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

Area of Science:

• Ornithology
• Conservation Biology
• Spatial Ecology

Background:

• Migratory bird populations face significant declines.
• Protected areas are crucial for conservation but may not fully protect species with dynamic distributions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the overlap between protected areas and the weekly distributions of 30 migratory bird species across Europe.
• To compare this overlap against biodiversity policy protection targets.
• To investigate the relationship between protected area coverage and long-term population trends.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a pan-European citizen science bird occurrence dataset (EurobirdPortal).
• Employed Spatiotemporal Exploratory Modelling to analyze species distributions.
• Compared weekly species distributions with European protected areas and policy targets.

Main Results:

• Thirteen of 30 species had inadequate protected area coverage for parts or all of their annual cycle under 2020 targets.
• No species met adequate coverage under 2030 targets.
• Farmland-associated species exhibited the lowest protected area coverage.
• Higher protected area coverage correlated positively with better long-term population trends.

Conclusions:

• Current protected areas in Europe offer insufficient protection for many migratory bird species.
• An informed expansion of the protected area network is essential for the conservation of migratory land birds.
• Protected areas demonstrably benefit bird populations, highlighting their conservation value.