syria and Iraq and has been identified as the key threat to the conservation of the species.

Since 2007, a number of adult Sociable Lapwings have been fitted with satellite tags to further aid our understanding. Key findings include tracking birds to the wintering quarters in India and Sudan where flocks comprising up to 35 birds have been recorded. A new important stopover site in Uzbekistan has been confirmed. There is a strong spatial and temporal correlation between the historical sightings within our database and the routes followed by satellite tagged birds. To help gain more information and support for conservation work across the species’ range, Birdlife International has recently launched a web-site that allows visitors to follow the migration of satellite tagged Sociable Lapwings. The site allows birdwatchers and conservationists to report their sightings, which are added to the database and in some cases followed up by additional surveys where possible. A key discovery of a wintering flock of 90+ birds has been reported in Oman through the web site.

The combined approach of literature review of historical sightings, satellite tracking and public participation is providing a wealth of information that is driving conservation efforts for this Critically Endangered migratory species. We suggest that compiling historical records can be an effective method for tracking the migratory routes of poorly known species.

Hundreds of ringers and one million of Swallows: large-scale joint efforts to unravel the journeys of a symbol of migration.

Fernando Spina

Italian Ringing Centre ISPRA, Via Cà Fornacetta, 9 I-40064 Ozzano Emilia (BO), Italy

With its huge breeding quarters, the Barn Swallow Hirundo rustica has been a symbol of bird migration since ancient times. Thanks to its habit of nesting in human dwellings, this aerial insectivore is also one of the few bird species man has always affectionately respected across continents and cultures. The herald of spring, the Swallow however raises our deepest concern due to widespread declines in large parts of its European range. Its colonial breeding habits and gregarious roosting behaviour outside the breeding season make the Swallow an ideal species to monitor through ringing, either of chicks and breeding adults at the colonies, as well as roosting birds. Huge roosts across the vast wintering quarters have been intensively monitored in Africa, ranking the Swallow as the most ringed Palaearctic visitor in the continent. However, despite widespread interest, many gaps in our knowledge especially of the pre-migratory strategies of this species were still to be recorded when EURING (The European Union for Bird Ringing, www.euring.org) launched a large-scale ringing project on this species in 1997 (EURING Swallow Project, ESP). Intensified marking activities at the colonies allowed to locate previously unknown migratory routes and wintering ranges for some of the European populations. Differently from what previously proposed by several Authors based on the aerial feeding habits of the Swallow, intensive pre-migratory fattening strategies have been described, similarly to e.g., several species of long-distance warblers. The trade-offs between post-breeding body moult and fat accumulation have been analysed and will be illustrated. In the framework of optimal migration theories, pre-migratory strategies in fat accumulation were investigated in detail across a vast latitudinal gradient, showing progressive accumulation of reserves while approaching the crossing on important ecological barriers like the Mediterranean Sea and Sahara desert. Data on physical conditions at the onset of barrier crossing as recorded in first-year inexperienced birds have confirmed population-specific fattening strategies. These relate to the distance to cover across ecological barriers never experienced before, indicating an important role of the latter in modelling pre-migratory strategies. The vast amount of data collected through the ESP have also significantly improved the geographical coverage of winter reports from Africa, allowing novel connectivity analyses.

Migratory bird conservation at the flyway scale: approaches to practical implementation in Africa-Eurasia
Tim Stowe¹, Leon Bennun², Nicola Crockford¹, Richard Grimmett², Vicky Jones² and Danaë Sheehan¹
¹Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire SG19 2DL
²BirdLife International, Wellbrook Court, Cambridge CB1 3SX
Birds’ migratory journeys cross many national boundaries. International collaboration is therefore key for the conservation of migratory birds. There are more than 30 international, flyway-based instruments with this aim, the only one with global remit being the UN Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) . Only some flyways are reasonably well covered by such instruments. Along with the Americas, Africa-Eurasia probably has the best coverage, key instruments being the CMS Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) and Bird of Prey Memorandum of Understanding; no similar instrument exists for passerines and other landbirds of that flyway.
While international agreement is an important start, implementation at national and regional levels remains a severe challenge. Many migratory bird populations are in decline with 14% of 2,274 migratory species globally threatened or near-threatened with extinction.
For globally threatened birds, the approach of implementing internationally approved species action plans through species working groups in the framework of CMS and AEWA is proving successful for species such as Aquatic Warbler and Sociable Lapwing.
Identification and conservation of a network of key sites– Important Bird Areas - can benefit many migrants, particularly waterbirds and soaring birds. In Africa-Eurasia, the ‘Wings over Wetlands’ project developed the Critical Site Network tool, which presents information on key sites in a flyways context, levels. Its modular training kit addresses capacity gaps for migratory waterbird conservation, management and monitoring. Implementation is provided by the project “Strengthening networks for the conservation of migratory birds and their habitats along the west coast of Africa”.
For soaring birds, infrastructural development at key sites, unsustainable hunting and land degradation pose major threats that are best tackled at the policy level. In north-east Africa and the Middle East the GEF/UNDP/BirdLife ‘Soaring Birds Project’ is working to mainstream migratory bird conservation considerations into policy decisions across economic sectors, especially the energy sector with a focus on wind energy developments.
However, big conservation challenges are posed by passerines and other landbirds that migrate on a broad front. A third of the 188 passerine species that use the Africa-Eurasia Flyway are in decline for reasons that are poorly understood, though habitat degradation appears to play a major role. A recent RSPB/BTO/Cambridge University study has collated expert opinion to identify the key Sahelian habitats for terrestrial migrant birds, critical land management practices, the social and economic drivers responsible for these and opportunities for policy intervention to influence land cover to benefit migrant birds.
European resources for migratory bird research and conservation are still focused on work that can be carried out in Europe, despite the conservation challenges and knowledge gaps elsewhere in the flyway. The need for cross-regional collaboration has never been greater.

Studying long-distance migration of raptors

Kasper Thorup

Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

For many years, the study of behavioural ecology in migratory birds has been hampered by the problems associated with following free-flying birds over long distances. The possibilities for tracking the sometimes even global journeys undertaken by migrating birds are still very limited. Nevertheless, the use of satellite telemetry has provided a wealth of information on the migration routes, stopovers and wintering grounds of long-distance migrants that are otherwise very difficult to study. However, the method also opens up for studying behaviours during migration. So far, the study of migratory behaviours has only been possible for a small part of the migration and in many cases even been restricted to the lab, where the consequences of different behaviours are almost impossible to evaluate. Here, I show how satellite tracking of several long-distance raptor species, ospreys, honey buzzards, peregrines and marsh harriers, has been successfully applied to study a number of migratory behaviours in the wild: wind drift, daily travel decisions and orientation cue use. These studies have provided new insights to nature of the migratory orientation system and, with the rapidly decreasing weight of transmitters, satellite telemetry remains a most promising line for future studies of migratory behaviour.

Distribution and habitat associations of Palaearctic-African migrant birds in West Africa

Juliet A. Vickery¹, Nathaniel Anorbah², Philip W. Atkinson³, Christopher M. Hewson³, Mark Hulme³, Aly Issa⁴, Oumar Issa⁴, Ernestina Mensah-Pebi², Christopher J. Orsman¹ and Danaë K. Sheehan¹.

¹ Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, UK.

² Ghana Wildlife Society, PO Box 13252, Accra, Ghana.

³ British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2PU, UK.

⁴ Naturama, 01 BP 6133, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

There is widespread concern about the declines in Palaearctic-African migrant birds. The extent to which these declines may be driven by changes in the African wintering habitats remains unclear, although there is growing evidence that current declines, in UK breeding populations at least, are greatest amongst species that winter in the humid zones of West Africa and that populations of species that winter in the Sahel are now stable. Habitat degradation, drainage and agricultural intensification have all increased in the wintering areas over the period of population declines, but their effects on these species’ wintering habitats are largely unknown. In part, this is because our understanding of the implications of present and future land use change for Afro-Palearctic migrant birds is limited by the paucity of detailed information regarding their specific habitat requirements in the region.

Here, we present new field data on Palaearctic-African migrant birds and their habitats in west Africa collected in Burkina Faso and Ghana along a north-south transect from dry Sahelian woodland in Burkina Faso to lowland tropical forest in Ghana. Data were gathered from point counts surveys at 5 discrete locations along this transect on 4 occasions between October and March 2009/2010, with repeat counts in Jan-Feb 2011. We use these data to quantify seasonal patterns of distribution and habitat use and to look at how possible causes for the population declines (e.g. habitat degradation) may be impacting on populations of migrants wintering in West Africa.

Stable isotopes and the ecology of bird migration

Ellie Yohannes

Max Planx Institute for Ornithology, Germany

Stable isotope analysis is an increasingly valuable tool in avian migration studies. Advances and potential of the approach has been very successful in the exploring nutrient sources and allocation for reproduction, in particular the role of capital vs. income breeding. We explored the relationship between laying date and resource use for reproduction in the pectoral sandpiper (Calidris melanotos) breeding in the Alaskan arctic by contrasting carbon isotope (δ¹³C) values of the local diet and of maternal plasma, cellular blood, feather and claw with those of the eggs produced. By comparing maternal feather δ¹³C, claw δ¹³C and feather δD, we examined whether non-breeding season events influenced the use of resources for egg production through variation in arrival time and clutch initiation date. Female pectoral sandpipers originating from moulting areas characterized by higher δD signatures were more likely to arrive and start laying earlier, and they used stored resources for reproduction.

Using feather samples gathered from Asia and Africa, I will discuss how the analyses of the stable isotope composition of feathers provide significant insights into the understanding of the spatial structure of bird migration pattern between these continents. This technique also shows promise as a measure of nutritional and physiological stress in wild animals. I will show some examples supported by laboratory experiments and discuss assumptions that should be considered before applying this technique in the field.

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ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND BIRDS: DO WE NEED BIRDS?

2010-11-11T01:47:00.000-08:00

BOU Annual Conference 2012

University of Leicester, UK

3 – 5 April 2012

PROGRAMME | BOOKINGS | VENUE | STUDENTS

supported by

BTO / University of Hull / University of Newcastle / University of Sheffield

ECOSYSTEM SERVICES AND BIRDS

· The provisioning, regulating and supporting ecosystem services provided by birds, avian functional ecology and relationships between bird diversity and ecosystem functioning;

· The cultural significance of birds and how this is valued;

· How Governments, policy-makers and conservation organisations around the world are responding to and implementing the ecosystem services approach;

· Management strategies, trade-offs and the consequences for traditional species based conservation and practical management.

The conference scope will be international, with a focus on how to integrate ecosystem service science with practical bird conservation into policy.

The conference is aimed at academics, research and conservation organisations as well as statutory government agencies and those engaged in policy, advocacy and conservation management.

CONFERENCE AIMS
The conference aims to:

· consolidate our understanding of the provisioning, regulating, supporting and cultural ecosystem services provided by birds;

· examine the response of Governments, policy-makers and conservation organisations to the ecosystem services approach and discuss what this means for traditional species conservation;

· consider the evidence needs for decision-makers looking to integrate ecosystem service science and species conservation, and the implications for bird conservation in the 21st Century.

POSTER PRESENTATIONS
If you would like to contribute a poster to this meeting please please send an abstract (max. 500 words) to the BOU Office by 31 January. Priority will be given to students.

PROCEEDINGS
We aim to publish the proceedings from this conference in 2012 on the BOU's conference proceedings site, www.BOUPROC.net. Further details will be announced at a later date.

Conference Programme Organising Committee
Dr Darren Evans (Chairman), University of Hull (email)

Dr Helen Baker, JNCC (email)

Dr Niall Burton, British Trust for Ornithology (email)

Dr Karl Evans, University of Sheffield (email)

Dr Mark Whittingham, University of Newcastle (email)

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Migratory Birds: ecology and conservation

2010-10-26T02:43:00.000-07:00

BOU Annual Conference 2010
University of Leicester
5 - 7 April 2011

supported by

BTO / JNCC / RSPB / University of Sheffield

Bookings now open!

RESIDENT - conference place with overnight accommodation

NON-RESIDENT - conference place with no overnight accommodation

STUDENTS - sorry all reduced rate/free student places have been allocated.

DETAILS | PROGRAMME | VENUE | STUDENTS

TALK ABSTRACTS

Meeting reports

2010-09-23T07:00:00.000-07:00

Climate Change and Birds
Abstracts
/ Proceedings / Meeting report

Lowland Farmland Birds 3: delivering solutions in an uncertain world
Abstracts / Proceedings / Meeting report

The impacts of non-native species
Abstracts / Proceedings

Bird conservation in response to global change: from ornithology to policy
The BOU's 150th Anniversary Conference
Proceedings / 150th Anniversary presentations / Meeting report

Birds as predators and as prey
Proceedings

Avian Influenza and other bird diseases
Abstracts

Woodland birds: their ecology and management
Proceedings

Birds and recreational disturbance
Proceedings

Wind, fire and water: renewable enerby and birds
Proceedings / Meeting report

Lowland farmland birds II: the road to recovery
Proceedings / Meeting report

Long term studies of birds
Meeting report

Climate change and coastal birds
Proceedings / Meeting report

Birds and ecological islands: patterns and processes
Meeting report

Birds of prey in a changing environment
Proceedings / Meeting report

Protected Bird Areas in Europe
Meeting report

Why museums matter: avian archives in an age of exinction
Proceedings / Meeting report

The ecology and conservation of lowland farmland birds
Proceedings / Meeting report

African birds
Meeting report

Tropical forests and islands
Meeting report

More information about BOU conferences

2010-08-16T07:29:00.000-07:00

ANNUAL SPRING CONFERENCES

University of Leicester

The BOU usually holds its annual spring conference at the University's Gilbert Murray Centre at the Oadby Campus (not the city centre campus) on Manor Road. See here.

NOTE - for the 2011 Migratory Birds conference, we are using Digby Hall as the conference venue. Digby Hall is situated along Stoughton Drive South. See here.

Getting to the conference venue

Leicester is centrally placed in England and is easy to get to by road, rail and air.

Travelling to Leicester by road

Travelling to Leicester by coach/bus

Travelling to Leicester by rail

Travelling to Leicester by air

If you arrive by public transport in the city centre you can get a bus to the Oadby campus, get a taxi or walk.

More information on the University of Leicester travel and maps pages here.

Accommodation in Leicester

If you have booked as a Conference Resident you will stay in student accommodation on the Oadby campus. All the rooms are within five minutes walk of the conference hall.

Are meals included?

Conference Residents have all their meals included in the price they have paid. Non-residents (i.e. those who have not booked accommodation as part of their conference attendance) will have the meals they have paid for detailed on their booking confirmation.

Arriving late

If you arrive at the conference venue after 10pm you can collect your room key from the porters lodge at John Foster Hall (Manor Road, Leicester, LE2 2LG. Tel. 0116 221 2035) which is opposite the Gilbert Murray Centre).

AUTUMN SCIENTIFIC MEETINGS

Our autumn meetings are either 1-day or 2-day seminars which are usually run at the Great Northern Hotel, Peterborough which is located directly opposite the Peterborough train station entrance - just cross the road.

Directions to Great Northern Hotel.

Parking is available either in the hotel car park (charge) or in the Queensgate Shopping Centre multistorey (Car Park 4 - Perkins - pay and display). Parking at owners risk.

These seminars are non-residential and each day or part-day rate includes attendance at the seminar and any meals as indicated.

Migratory Birds: ecology and conservation

2010-08-16T07:13:00.000-07:00

BOU Annual Conference 2010
University of Leicester
5 - 7 April 2011

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TALK ABSTRACTS

supported by
BTO / JNCC / RSPB / University of Sheffield

Migratory birds are all around us; warblers singing in spring, seabirds gliding across shimmering summer seas, a mass of shorebirds reeling across our cool coastal skies in autumn to the plumped out thrushes in our winter berry hedges. Britain hosts some of the largest concentrations of migratory birds anywhere in the world, with internationally important numbers of many waterbirds and seabirds. Not surprisingly, much of our research has focussed on understanding these species and their habitats, and this has been fundamental to developing our conservation approaches. But, our migrants are only ours for part of their lives and this presents a significant challenge in understanding their ecology and the pressures they face throughout the year; our research and conservation activities have to be placed in an international context, taking into account complementary activities in other range countries and through pursuit of international collaboration.

The BOU last presented a conference dedicated to migratory birds in 1990 – The ecology and conservation of Palaearctic-African migrants (Ibis 134 (1992) Supp 1: 1 -132). Since then, many BOU conferences have included presentations on migratory birds partly because these species make up such a large proportion of our bird fauna, but also because the themes have been so relevant to migrants. In addition, there have been a number of other important international conferences that have progressed our understanding of migratory birds, such as Waterbirds Around the World in 2004. Building on these, this conference will provide a topical update on research into bird migration and the current challenges facing migrants. It will aim to cover the following topics:

· Annual cycles, especially movement patterns, connectivity, stop-over ecology, moult strategies and carry-over effects;

· Individual and population responses to environmental change, including range change, phenological shifts and migration strategies, with a focus on agriculture, deforestation and desertification;

· Management strategies, especially through international cooperation and collaboration;

· Methodological and technological advances in migration study.

The conference scope will be terrestrial, freshwater and marine, with a focus on population-level research and management. Participants will be asked to identify research and management priorities by considering the scope of current knowledge showcased by the conference, information gaps and likely future pressures.

The conference is aimed at research and conservation organisations as well as statutory government agencies, and those engaged in policy and advocacy.

The conference will aim to:

· Explore advances in our understanding of the behaviour and ecology of migrant birds, especially at population or annual cycle levels;

· Highlight species’ responses to environmental change, especially at the population level and in relation to habitat change;

· Demonstrate habitat and species management practices and challenges, with a focus on international collaboration, habitat protection, conflict resolution, wise use and the societal value of migrant birds (in ecosystems, food, culture);

· Consider the evidence needs for managing migratory bird populations into the future, especially in light of challenges presented by water, food and energy security;

· Showcase the very latest methods for studying migration, focussing on technological and analytical advances, especially spatial analysis and behavioural modelling.

Bookings now open.

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