The stability of ecological communities has important consequences for the functioning of ecosystems, and several different mechanisms have been linked to delivering that stability. It has been shown, for example, that the stability of the species’ populations present within the community, together with the degree of synchrony that exists between them, can influence overall community stability. Larger populations tend to be more stable than smaller populations because they typically have greater genetic diversity and more capacity to adjust to environmental changes through natural selection, while populations situated closer to the middle of their preferred environmental niche tend to be more stable than those located at the margins. This study sought to identify which of these mechanisms was more important.

The 10th NI Seabird Report charts the fortunes of Northern Ireland's breeding seabird species and sheds light on the initial impact of avian influenza. The report highlights that Fulmars continue to be at a low ebb in Northern Ireland, with numbers at most sites monitored in 2022 mostly stable or declining slightly. Kittiwake numbers continue to increase at monitored sites, while the numbers of Common Terns appear to have recovered after a bad year in 2020, when the total coastal Northern Irish population (including Belfast Lough RSPB, Carlingford Lough, Cockle Island, Larne Lough and Strangford Lough) more than halved from 2019 levels due to losses at Larne and Belfast Loughs. The report also documents the impacts of highly pathogenic avian influenza on Northern Ireland's seabirds, reveals how detection dogs are being used to monitor burrow-nesting species, explores the foraging behaviour of Black Guillemots, and highlights the monitoring work being done in Strangford Lough.

Many insect-eating birds are declining but it's hard to find data that can test whether insect declines are driving these losses. Understanding the relationships between insect populations, their avian predators and the effects of a changing climate, is an important part of identifying the reasons behind changes in bird populations. This paper uses nearly 30 years of data on aerial insect abundance and Swallow numbers and breeding success to explore these relationships.