Site-based adaptation reduces the negative effects of weather upon a southern range margin Welsh black grouse Tetrao tetrix population that is vulnerable to climate change

Rare and declining bird species benefit most from designating protected areas for conservation in the UK

“…Thus, those species with the most positive effects of PA on their status and trend also showed higher rates of breeding success in PAs. There is growing evidence in support of management interventions being effective in boosting the breeding success of birds of conservation concern 36 , 37 , contributing to positive associations between those species and protected areas 25 , 36 , 38 , and the potential to stem or reverse species declines more generally 39 . The lack of a positive relationship between productivity and PA extent and abundance trend across species (Supplementary Table 3 ) suggests either that PAs are not associated with greater habitat quality (and many are in ‘unfavourable’ condition 11 ) or, given that they tend to be associated with greater rates of occurrence and higher abundance, there may be density-dependent limits to productivity in PAs.…”

Phenological tracking of a seasonal climate window in a recovering tropical island bird species

“…Adaptive responses to a changing climate may involve physiological and behavioural (phenotypic) plasticity, spatial or elevational range shifts or evolutionary changes, without which local extirpation or complete extinction are increasingly likely (Williams et al 2008;Dawson et al 2011) and management interventions become necessary (e.g. Pearce-Higgins et al 2019). Island-endemic species are generally regarded as particularly vulnerable to climate change.…”

Drivers of black grouse trends in the French Alps: The prevailing contribution of climate

“…These results suggest that mountain bird species may be drastically affected by ongoing climate change, perhaps even more than by increased recreational activities. The black grouse, like other mountain birds, is expected to experience even more marked changes in abundance in response to profound changes in trophic networks through cascading effects linked to increasing climate change (Larson et al, 2019; Lyly et al, 2016; Ockendon et al., 2014; Pearce‐Higgins et al., 2019). This conclusion, however, should be tempered by the fact that major components of bird population dynamics are habitat quality and its dynamics in space and time—information that was unfortunately not available in this study (Angelstam, 2004; Ludwig et al., 2009; Pearce‐Higgins, 2006).…”

“…Despite its large global population, like all alpine Galliformes, the species is considered in need of conservation and is listed in Annex I and II of the EU Birds Directive (Storch, 2007). The black grouse is a particularly relevant case study for investigating the interactions and relative contribution of different global changes as the species is expected to be sensitive to pressures such as habitat fragmentation (Kurki et al., 2000; Kuki et Linden, 1995), forest maturation (Pearce‐Higgins et al., 2006), either shrub encroachment of alpine pastures (Dettenmaier et al., 2017; Patthey et al., 2012) or intensification of grazing (Strebel & Bühler, 2015), climate change (Barnagaud et al, 2010; Moss, 2001; Novoa et al, 2008; Swenson et al., 1994; Wegge & Rolstad, 2017), development of recreational activities (Arlettaz et al., 2013; Pattey et al., 2008) and hunting (Zbinden et al., 2018). Despite the value of disentangling the relative influence of these factors, no studies have simultaneously studied the impact of land use, recreative activities and climate on the population dynamics of this species, probably because like all high‐altitude species, alpine populations of black grouse are often difficult to reach and thus to monitor (Imperio et al, 2013).…”