Expanding protected area coverage for migratory birds could improve long-term population trends

Border, Jennifer A.; Pearce-Higgins, James W.; Hewson, Chris M.; Howard, Christine; Stephens, Philip A.; Willis, Stephen G.; Fuller, Richard A.; Hanson, Jeffrey O.; Sierdsema, Henk; Foppen, Ruud P. B.; Brotons, Lluís; Gargallo, Gabriel; Fink, Daniel; Baillie, Stephen R.

Abstract

Populations of many migratory taxa have been declining over recent decades. Although protected areas are a cornerstone for conservation, their role in protecting migratory species can be incomplete due to the dynamic distributions of these species. Here, we use a pan-European citizen science bird occurrence dataset (EurobirdPortal) with Spatiotemporal Exploratory Modelling to assess how the weekly distributions of 30 passerine and near passerine species overlap with protected areas in Europe and compare this to range adjusted policy protection targets. Thirteen of our 30 species were inadequately covered by protected areas for some, or all, of the European part of their annual cycle under a target based on the 2020 Convention on Biodiversity framework and none were adequately covered under a target based on the 2030 Convention on Biodiversity framework. Species associated with farmland had the lowest percentage of their weekly distribution protected. The percentage of a species’ distribution within protected areas was positively correlated with its long-term population trend, even after accounting for confounding factors, suggesting a positive influence of protected areas on long-term trends. This emphasises the positive contribution that an informed expansion of the European protected area system could play for the future conservation of migratory land birds.

Citation

Border, J. A., Pearce-Higgins, J. W., Hewson, C. M., Howard, C., Stephens, P. A., Willis, S. G., Fuller, R. A., Hanson, J. O., Sierdsema, H., Foppen, R. P. B., Brotons, L., Gargallo, G., Fink, D., & Baillie, S. R. (2025). Expanding protected area coverage for migratory birds could improve long-term population trends. Nature Communications, 16(1), Article 1813. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57019-x

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Feb 4, 2025
• Online Publication Date: Feb 20, 2025
• Publication Date: Feb 20, 2025
• Deposit Date: Feb 26, 2025
• Publicly Available Date: Feb 26, 2025
• Journal: Nature Communications
• Electronic ISSN: 2041-1723
• Publisher: Nature Research
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 16
• Issue: 1
• Article Number: 1813
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-025-57019-x
• Public URL: https://durham-repository.worktribe.com/output/3548385
• Additional Information: Received: 18 April 2024; Accepted: 4 February 2025; First Online: 20 February 2025; : The authors declare no competing interests.