Expanding protected area coverage for migratory birds could improve long-term population trends

Populations of many migratory taxa have been declining over recent decades. Although protected areas are a cornerstone for conservation, their role in protecting migratory species can be incomplete due to the dynamic distributions of these species. Here, we use a pan-European citizen science bird occurrence dataset (EurobirdPortal) with Spatiotemporal Exploratory Modelling to assess how the weekly distributions of 30 passerine and near passerine species overlap with protected areas in Europe and compare this to range adjusted policy protection targets. Thirteen of our 30 species were inadequately covered by protected areas for some, or all, of the European part of their annual cycle under a target based on the 2020 Convention on Biodiversity framework and none were adequately covered under a target based on the 2030 Convention on Biodiversity framework. Species associated with farmland had the lowest percentage of their weekly distribution protected. The percentage of a species' distribution within protected areas was positively correlated with its long-term population trend, even after accounting for confounding factors, suggesting a positive influence of protected areas on long-term trends. This emphasises the positive contribution that an informed expansion of the European protected area system could play for the future conservation of migratory land birds.

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Publication Details

Journal
Nature Communications
Published
2025-02-20
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57019-x
Citations
4
Primary Topic
Species Distribution and Climate Change
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
7.35

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article

Expanding protected area coverage for migratory birds could improve long-term population trends

Jennifer A. Border, Philip A. Stephens, Stephen R. Baillie, Jeffrey O. Hanson et al.
4 citations
Nature Communications
Species Distribution and Climate Change
7.35
article

Expanding protected area coverage for migratory birds could improve long-term population trends

Jennifer A. Border, Philip A. Stephens, Stephen R. Baillie, Jeffrey O. Hanson, Ruud Foppen, H. Sierdsema, Gabriel Gargallo, Chris M. Hewson, Stephen G. Willis, Richard A. Fuller, James W. Pearce‐Higgins, Daniel Fink, Christine Howard
article en
4 citations

Abstract

Populations of many migratory taxa have been declining over recent decades. Although protected areas are a cornerstone for conservation, their role in protecting migratory species can be incomplete due to the dynamic distributions of these species. Here, we use a pan-European citizen science bird occurrence dataset (EurobirdPortal) with Spatiotemporal Exploratory Modelling to assess how the weekly distributions of 30 passerine and near passerine species overlap with protected areas in Europe and compare this to range adjusted policy protection targets. Thirteen of our 30 species were inadequately covered by protected areas for some, or all, of the European part of their annual cycle under a target based on the 2020 Convention on Biodiversity framework and none were adequately covered under a target based on the 2030 Convention on Biodiversity framework. Species associated with farmland had the lowest percentage of their weekly distribution protected. The percentage of a species' distribution within protected areas was positively correlated with its long-term population trend, even after accounting for confounding factors, suggesting a positive influence of protected areas on long-term trends. This emphasises the positive contribution that an informed expansion of the European protected area system could play for the future conservation of migratory land birds.

Nature CommunicationsVol. 16(1)
University of East Anglia (GB), Institut Català d'Ornitologia (ES), Radboud University Nijmegen (NL), The University of Queensland (AU), Durham University (GB), Cornell University (US), Radboud University Medical Center (NL), Radboud Institute for Molecular Life Sciences (NL), Dutch Centre for Field Ornithology (NL), Centre for Research on Ecology and Forestry Applications (ES), Conservation Leadership Programme (GB), Czech Society for Ornithology (CZ), Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Carleton University (CA), British Trust for Ornithology (GB)
Sight Research UK, Durham University, Nature Conservancy of Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, Natural Environment Research Council
Life in Land
Openalex Percentile: Top 4%
Species Distribution and Climate Change
7.35
DOIOpen Access PDFOpenAlex
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