Selecting Piscivorous Bird Species for Monitoring Environmental Change in the Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania

Veen, Jan; Dallmeijer, Hanneke; Veen, Thor

doi:10.5253/arde.v106i1.a7

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…Finally, low‐elevated sandy islands such as Nair, Toufat, and Zira are particularly vulnerable to sea‐level rise, and the presence of nesting bird colonies is a significant ecological issue (Veen et al 2018). The Mauritanian Spoonbill ( Platalea leucorodia balsaci ) and the Slender‐billed Gull ( Larus genei ) breed mostly on the threatened island of Nair (north of Tidra).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Breeding colonies at risk of flooding in the National Park of Banc d’Arguin. Adapted from Veen et al (2018). …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given their high mobility, they not only provide ecosystem services in Mauritania but in all other countries along the East Atlantic Flyway, at least. According to Veen et al (2018), all five species of birds that breed on the islands of Nair and Zira (the Mauritanian Spoonbill, the Slender‐billed Gull, the Caspian and Royal Terns, and the White‐breasted Cormorant) could be suitable indicators of fish biodiversity and environmental change.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given their high mobility, they not only provide ecosystem services in Mauritania but in all other countries along the East Atlantic Flyway, at least. According to Veen et al (2018), all five species of birds that breed on the islands of Nair and Zira (Grivaud 2012). Proximity to the shore corresponds to the distance separating dwellings and infrastructures to the coast (expressed as shortest distance − longest distance in m).…”

Section: Vulnerability To Coastal Hazard Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coastal protection assessment: a tradeoff between ecological, social, and economic issues

et al. 2021

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Marine coastal ecosystems are crucial to human populations in reducing disaster risk. Least Developed Countries are particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change, such as sea-level rise and storm surges. The Mauritanian coast, West Africa, ranks among the most vulnerable worldwide to sealevel rise, and coastal communities in the National Park of Banc d'Arguin (PNBA) are particularly at risk. Here, we assessed the service of coastal protection in PNBA by (1) mapping the coastal marine ecosystems with Sentinel-2 imagery and determining their spatial wave height attenuation rates; (2) assessing the vulnerability of villages and natural habitats to coastal hazard risk; and (3) assessing the applicability of coastal protection measures in the PNBA. We found that a total of 83% of the populated coastline presents a moderate to high risk of flooding and erosion, with Iwik and R'Gueiba being the most threatened villages in the PNBA. As for the ecological risk, two low-elevated islands, which support breeding colonies of birds, are particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise. However, in other areas, the rupture in the dune cord created new lagoons that present valuable ecological and economic interests like the Lagoon of Bellaat. Improving the comprehension of wave attenuation provided by coastal habitats, combined with identifying the vulnerability and applicability of coastal protection measures, is essential for achieving the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction goals. In the PNBA, relocation of identified villages at risk is probably the best cost-effective solution with the least disturbance to both breeding and wintering birds. Protection of coastal ecosystems will also ensure a continued provision of other ecosystem services, including food supply for sea dependent populations, and contribute to achieving the Paris Agreement and Sustainable Development Goals.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Breeding colonies at risk of flooding in the National Park of Banc d’Arguin. Adapted from Veen et al (2018). …”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Given their high mobility, they not only provide ecosystem services in Mauritania but in all other countries along the East Atlantic Flyway, at least. According to Veen et al (2018), all five species of birds that breed on the islands of Nair and Zira (Grivaud 2012). Proximity to the shore corresponds to the distance separating dwellings and infrastructures to the coast (expressed as shortest distance − longest distance in m).…”

Section: Vulnerability To Coastal Hazard Riskmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Coastal protection assessment: a tradeoff between ecological, social, and economic issues

et al. 2021

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“…Hence, piscivorous birds in Banc d'Arguin which forage mainly on small prey may have profited from both the removal of the top predators and commercial fisheries. This bird group, however, consists of species with different ecological requirements (Veen et al 2018), so the specific reasons will differ between species.…”

Section: Interpreting Trends In Bird Numbersmentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in the waterbird community of the Parc National du Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania, 1980–2017

Oudman

Schekkerman

Kidee

et al. 2020

Bird Conservation International

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Summary The Parc National du Banc d’Arguin in Mauritania hosts the largest concentrations of coastal waterbirds along the East Atlantic Flyway. In spite of this importance, a review of the changes in the numbers of waterbirds in the area is lacking since the first complete count in 1980. Here we analysed the seven complete waterbird counts made since then, and the additional yearly counts made in one subunit (Iwik region) since 2003. We present evidence for changes in the community composition of waterbirds over the past four decades. Total waterbird numbers showed a decrease between 1980 and 2017, with only Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus showing a significant increase in numbers. Five species showed significant declines: Long-tailed Cormorant Phalacrocorax africanus, Red Knot Calidris canutus, Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa lapponica, Eurasian Curlew Numenius arquata, and Western Marsh Harrier Circus aeruginosus. In the remaining species, the variation in numbers between counts was too large, and the number of complete counts too small, for trends to be detected. The yearly counts at Iwik region also showed sharp decreases in the numbers of Red Knot, Bar-tailed Godwit, and Marsh Harrier, but not of Long-tailed Cormorant and Eurasian Curlew. A multivariate analysis revealed a significant change in species composition over time, which was caused mainly by changes in the species depending on the intertidal mudflats for feeding (generally in decline) vs. the species depending on fish and crustaceans in the sublittoral and offshore zones (often showing increases).

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21 000 birds in 4.5 h: efficient large‐scale seabird detection with machine learning

Kellenberger

Veen

Folmer³

et al. 2021

Remote Sens Ecol Conserv

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We address the task of automatically detecting and counting seabirds in unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) imagery using deep convolutional neural networks (CNNs). Our study area, the coast of West Africa, harbours significant breeding colonies of terns and gulls, which as top predators in the food web function as important bioindicators for the health of the marine ecosystem. Surveys to estimate breeding numbers have hitherto been carried out on foot, which is tedious, imprecise and causes disturbance. By using UAVs and CNNs that allow localizing tens of thousands of birds automatically, we show that all three limitations can be addressed elegantly. As we employ a lightweight CNN architecture and incorporate prior knowledge about the spatial distribution of birds within the colonies, we were able to reduce the number of bird annotations required for CNN training to just 200 examples per class. Our model obtains good accuracy for the most abundant species of royal terns (90% precision at 90% recall), but is less accurate for the rarer Caspian terns and gull species (60% precision at 68% recall, respectively 20% precision at 88% recall), which amounts to around 7% of all individuals present. In sum, our results show that we can detect and classify the majority of 21 000 birds in just 4.5 h, start to finish, as opposed to about 3 weeks of tediously identifying and labelling all birds by hand.

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Selecting Piscivorous Bird Species for Monitoring Environmental Change in the Banc d'Arguin, Mauritania

Cited by 13 publications

References 33 publications

Coastal protection assessment: a tradeoff between ecological, social, and economic issues

Coastal protection assessment: a tradeoff between ecological, social, and economic issues

Changes in the waterbird community of the Parc National du Banc d’Arguin, Mauritania, 1980–2017

21 000 birds in 4.5 h: efficient large‐scale seabird detection with machine learning

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