The Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC) - the Chizé Centre for Biological Studies

Aktivitet: Typer för besök till extern institutionAkademisk besök på annan institution

Beskrivning

Study on cost-effectiveness of conservation measures for breeding Montagu’s harriers

Different conservation measures to prevent nest destruction of mechanic crop harvesting in agricultural areas have been implemented in several areas where breeding Montagu’s harriers occur in Europe (such as in Spain, France, Italy). The measures include: Creation of a small buffer (with or without a fence; usually 4m2 in size) which would retain the standing crop around the nest; purchase of the whole cultivated crop with a nest; delay the harvest time; relocate chicks just before harvest to the nearest field edge; remove, captive breed and later release of the chicks; setting a protection area which covers the whole subpopulation (such as SPAs, since the species breeds in clusters referred to as colonies or subpopulations). Some of these measures are expensive (like land purchase), others are totally voluntary in terms of searching for nests and, in many cases, setting aside the small crop area with a buffer zone. So far, no evaluation of which of these measures works best at improving breeding success of the harriers has been made, so that each measure is currently used with no clear evidence of its effect. We aim to answer the question of which of such measures is the most cost-effective. To do so, we have started collating all data (during my Spanish visit) available for subpopulations in several regions of Spain, France and Italy for multiple years. For each subpopulation in each year, we are recording the average number of fledglings per nest under a specific conservation measure, and details of the conservation program, such as number of volunteers involved and the cost of the program, as well as the harvest date. Ideally we’ll be able to analyse the data using mixed models (with region and year as random), to be able to tell which measure provides the highest harrier productivity (response: average No. fledglings / nest), and then discuss the cost-effectiveness of each measure.
Period10 juli 201220 juli 2012
På besökThe Centre d'Études Biologiques de Chizé (CEBC) - the Chizé Centre for Biological Studies
OmfattningInternationell