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)?

淡水生态系统覆盖地球表面不到 1%，但却栖息着地球上约 10% 的物种和三分之一的脊椎动物。其中包括近 2000 种鸟类（约占全球总数的 20%），它们的全部或部分生命周期依赖于内陆水域或其边缘。然而，与此同时，这些物种中的许多都暴露在淡水上的多种全球环境压力下，这些压力现在导致灭绝和损害的速度比任何其他生态系统都要快。有必要了解这些过程，评估对生态系统和生态系统服务的后果，并制定管理策略来阻止或扭转不利影响。在英国，Dippers Cinclus cinclus 和灰鹡鸰 Motacilla cinerea 与溪流和河流密切相关，但随着 20 世纪 70 年代以来种群数量下降，现在分别处于“琥珀”和“红色”保护状态。超过 35 年的研究表明 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 & Tyler 1991) 2) 它们的分布、丰度和生活史受到淡水生态系统压力源的影响，例如污染、持续性污染物、塑料、气候变化和自然栖息地特征（Vaughan 等人，2007 年；Windsor 等人，2019 年）。因此，这些物种被全球公认为河流及其周围流域质量的指标。该项目将利用这些详细知识来评估导致北斗七星和灰鹡鸰高地分布区（特别是中/南威尔士）分布、丰度和人口统计变化的因素，主要关注农村河流，我们将关注日益增长的关于集约化农业对河流和河鸟生态的影响 提出问题：河鸟的分布、数量和数量与空间/时间上的土地利用有何关系，以及通过哪些淡水生态过程产生关系？具体来说：i) 土地利用如何影响河鸟的繁殖表现、人口统计和健康状况？ii) 土地利用如何改变河鸟的淡水猎物供应和猎物用途？iii) 土地利用如何影响水质和自然栖息地影响河流鸟类？iv) 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区的缓解策略可以抵消 i) 至 iv) 所揭示的任何不利影响？