Protected area (PA) networks will remain valuable for conservation, as the global environment changes, if they facilitate the colonization of new regions by species that are shifting their geographical ranges. We tested the extent to which wetland bird species colonizing the UK since 1960 have exploited PAs. Colonization commenced in a PA for all six species that established permanent (greater than 10 years) breeding populations in the UK during this period. Subsequently, birds started to breed outside as well as inside PAs: the colonizing species showing declining fractions of breeding within PAs over time, a trend not seen in already-resident species. PAs were valuable as 'landing pads' for range-shifting species first arriving in a new region, and then as 'establishment centres' from which viable populations spread. Given future projections of range change across a broad range of taxonomic groups, this role for PAs can be expected to become increasingly important.

Aims To investigate how habitat change and different levels of protection interact to determine variation in the (alpha and beta) diversity of bird communities in three bioclimatic zones, considering the impacts of non-native species, and the contribution of these effects to global (gamma) diversity.Location Sierra Gorda Biosphere Reserve, central Mexico.Methods We carried out bird surveys in a number of locations which varied according to their underlying vegetation type, their level of protection and the degree to which they had undergone modification by humans. We conducted a range of analyses to determine the impacts of protection and modification on the richness and mean global population trends of the species found in each location. We compared community composition to assess the homogenization effect of habitat modification.Results Human-modified environments in each of three bioclimatic zones held significantly greater numbers of species (alpha diversity) than unmodified habitats. Human-mediated changes to local bird communities altered patterns of beta diversity in opposite directions; communities across bioclimatic zones were more similar to one another in modified areas than in unmodified areas but, on a local scale, modification of vegetation increased community dissimilarity. The changes are likely to contribute to a decline in global (gamma) diversity, given that globally vulnerable (declining) birds were mostly associated with unmodified, strictly protected areas.Main conclusions We highlight that assessment of human impacts and conservation need depends on the metric of biodiversity used and scale considered: small-scale habitat change increased local and regional avian diversity but strictly protected areas are still required to protect globally vulnerable species.

Aim Protected wildlife habitats provide valuable stepping stones for species that shift their distributions in response to climatic and other environmental changes, but they might also aid the spread of invasive alien species. Here, we quantify the use of protected areas (PAs) by both introduced and natural wetland colonists in the UK to analyse patterns of colonization and examine the propensity of invaders to use PAs. Location United Kingdom. Methods We calculate PA associations for six species of wetland birds deliberately introduced to the UK and compare these with eight others that have recently colonized the UK naturally. We assess PA associations at three different stages of establishment – first breeding in each county, early establishment of a population (4–6 years after initial breeding) and subsequent consolidation (14–16 after initial breeding) – and analyse changes in PA association over time. Results Introduced wetland bird species were less associated with PAs than natural colonists at each stage of establishment. During the later stages of colonization, the PA association of introduced species tended to increase. In contrast, natural colonists usually colonized PAs first, and their established populations subsequently spread into non‐PA sites. Main conclusions The United Kingdom PA network did not facilitate the invasion of introduced species during the initial stages of their colonization, but was vulnerable to colonization as populations established. This is in contrast to natural colonists, which are more reliant on PAs during initial colonization but become less dependent as they establish. During a period of rapid environmental change, PAs have facilitated expansions of natural colonists, without acting as the prime sites for invasion by introduced species.

Reporto los primeros registros documentados de Childonias niger, Tringa semipalmata y Charadrius nivosus para el estado de Querétaro. Cada una de estas especies se encontró en el embalse ‘El Centenario’, Tequisquiapan, durante 2010-2011. Estas observaciones sugieran la importancia potencial de los embalses de México central para las aves.

I present a noteworthy breeding record for the state of Querétaro in central Mexico. In addition, I demonstrate records of six species which have not previously been documented in the state. All were seen on a series of reservoirs in the lower half of the state. These further additions to the Querétaro avifauna confirm the importance of these water bodies to a wide range of species.