Cocoa and coffee are among the most valuable tropical crops, with much of their production in areas of high biodiversity. Although this could suggest a conflict between agricultural expansion and biodiversity conservation, these crops are normally grown in shade plantations—a more biodiversity-friendly agroforestry system. Using São Tomé Island as a case study, we examined if shade plantation can benefit biodiversity by protecting extinction-prone island endemic species. We found that shade plantations held rich assemblages, even in comparison with forest: we estimated 30 bird and 74 tree species occurring in plantations compared to 24 bird and 108 tree species in forests. However, the structure of the assemblages was significantly different between ecosystems, with an average dissimilarity of 33.8 percent and 87.9 percent for birds and trees, respectively. Shade plantations had consistently less endemic species than the forest; we estimated a drop from 17 to 13 in birds and from 17 to 3 in trees. We also found that despite marked differences in the response of bird species to the vegetation characteristics of shade plantations, there was a strong positive link between aboveground tree biomass and endemic species richness and abundance. These results show that shade plantations hold assemblages impoverished in endemic species, but that management can improve their value for the conservation of these species. Finally, we suggest that biodiversity-friendly certification and carbon markets are used to implement and guarantee the long-term economical sustainability of practices that favor the endemic species in São Tomé's shade plantations.

This is the first edition of the Northern Ireland Seabird Report, covering 2013, a report we plan to publish annually. This report is the published outcome of the work of the BTO Seabird Co-ordinator, appointed in February 2013, and the activities of the evolving NI Seabird Network of volunteers, and organisations such as National Trust, Ulster Wildlife and RSPB that have provided data for 2013 and previous years. The Co-ordinator, the Network and this report are, in part, a response to the huge increase in our society’s interest in the marine environment. Legislatively there is the EU’s Marine Strategic Framework Directive (MSFD), and the local instrument that transposes the MSFD regulations, the Marine Act (Northern Ireland) 2013. This includes powers to designate Marine Conservation Zones as part of a coherent MPA (Marine Protected Area) network. The implied spatial planning and designations require high quality marine biodiversity data of various types, including for birds. Monitoring, and any further designations, of our SPA (Special Protected Area) network also require high quality bird data. Added to this is a hugely increased interest in offshore commercial development, particularly energy related developments. There is a large offshore wind farm proposed east of the Lecale coast, two tidal energy proposals off the northeast Antrim coast, and proposals to investigate oil and gas resources in Belfast Lough, Larne Lough and near Rathlin. Two energy storage proposals near Larne just add to this mix of proposed marine developments. Finally, there is our increasing societal awareness of climate change and the impacts it may have: increasing seawater temperatures, changing acidity, increased storminess and thus turbidity, and many other associated changes. The work of the Northern Ireland Seabird Network in gathering robust seabird population data is a vital component in this context. The data in this report, and from future surveying, will underpin marine conservation policy-making and action planning in Northern Ireland.

The impacts of projected climate change on the populations and distributions of species pose a challenge for conservationists. In response scientists and policy makers have proposed a number of management strategies to try and enable species to persist in a changing climate. However there is limited evidence to support these management interventions, making it difficult for conservationists to decide on the most appropriate action to take for different circumstances. New research just published by the BTO, in collaboration with CEH and Natural England, has used long-term monitoring data for woodland birds to support the prediction that habitat attributes (woodland patch isolation and area of woodland at the site and at the wider landscape scale) may influence the ability of some species to withstand weather-mediated population declines. Results suggest that these effects were most apparent among generalist woodland species, such as Bullfinch and Robin. However several specialist woodland species, like Nuthatch and Willow Tit, were also more likely to increase following population decline where there was more woodland at the site and in the wider landscape. While management is unlikely to provide a universal benefit to all woodland species, landscape-scale conservation initiatives that maximize woodland patch size and minimize patch isolation may allow the populations of some woodland bird species to be more resilient to climate change.

Native and non-native deer populations are increasing in temperate woodlands across Europe. Previous work by the BTO found that these changes are associated with declines in some breeding bird populations, and suggested this is due to modification of the woodland understorey through browsing (consumption of vegetation by herbivorous deer). Now a new study by the BTO and the University of East Anglia has demonstrated effects of deer activity on birds outside the breeding season. Birds were monitored in several plots of woodland, half of which were fenced to exclude deer. Common species such as Robin, Wren and Blackbird were less likely to be found in woodland browsed by deer than at unbrowsed sites in the winter, although this effect was not seen in the spring. The detrimental impact of deer browsing in the winter could result from both reduced shelter from the cold, and a loss of protection from predators afforded by dense understorey vegetation. There could also be changes in the feeding opportunities available to birds once the understorey has been browsed. This study illustrates the importance of understanding the complex interactions between deer and birds at a time when many woodland specialists are in decline, and the need for more research to be undertaken in woodland outside the typically-studied breeding season.

Mammals are an important part of the UK’s biodiversity but can be difficult to monitor, requiring special surveys to determine their distribution or how their populations are changing over time. However, some widespread and easily detected species, such as deer, rabbits and squirrels, can be monitored as part of bird surveys. Volunteer birdwatchers taking part in the Breeding Bird Survey have been recording mammals alongside birds since 1995. Now BTO scientists have used these data to investigate national and regional population changes of nine common species. Populations of four deer species (Roe Deer, Reeves’ Muntjac, Fallow Deer and Red Deer) all increased between 1995 and 2012. This is of concern given that increased deer browsing in woodland can reduce the vegetation understorey and impact negatively on other wildlife. In contrast, Rabbit numbers declined by 48% over the same period, following a large increase prior to 1995 (as revealed by other studies). There are fascinating regional differences in the trends for some species; Brown Hare populations declined by 50% in Northwest England but increased by 70% in the East Midlands. A significant increase in non-native Grey Squirrel numbers in Northwest England may be of concern because of their potential impacts on native Red Squirrels that are now largely confined to Scotland. The study highlights the value of the BTO’s network of volunteers for monitoring groups other than birds. The species covered include some rapidly spreading invasive non-native species, and others that are of conservation concern. Many important conservation questions could be investigated in future using this valuable long-term dataset.