A global analysis of the effectiveness of Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas for conserving the world's birds

保护的一个主要挑战是确定重要的保护地点，以有效地保护生物多样性。系统地确定的最大的重要物种保护地点网络是国际鸟类和生物多样性国际组织的重要鸟类和生物多样性区域(IBA)网络。包括陆地、淡水和海洋环境在内的200个国家已经确定了超过13000个IBAS。然而，一些国家的清单已经过时，同时我们对物种的分布、种群和威胁的理解也有了重大修订。此外，只有21%的IBAS完全被保护区覆盖，超过250个地点被评估为“濒危IBAS”。IBAS在促进生物多样性持续存在方面的有效性以前没有得到充分评估。该博士学位的目的是评估IBANN网络在保护鸟类和其他生物多样性方面的充分性，并确定其未来扩展的优先事项。目标是：1)衡量国际鸟类协会在全球范围内捕获鸟类生物多样性的有效性；2)查明国际鸟类协会网络在物种、群落和栖息地方面的不足、原因和优先事项；3)评估国际鸟类协会内栖息地丧失、碎片化、边缘效应和生境退化的模式，并探讨对保护鸟类物种和群落网络有效性的潜在影响；Iv)评估IBA对生物多样性的其他方面的保护程度，包括非鸟类分类群、生态系统、进化遗产和功能多样性。该项目将由BirdLife共同监督，并将使用不同的数据集(例如IBA触发物种列表、物种范围图、栖息地面积图、来自e-Bird的点出现数据，以及来自IBA的系统监测数据)。它将适合对实际保护理论、鸟类、全球生物多样性挑战和数据处理感兴趣的学生。

A major challenge for conservation is to identify importantsites to efficiently safeguard biodiversity. The largestsystematically identified network of important sites forconserving species is BirdLife International's Important Birdand Biodiversity Area (IBA) network.IBAs are sites of international significance for theconservation of birds and other biodiversity. Over 13,000IBAs, including terrestrial, freshwater and marineenvironments, have been identified in >200 countries.However, some national inventories are dated, while therehave been major revisions to our understanding ofspecies's distributions, populations, and threats.Furthermore, only 21% of IBAs are completely covered byprotected areas and more than 250 sites have beenassessed as 'IBAs in Danger'.The effectiveness of IBAs in contributing to the persistenceof biodiversity has not previously been fully assessed. Theaim of this PhD is to assess the adequacy of the IBAnetwork in conserving birds and other aspects ofbiodiversity, and to identify priorities for its futureexpansion. The objectives are to:i) measure the effectiveness of IBAs at capturing avianbiodiversity at global scales;ii) identify shortfalls, in species, communities, and habitatsin the IBA network, the reasons for these, and priorities forfilling them;iii) assess patterns of habitat loss, fragmentation, edgeeffects & habitat degradation within IBAs and explore thepotential impacts on the effectiveness of the network forconserving avian species and communities;iv) assess the degree to which IBAs conserve otheraspects of biodiversity, including non-avian taxa,ecosystems, evolutionary heritage, and functional diversity.The project will be co-supervised by BirdLife and will usediverse data sets (e.g. IBA trigger species lists, species'range maps, Area of Habitat maps, point-occurrence datafrom e-Bird, and data from systematic monitoring of IBAs).It would suit a student with a keen interest in practicalconservation theory, birds, global biodiversity challenges,and data handling.