LifeCycle issue 12, Summer 2023

This issue contains articles on Redshank and Dunnock nest finding as well as a feature with advice and guidance on accessing funding to help fund fieldwork.

A crowded ocean: the need for demographic and movement data in seabird conservation

To implement effective conservation actions, locally and globally, we need to quantify the importance of the multiple, often interacting, threats to seabird population growth rates.

Analysis of wintering waterbird population trends for the Lough Neagh and Lough Beg Special Protection Area (SPA)

Waterbird trends for the Lough Neagh and Lough Beg Special Protection Area

This analysis of Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) data for the Lough Neagh and Lough Beg SPA provides details of wintering waterfowl population changes around the loughs and assists in identifying potential

Lasso Penalisation identifies consistent trends over time in landscape and climate factors influencing the wintering distribution of the Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata)

Bioacoustics as a novel approach for detecting the presence of Brown Rats on seabird islands

Detecting Brown Rats on seabird islands

Introduced Brown Rats can devastate seabird colonies, predating both eggs and chicks. Can we use bioacoustic technology to detect and monitor this threat?

Local colonisations and extinctions of European birds are poorly explained by changes in climate suitability

Assessing movements of Lesser Black-backed Gulls using GPS tracking devices in relation to the Galloper Wind Farm<br /> 

Global assessment of marine plastic exposure risk for oceanic birds

Disproportionately high risk for threatened seabirds from marine plastic.

Seeing the wood for the trees, irregular silviculture supports bat populations in conifer plantations

How do bats respond to different approaches to the management of conifer plantations

Conifer woodland covers 1.6 million hectares of the UK and is an important source of economic revenue.

Spring arrival of the Common Cuckoo at breeding grounds is strongly determined by environmental conditions in tropical Africa

West African stopover determines timing of Cuckoo arrival

The authors use 11 years of satellite tracking data from 87 male Cuckoos, tagged at 11 sites across the UK, to examine variation in migratory timing throughout the annual cycle and its potential co

The phenology and clutch size of UK Blue Tits does not differ with woodland composition

Does the timing of Blue Tit breeding vary with woodland composition?

Changes in breeding wader populations of the Uist machair and adjacent habitats between 1983 and 2022

Study shows 25% decline in breeding waders between 1983 and 2022

Reduced breeding success in Great Black-backed Gulls Larus marinus due to harness-mounted GPS device

Studies involving fitting animals with bio-logging devices have provided essential information on behaviour, ecology, physiology and ultimately species conservation.

Sunning in Yellow Bishops Euplectes capensis

New sunning behaviour in Yellow Bishop

Ecological barriers mediate spatio-temporal shifts of bird communities at a continental scale

Ecological barriers limit the ability of birds to respond to climate change

A changing climate places pressure on individuals, species and communities, forcing them to either adapt to changing conditions or move to where conditions remain favourable.

Drivers of the changing abundance of European birds at two spatial scales

Study highlights significant losses of European birds

This piece of research explores the question of measuring and detecting biodiversity change for European birds, which are well monitored in many European countries thanks to ongoing monitoring prog

The Breeding Bird Survey 2022

Population trends of the UK’s breeding birds

Trends in butterfly populations in UK gardens - new evidence from citizen science monitoring

Butterflies find safe haven in UK gardens

Data from 7,971 gardens between 2007 and 2020 have been used to produce garden-specific abundance trends for 22 widespread butterfly species.

Temporal avoidance as a means of reducing competition between sympatric species

Do Marsh Tits modify their behaviour to reduce competition?

Competition between species has been put forward as a possible reason for the declines seen in some bird species, including Marsh Tit and Willow Tit, but confirming a causal link between competitio

Behavioral responses to offshore windfarms during migration of a declining shorebird species revealed by GPS-telemetry

Are migrating Curlew at risk from wind turbines?