Declining population trends of European mountain birds

• DOI: 10.1111/gcb.14522
• Publication Date: 2018-12-12T05:50:27Z
• Authors: Aleksi Lehikoinen; Lluís Brotons; John Calladine; Tommaso Campedelli; Virginia Escandell; Jiri Flousek; Christoph Grueneberg; Fredrik Haas; Sarah Harris; Sergi Herrando; Magne Husby; Frederic Jiguet; John Atle Kålås; Åke Lindström; Romain Lorrillière; Blas Molina; Clara Pladevall; Gianpiero Calvi; Thomas Sattler; Hans Schmid; Päivi M. Sirkiä; Norbert Teufelbauer; Sven Trautmann
• Keywords: Population decline; Bird conservation; Afforestation

Mountain areas often hold special species communities, and they are high on the list of conservation concern. Global warming changes in human land use, such as grazing pressure afforestation, have been suggested to be major threats for biodiversity mountain areas, affecting abundance causing distribution shifts towards mountaintops. Population poles mountaintops documented several indicating that climate change is one key drivers species' changes. Despite concern, relatively little known about population trends due low accessibility difficult working conditions. Thanks recent improvement bird monitoring schemes around Europe, we can here report a first account 44 from four European regions: Fennoscandia, UK upland, south-western (Iberia) south-central mountains (Alps), covering 12 countries. Overall, declined significantly (-7%) during 2002-2014, which similar declining rate common birds Europe same period. specialists showed significant -10% decline numbers. The slope generalists was also negative, but not so. slopes did differ each other. Fennoscandian Iberian populations were average declining, while United Kingdom Alps, nonsignificant. Temperature or migratory behaviour associated with regional species. Alpine habitats highly vulnerable change, this certainly main trends. However, observed declines partly linked local use practices. More efforts should undertaken identify causes increase these populations.