Long-term changes in the abundance and phenology of migrating insects as potential drivers of population change in insectivorous birds and bats

各大洲的昆虫数量都出现了戏剧性的下降，但很少有研究将这些下降与鸟类和蝙蝠等较高营养水平的影响联系起来。使用世界级的Rothamsted昆虫调查(RIS)数据，我们将调查鸟类和蝙蝠如何对昆虫迁徙季节性时间的提前以及英国各地昆虫分布和丰度的变化做出反应，方法是将RIS数据与广泛的国家蝙蝠监测计划数据和英国鸟类学信托基金的振铃、巢记录和繁殖鸟类调查数据进行匹配，以得出有影响的25年趋势。将进行实地实验，以估计昆虫迁徙事件与鸟类和蝙蝠活动之间的空间关系的强度，以测试这些群体是否与它们的昆虫猎物越来越不匹配。我们将估计景观结构、气候和其他非生物和生物驱动因素在这些趋势中的作用。该项目具有很强的多学科性质，借鉴了生物学、生物物理学和行为生态学，其核心是强大的数学和统计学部分。蝙蝠保护信托基金(BCT)和英国鸟类学信托基金是这项研究的利益相关者，随着这项研究产生的新理解，BCT/BTO将把研究结果转化为对土地所有者有意义的建议，并向政策制定者、土地所有者和农业机构推广这些建议。这项研究的结果还将与欧洲蝙蝠关于昆虫衰退对欧洲蝙蝠种群的威胁的闭会期间工作组分享，并通过BTO的KE活动为鸟类学实践提供信息。

Dramatic declines in insect abundance has been shown across continents, but few studies have linked these declines with impacts on higher trophic levels, such as birds and bats. Using the world-class Rothamsted Insect Survey (RIS) data, we will investigate how birds and bats respond to advances in the seasonal timing of insect migrations as well as changes in the distribution and abundance of insects across the UK, by matching RIS data with extensive National Bat Monitoring Programme data and British Trust for Ornithology ringing, nest records and Breeding Bird Survey data to derive impactful 25-year trends. Field experiments will be conducted to estimate the strength of the spatial relationship between insect migration events and birds and bat activity in order to test whether these groups are increasingly mismatched with their insect prey. We will estimate the role of landscape structure, climate and other abiotic and biotic drivers on these trends. The project is strongly multidisciplinary, drawing on biology, biophysics and behavioural ecology and has at its core, strongmathematical and statistical components. The Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) and the British Trust for Ornithology are stakeholders in this studentship and with new understanding generated from this research, BCT/BTO will translate findings into meaningful advice for land owners, and promote this advice to policy makers, land owners and farming bodies. The results of the study will also be shared with the Eurobats Intersessional Working Group on Insect Decline as a Threat to Bat Populations in Europe and inform ornithological practice through BTO's KE events.