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Peer-reviewed papers

Peer Journal sample covers

It is BTO’s policy to make public the results of our research. Our aim is to publish as much as possible of our work in the peer reviewed scientific literature.  Many results are also published in our BTO Research Report series.

Heward, C.J., Hoodless, A.N., Conway,G.J., Aebischer,N.J., Gillings, S. & Fuller, R.J. 2015. Current status and recent trend of the Eurasian Woodcock Scolopax rusticola as a breeding bird in Britain. Bird Study Link to Article (DOI: 10.1080/00063657.2015.1092497)
Johnston, A. Fink, D., Reynolds, M.D., Hochachka, W.M., Sullivan, B.L., Bruns, N.E., Hallstein, E., Merrifield,, M.S., Matsumoto, S. & Kelling, S. 2015. Abundance models improve spatial and temporal prioritization of conservation resources. Ecological Applications 25 (part 7) : 1 749-1 756 Link to Article (DOI: 10.1890/14-1826.1)
Kelling, S., Alison Johnston, A., Hochachka, W.M., Iliff, M., Fink, D., Gerbracht, J., Lagoze, C., La Sorte, F.A., Moore, T., Wiggins, A., Wong, W-K., Wood, C. & Yu, J. 2015. Can Observation Skills of Citizen Scientists Be Estimated Using Species Accumulation Curves?. PLoS ONE 10 (part 10) Link to Article (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0139600)
Calladine, J., Humphreys, E.M. & Boyle, J. 2015. Changes in breeding wader populations of the Uist machair between 1983 and 2014. Scottish Birds 35 (part 3) : 207-215
Harrison, P.J., Yuan, Y., Buckland, S.T., Oedekoven, C.S., Elston, D.A., Brewer, M.J., Johnston, A. & Pearce-Higgins, J.W. 2015. Quantifying turnover in British breeding bird communities. Journal of Applied Ecology Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12539 )
Plummer, K.E., Siriwardena, G.M., Conway, G.J., Risely, K. & Toms, M.P. 2015. Is supplementary feeding in gardens a driver of evolutionary change in a migratory bird species?. Global Change Biology 21 : 4 353-4 363 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/gcb.13070)
Gullett, P.R., Hatchwell, B.J., Robinson, R.A. & Evans, K.L. 2015. Breeding season weather determines long-tailed tit reproductive success through impacts on recruitment . Journal of Avian Biology 46 : 441-451 Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/jav.00560)
Méndez, V., Austin, G.E., Musgrove, A.J., Ross-Smith, V.H., Hearn, R.D., Stroud, D.A., Wotton, S.R. & Chas A. Holt, C.A. 2015. Use of environmental stratification to derive non-breeding population estimates of dispersed waterbirds in Great Britain. Journal for Nature Conservation Link to Article (DOI: 10.1016/j.jnc.2015.09.001)
Feber , R.E., Johnson, P.J., Bell, J.R., Chamberlain, D.E., Firbank, L.G., Fuller, R.J., Manley, W., Mathews, F., Norton,L.R., Townsend, M. & Macdonald, D.W. 2015. Organic Farming: Biodiversity Impacts Can Depend on Dispersal Characteristics and Landscape Context. PLOS ONE 10 (part 8) Link to Article (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0135921)
Calladine, J. 2015. Multi-scale associations with habitat, land use and change: Opportunities and limitations for Whinchats Saxicola rubetra in the uplands of Scotland. Book title: Living on the edge of extinction in Europe. Proceedings of the first European Whinchat Symposium : 205-212
Ouwehand, J., Ahola. M.P., Ausems, A.N.M.A., Bridge, E.S., Burgess, M., Hahn, S., Hewson, C.M., Klaassen, R.H.G., Laaksonen, T., Lampe, H.M., W. Velmala, W. & C. Both, C. 2015. Light-level geolocators reveal migratory connectivity in European populations of pied flycatchers Ficedula hypoleuca. Journal of Avian Biology View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/jav.00721)
Stone, E., Zeale, M.R.K., Newson S.E., Browne, W.J., Harris, S. & Jones, G. 2015. Managing Conflict between Bats and Humans: The Response of Soprano Pipistrelles (Pipistrellus pygmaeus) to Exclusion from Roosts in Houses. PLOS ONE 10 (part 8) View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0131825)
Carroll, M.J., Heinemeyer, A., Pearce-Higgins, J.W., Dennis, P., West, C., Holden, J., Wallage, Z.E. & Thomas, C.D. 2015. Hydrologically driven ecosystem processes determine the distribution and persistence of ecosystem-specialist predators under climate change . Nature Communications 6 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1038/ncomms8851)
Tayleur, C., Caplat, P., Massimino, D., Johnston, A., Jonzén, N., Smith, H.G. & Lindström, Å. 2015. Swedish birds are tracking temperature but not rainfall: evidence from a decade of abundance changes. Global Ecology and Biogeography 24 : 859-872 Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/geb.12308)
Mason, S.C., Palmer, G., Fox, R., Gillings, S., Hill, J.K., Thomas, C.D. & Oliver, T.H. 2015. Geographical range margins of many taxonomic groups continue to shift polewards. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 115 (part 3) : 586-597 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/bij.12574)
Kirby, W.B., Bellamy, P.E., Stanbury, A.J., Andrew J. Bladon, A.J, Grice, P.V. & Gillings, S. 2015. Breeding season habitat associations and population declines of British Hawfinches Coccothraustes coccothraustes. Bird Study 62 (part 3) : 348-357 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1080/00063657.2015.1046368)
Newson, S.E., Evans, H.E. & Gillings, S. 2015. A novel citizen science approach for large-scale standardised monitoring of bat activity and distribution, evaluated in eastern England. Biological Conservation 191 : 38-49 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2015.06.009)
Gunnarsson, T.G., Arnalds, O., Appleton, G., Méndez, V. & Gill, G.A. 2015. Ecosystem recharge by volcanic dust drives broad-scale variation in bird abundance. Ecology and Evolution 5 (part 12) : 2 386-2 396 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1002/ece3.1523)
Warwick-Evans, V., Atkinson, P.W., Gauvain, R.D., Robinson, L.A., Arnould, J.P.Y. & Green, J.A. 2015. Time-in-area represents foraging activity in a wide-ranging pelagic forager. Marine Ecology Progress Series 527 : 233-246 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.3354/meps11262)
Dondina, O., Orioli. V., Massimino, D., Pinoli, G. & Bani, L. 2015. A method to evaluate the combined effect of tree species composition and woodland structure on indicator birds. Ecological Indicators 55 : 44-51 Link to Article (DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.03.007)
Roy, H.E., Rorke, S.L., Beckmann, B., Booy, O., Botham, M.S., Brown, P.M.J., Harrower, C., Noble, D., Sewell, J. & Walker, K. 2015. The contribution of volunteer recorders to our understanding of biological invasions. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 115 (part 3) : 678-689 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/bij.12518)
Catry, P., Lecoq, M., Araújo, A., Conway, G., Felgueiras, M., King, J.M.B., Rumsey, S., Salima, H. & Tenreiro, P. 2015. Differential migration of chiffchaffs (Phylloscopus collybita and Phylloscopus ibericus) in Europe and Africa. Journal of Avian Biology 36 : 184-190 Link to Article (DOI: 10.13157/arla.62.2.2015.237)
Thaxter, C.B., Ross-Smith, V.H., Bouten, W., Clark, N.A., Conway, G.J., Rehfisch, M.M. & Burton, N.H.K., 2015. Seabird–wind farm interactions during the breeding season vary within and between years: A case study of lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus in the UK. Biological Conservation 186 (part 2 015) : 347-358 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2015.03.027)
Ausden, M., Bradbury, R., Brown, A., Eaton, M., Lock, L. & Pearce-Higgins, J. 2015. Climate change and Britain's wildlife: what might we expect?. British Wildlife 26 (part 3) : 161-174
Bessell, P.R., Robinson, R.A., Golding, N., Searle, K.R., Handel, I.G., Boden, L.A., Purse, B.V. & de C. Bronsvoort, B.M. 2015. Quantifying the risk of introduction of West Nile Virus into Great Britain by migrating passerine birds. Transboundary and Emerging Diseases View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/tbed.12310)
Burgess, M.D., Bellamy, P.E., Gillings, S., Noble, D., Grice, P.V. & Conway, G.J. 2015. The impact of changing habitat availability on population trends of woodland birds associated with early successional plantation woodland. Bird Study 62 (part 1) : 39-55 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1080/00063657.2014.998622)
Calladine, J., Bray, J., Broome, A. & Fuller, R.J 2015. Comparison of breeding bird assemblages in conifer plantations managed by continuous cover forestry and clearfelling. Forest Ecology and Management 344 : 20-29 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1016/j.foreco.2015.02.017)
Clark, N.A. & Clark, J.A. 2015. A method of making robust and effective decoys for trapping waders using dead birds. Wader Study Group Bulletin 122 (part 1) : 31-36 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.18194/ws.00008)
Eglington, S. M., Julliard, R., Gargallo, G., van der Jeugd, H. P., Pearce-Higgins, J. W., Baillie, S. R. and Robinson, R. A. 2015. Latitudinal gradients in the productivity of European migrant warblers have not shifted northwards during a period of climate change. Global Ecology and Biogeography 24 : 427-436 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/geb.12267)
Finch, T., Saunders, P., Avilés, J.M., Bermejo, A., Catry, I, de la Puente, J., Emmenegger, T., Mardega, I., Mayet, P., Parejo, D., Račinskis, E, Rodríguez-Ruiz, J., Sackl, P., Schwartz, T., Tiefenbach, M., Valera, F., Hewson, C., Franco, A. and Butler, S.J. 2015. A pan-European, multipopulation assessment of migratory connectivity in a near-threatened migrant bird. Diversity and Distributions View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12345)
Gillingham, P. K., Bradbury, R. B., Roy, D. B., Anderson, B. J., Baxter, J. M., Bourn, N. A. D., Crick, H. Q. P., Findon, R. A., Fox, R., Franco, A., Hill, J. K., Hodgson, J. A., Holt, A. R., Morecroft, M. D., O'Hanlon, N. J., Oliver, T. H., Pearce-Higgins, J. W., Procter, D. A., Thomas, J. A., Walker, K. J., Walmsley, C. A., Wilson, R. J. and Thomas, C. D. 2015. The effectiveness of protected areas in the conservation of species with changing geographical ranges. Biological Journal of the Linnean Society 115 (part 3) : 707-717 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/bij.12506)
Gillings, S., Balmer, D.E. & Fuller, R.J. 2015. Directionality of recent bird distribution shifts and climate change in Great Britain. Global Change Biology 21 : 2 155-2 168 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/gcb.12823)
Johnston, A., Thaxter, C.B., Austin, G.E., Cook, A.S.C.P., Humphreys, E.M., Still, D.A., Mackay, A., Irvine, R., Webb, A. & Burton, N.H.K. 2015. Modelling the abundance and distribution of marine birds accounting for uncertain species identification. Journal of Applied Ecology 52 (part 1) : 150-160 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12364)
Massimino, D., Johnston, A., Noble, D.G. & Pearce-Higgins, J.W. 2015. Multi-species spatially-explicit indicators reveal spatially structured trends in bird communities. Ecological Indicators 58 Elsevier : 277-285 Link to Article (DOI: 10.1016/j.ecolind.2015.06.001)
Morrison, C. A., Baillie, S. R., Clark, J. A., Johnston, A., Leech, D. I., Robinson, R. A. 2015. Flexibility in the timing of post-breeding moult in passerines in the UK. Ibis 157 (part 2) : 340-350 Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/ibi.12234)
Morrison, C.A., Robinson, R.A., Clark, J.A., Leech, D.I. & Gill, J.A. 2015. Season-long consequences of shifts in timing of breeding for productivity in Willow Warblers, Phylloscopus trochilus. Bird Study 62 (part 2) : 161-169 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1080/00063657.2015.1006575)
Pavon-Jordan, D., Fox, A.D., Clausen, P., Dagys, M., Deceuninck, B., Devos, K., Hearn, R.D., Holt, C.A., Hornman, M., Keller, V., Langendoen, T., Ławicki, Ł., Lorentsen, S.H., Luigujoe, L., Meissner, W., Musil, P., Nilsson, L., Paquet, J-Y., Stipniece, A., Stroud, D.A., Wahl, J., Zenatello, M. & Lehikoinen, A. 2015. Climate-driven changes in winter abundance of a migratory waterbird in relation to EU protected areas. Diversity and Distributions 21 (part 5) : 571-582 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/ddi.12300)
Pearce-Higgins, J.W., Eglington, S.M., Martay, B. & Chamberlain, D.E. 2015. Drivers of climate change impacts on bird communities. Journal of Animal Ecology 84 (part 4) British Ecological Society : 943-954 Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12364)
Pocock, M.J.O., Newson, S.E., Henderson, I.G., Peyton, J., Sutherland, W.J., Noble, D.G., Ball, S.G., Beckmann, B.C., Biggs, J., BreretonT., Bullock, D.J., Buckland, S.T., Edwards, M., Eaton, M.A., Harvey, M.C., Hill, M.O., Horlock, M., Hubble, D.S., Julian, A.M., Mackey, E.C., Mann, D.J., Marshall, M.J., Medlock, J.M., O'Mahony, E.M., Pacheco, M., Porter. K., Prentice, S., Procter, D.A., Roy, H.E., Southway, S.E., Shortall, C.R., Stewart, A.J.A., Wembridge, D.E., Wright, M.A. & Roy, D.B. 2015. Developing and enhancing biodiversity monitoring programmes: a collaborative assessment of priorities. Journal of Applied Ecology 52 (part 3) : 686-695 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/1365-2664.12423)
Roos, S., Noble, D., Dobson, A., Howarth, P., Fielding, A., Carrington-Cotton, A., Etheridge, B. & Wernham, C. 2015. Raptors in Scotland – a methodology for developing trends and indicators. SNH Commissioned Report 542 Scottish Natural Heritage
Royan, A., Prudhomme, C., Hannah, D.M., Reynolds, S.J., Noble, D.G., & Sadler, J.P. 2015. Climate-induced changes in river flow regimes will alter future bird distributions. Ecosphere 6 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1890/ES14-00245.1)
Sharps, K., Henderson, I., Conway, G., Armour-Chelu, N. & Dolman, P.M. 2015. Home-range size and habitat use of European Nightjars Caprimulgus europaeus nesting in a complex plantation-forest landscape. Ibis 157 (part 2) : 260-272 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/ibi.12251)
Sullivan, M.J.P., Newson, S.E. & Pearce-Higgins, J.W. 2015. Evidence for the buffer effect operating in multiple species at a national scale. Biology Letters 11 (part 1) View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2014.0930)
Roy, H.D.B., Ploquin, E.F., Randle, Z., Risely, K., Botham, M.S., Middlebrook, I., Noble, D., Cruickshanks, K. Freeman, S.N. & Brereton, T.M. 2014. Comparison of trends in butterfly populations between monitoring schemes. Journal of Insect Conservation 19 (part 2) : 313-324 Link to Article (DOI: 10.1007/s10841-014-9739-0)
Van de Pol, M., Atkinson, P.W., Blew, J., Duriez, O.P.M.B., Ens, J., Hälterlein, B., Hötker, H., Laursen, K., Oosterbeek, K.H., Petersen A., Thorup, O., Tjørve, K., Triplet, P., Yésou, P. 2014. A global assessment of the conservation status of the nominate subspecies of Eurasian oystercatcher (Haematopus ostralegus ostralegus). International Wader Studies 20 : 47-61 View Abstract
Newson, S.E., Ross-Smith,V., Evans, I.,Harold, R.,Miller, R. & Barlow,K. 2014. Bat-monitoring: a novel approach. British Wildlife 25 : 264-269
De Lima, R.F., Viegas, L., Solé, N., Soares, E., Dallimer, M., Atkinson, P.W. & Barlow, J. 2014. Can management improve the value of shade plantations for the endemic species of São Tomé Island?. Biotropica 46 : 238-244 View Abstract Link to Article (DOI: 10.1111/btp.12092)
Ambrosini, R., Borgoni, R., Rubolini, D., Sicurella, B., Fiedler, W., Bairlein, F., Baillie, S.R., Robinson, R.A., Clark, J.A., Spina, F. & Saino, N. 2014. Modelling the Progression of Bird Migration with Conditional Autoregressive Models Applied to Ringing Data. PLOS ONE 9 (part 7) Link to Article (DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0102440)

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