Long-term environmental influences on the ecology and conservation of river birds

环境对河鸟生态和保护的长期影响

• 批准号: 2437308
• 金额: --
• 依托单位: CARDIFF UNIVERSITY
• 依托单位国家: 英国
• 项目类别: Studentship
• 财政年份: 2020
• 资助国家: 英国
• 起止时间: 2020 至 无数据
• 项目状态: 未结题
• 来源: https://gtr.ukri.org/projects?ref=studentship-2437308
• 关键词: Long; term; environmental; influences; ecology

Covering less than 1% of Earth's surface, freshwater ecosystems host around 10% of the Earth's species and a third of all vertebrates. This includes almost 2000 bird species - roughly 20% of the global total - that depend on inland waters or their margins for all or part of their life cycle. Simultaneously, however, many of these species are exposed to multiple, global environmental stressors on freshwaters that are now responsible for rates of extinction and impairment faster than in any other ecosystem. There is a need to understand the processes, assess the consequences for ecosystems and ecosystem-services, and for management strategies to halt or reverse adverse effects. In the UK, Dippers Cinclus cinclus and Grey Wagtails Motacilla cinerea are associated closely with streams and rivers, but now have respectively 'amber' and 'red' conservation status following population decline since the 1970s. Research over 35 years has shown that 1) these species are connected integrally to the quality/quantity of invertebrate production in freshwaters (Ormerod & Tyler 1991) 2) their distribution, abundance and life histories are affected by freshwater ecosystem stressors such as pollution, persistent contaminants, plastics, climatic variation and physical habitat character (Vaughan et al. 2007; Windsor et. 2019). As a result, these species are recognised globally as indicators of the quality of rivers and their surrounding catchments. This project will use this detailed knowledge to assess factors responsible for variations in the distribution, abundance and demography of Dippers and Grey Wagtails areas of their upland range - specifically Mid/South Wales Focusing mostly on rural rivers, we will pay attention to growing concerns about the influence of intensifying agriculture on the ecology of rivers and river birds to ask: How do the distribution, abundance and demography of river birds relate to land use in space/time, and through what freshwater ecological processes? Specifically:i) How does land use affect the breeding performance, demography and fitness of river birds?ii) How does land use alter freshwater prey availability and prey use for river birds?iii) How do land use effects on water quality and physical habitat affect river birds?iv) How does land use affect pollutant exposure in river birds?v) Is there any evidence that mitigation strategies in catchments or riparian zone can offset any adverse effects revealed by i) to iv)?

淡水生态系统覆盖不到1%的地球表面，但却容纳了地球上约10%的物种和三分之一的脊椎动物。这包括近2000种鸟类--约占全球总数的20%--它们的全部或部分生命周期都依赖于内陆沃茨或其边缘。然而，与此同时，这些物种中的许多都暴露在淡水的多重全球环境压力下，这些压力现在比任何其他生态系统都更快地导致灭绝和损害的速度。有必要了解这些过程，评估对生态系统和生态系统服务的影响，并制定管理战略，以制止或扭转不利影响。在英国，Dippers Cinclus cinclus和Grey Wagtails Motacilla cinerea与溪流和河流密切相关，但自20世纪70年代以来，随着人口的减少，现在分别拥有“琥珀色”和“红色”的保护地位。35年来的研究表明，1）这些物种与淡水中无脊椎动物生产的质量/数量密切相关（Ormerod和泰勒，1991年）2）它们的分布、丰度和生活史受到淡水生态系统压力因素的影响，如污染、持久性污染物、塑料、气候变化和自然栖息地特征（Vaughan等人，2007年;温莎等人，2008年）。2019年）。因此，这些物种被全球公认为河流及其周围集水区质量的指标。该项目将利用这些详细的知识来评估导致高地范围内杓鹬和灰长尾鹬地区的分布、丰度和人口统计变化的因素--特别是威尔士中部/南部，主要关注农村河流，我们将关注人们对日益增长的担忧农业集约化对河流和河鸟生态的影响：河流鸟类的分布、丰度和数量与土地利用在空间/时间上有何关系，以及通过何种淡水生态过程？具体而言：i）土地利用如何影响河流鸟类的繁殖性能，人口统计学和健身？ii）土地利用如何改变淡水猎物的可用性和河鸟的猎物利用？土地使用对水质和自然栖息地的影响如何影响河流鸟类？土地利用如何影响河流鸟类的污染物暴露？v）是否有任何证据表明，集水区或河岸带的缓解战略可以抵消i）至iv）所揭示的任何不利影响？