Alarming decline and range reduction of the highly threatened Great Bustard <i>Otis tarda</i> in Morocco

Alonso, Juan Carlos; Palacı́n, Carlos; Onrubia, Alejandro; Aboulouafae, Rachid; Amezian, Mohamed; Essougrati, Abdelaziz El Idrissi; Khamlichi, Rachid El; Noaman, Mohamed

doi:10.2989/00306525.2016.1209591

Cited by 3 publications

(2 citation statements)

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“…However, as with many of the other Great Bustard populations in the world (e.g. Horreo et al 2013, Barati et al 2015, Vada ´sz and Lo ´ra ´nt 2015, Alonso et al 2016, Wang et al 2018, leading causes of Great Bustard population declines in Turkey are human-related.…”

Section: Threats and Conservation Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current status of Great Bustard Otis tarda in Turkey: population size, distribution, movements, and threats

Özgencil

Akarsu

Karataş

et al. 2021

Bird Conservation International

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Summary The Great Bustard Otis tarda is a globally threatened species with populations inhabiting the steppe zones of Turkey. In recent decades, its populations in Turkey have suffered severe declines in range and size. Although the remaining populations are in urgent need of protection, there has been no national-scale study on the species since 2009, and huge information gaps remain concerning its range, abundance, and movements in the country. Here, we combined data from five years of fieldwork together with all available sight and literature records to present up-to-date estimates of distribution and population size in Turkey, to better understand its movement patterns, to reveal its recent and historical population changes, and to assess its national extinction risk and threats. We find that the species’ breeding population has shrunk by 20–29% over the last five years, and there are only 559–780 breeding Great Bustards in Turkey distributed in two discrete subpopulations. Comparison with historical records shows that the species’ range has shrunk by at least 60% since the beginning of the 20th century. We suggest possible migratory routes within and through Turkey and that Turkey might have a higher regional importance for the species than previously thought. Illegal hunting, agricultural intensification, shift to irrigated crops, overgrazing, collision with powerlines, and disturbance are the most severe threats to the species in Turkey. Our national Red List assessment yields an Endangered categorisation. Further studies are needed to understand the metapopulation structure and movements of the species and to conserve its remaining populations in Turkey.

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Section: Threats and Conservation Measuresmentioning

confidence: 99%

Current status of Great Bustard Otis tarda in Turkey: population size, distribution, movements, and threats

Özgencil

Akarsu

Karataş

et al. 2021

Bird Conservation International

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“…Wind farms threaten southern Africa's cliff-nesting vultures (Rushworth and Krüger 2014) Taxon cycles in the Lesser Antillean avifauna (Ricklefs and Bermingham 1999) Wind farms threaten southern Africa's cliff-nesting vultures (Rushworth and Krüger 2014) Aspects of the foraging behaviour of the Shoebill (Guillet 1979) Behaviour of the Cattle Egret Ardeola ibis (Blaker 1969) Alarming decline and range reduction of the highly threatened Great Bustard Otis tarda in Morocco (Alonso et al 2016) Post-mortem examination and sampling of African flamingos (Phoenicopteridae) under field conditions (Cooper et al 2014) Functional and evolutionary morphology of woodpeckers (Bock 1999) Ecology and behaviour of Palm-nut Vultures Gypohierax angolensis in the Bijagós Archipelago, Guinea-Bissau (Carneiro et al 2017) The impact of high temperatures on foraging behaviour and body condition in the Western Australian Magpie Cracticus tibicen dorsalis (Edwards et al 2015) Climate change and birds: Perspectives and prospects from southern Africa (Simmons et al 2004) The taxonomic position and breeding range of Golden Nightjar Caprimulgus eximius (Caprimulgidae) (Lawrie et al 2017) Kalahari vulture declines, through the eyes of meerkats (Thorley and Clutton-Brock 2017)…”

Section: )mentioning

confidence: 99%

A celebration of 90 years of Ostrich: a review of past, present, and future directions

Lee

2020

Ostrich

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View related articles View Crossmark data Citing articles: 1 View citing articles EDITORIAL A celebration of 90 years of Ostrich: a review of past, present, and future directions iii The year 2020 is the 90th anniversary of Ostrich: Journal of African Ornithology. This is an estimable age for a journal, but as a consequence the origins and evolution of the journal are somewhat shrouded in time for younger ornithologists, or not known at all to those focusing their ornithological interests in Africa but based elsewhere. The journal recently achieved its highest 5-year impact factor ever in 2019, after achieving its highest ever 2-year impact factor for 2016. Altogether, it is thus fitting to undertake some research to answer fundamental questions of the journal's history to inform the modern reader on the origins and changes that the journal has experienced over the course of its history. In relation to other histories of African ornithology, this article focuses specifically on the journal, rather than the societies to which it has been affiliated. The journal has over 3000 articles that are digitally indexed since its inception in 1930. We use this database to explore some trends and themes of the evolution of Ostrich over its sometimes-turbulent history, placing it in the context of modern ornithology, contributors, publishing, and where it should be headed into the future. Introduction Ostrich, the scientific journal of BirdLife South Africa, has for a long time advertised itself as the leading journal of African Ornithology. But where did it come from and how did it get there? In this review, I explore the Ostrich archives to compare where the journal is now in relation to what was published in the past. The purpose of this article is not a history of ornithology, or even South African ornithology (for that please read Roy Siegfried's (2016) Levaillant's Legacy or Richard Dean's (2017) Warriors, Dilettantes and Businessmen), or the history of the South African Ornithological Society (SAOS, now BirdLife South Africa), although Ostrich history is intertwined with the SAOS for the first few decades of its existence. For that history, Ashton's (1980) article on the topic is still the most relevant, focusing on the society, prominent members, presidents, and past editors of Ostrich. Since most preeminent ornithologists of this century favour international journals for publishing their research, we also cannot pretend that this review represents the status of research in Africa (that is best read in Beale's (2018a) Trends and themes in African ornithology). Instead, this article is more aligned to 'Sixty years of Ostrich' (Craig 1988), in terms of a reflection of where Ostrich is now in the context of research in Africa and the context in which Ostrich finds itself: rated as one of the world's top 20 ornithological journals, but competing unevenly with international journals due to a narrower niche and impact factor trap, which I will explain later in this article. Thirty years ago, a central consideration for an a...

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A comparison of migrant and resident bird population changes in South Africa using citizen science data: trends in relation to Northern Hemisphere distribution

Lee

Hammer²

2022

Ostrich

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Alarming decline and range reduction of the highly threatened Great Bustard Otis tarda in Morocco

Cited by 3 publications

References 11 publications

Current status of Great Bustard Otis tarda in Turkey: population size, distribution, movements, and threats

Current status of Great Bustard Otis tarda in Turkey: population size, distribution, movements, and threats

A celebration of 90 years of Ostrich: a review of past, present, and future directions

A comparison of migrant and resident bird population changes in South Africa using citizen science data: trends in relation to Northern Hemisphere distribution

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