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Tracking data highlight the importance of human-induced mortality for large migratory birds at a flyway scale

Juan Serratosa·Steffen Oppel·Andrea Santangeli·Shay Rotics·Stuart H. M. Butchart·Luis S. Cano-Alonso·José L. Telleria·Ryno Kemp·Aaron Nicholas·Aigars Kalvansj·Aitor Galarza·Aldina M. A. Franco·Alessandro Andreotti·Alexander N.G. Kirschel·Alex Ngari·Alvaro Soutullo·Ana Bermejo-Bermejo·Andre J Botha·Andrea Ferri·Angelos Evangelidis·Anna Cenerini·Anton Stamenov·Antonio Hernandez-Matias·Arianna Aradis·Atanas P Grozdanov·Beneharo Rodriguez·Cagan H. Sekercioglu·Catuxa Cerecedo-Iglesias·Christina Kassara·Christos Barboutis·Claire Bracebridge·Clara Garcia-Ripolles·Corinne J. Kendall·Damijan Denac·Dana G. Schabo·David Barber·Dimitar V Popov·Dobromir D Dobrev·Egidio Mallia·Elena Kmetova-Biro·Ernesto Alvarez·Evan R Buechly·Evgeny A. Bragin·Fabrizio Cordischi·Fadzai Zengeya·Flavio Monti·Francois Mougeot·Gareth Tate·Georgi Stoyanov·Giacomo Dell'Omo·Giuseppe Lucia·Gradimir Gradev·Guido Ceccolini·Guilad Friedemann·Hans-Gunther Bauer·Holger Kolberg·Hristo Peshev·Ines Catry·Ingar J. Oien·Isidoro Carbonell Alanis·Ivan Literak·Ivan Pokrovsky·Ivar Ojaste·Jan E. Ostnes·Javier de la Puente·Joan Real·Joao L. Guilherme·Jose C. Gonzalez·Jose M. Fernandez-Garcia·Juan Antonio Gil·Julien Terraube·Karel Poprach·Karen Aghababyan·Katharina Klein·Keith L. Bildstein·Kerri Wolter·Kjell Janssens·Kyle D. Kittelberger·Lindy J. Thompson·Mansoor H. AlJahdhami·Manuel Galan·Marcin Tobolka·Mario Posillico·Mario Cipollone·Marion Gschweng·Maris Strazds·Mark Boorman·Mark Zvidzai·Marta Acacio·Marta Romero·Martin Wikelski·Matthias Schmidt·Maurizio Sara·Michael J. McGrady·Mindaugas Dagys·Monique L. Mackenzie·Muna Al Taq·Msafiri P. Mgumba·Munir Z. Virani·Nicolaos I. Kassinis
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Abstract

Human-induced direct mortality affects huge numbers of birds each year, threatening hundreds of species worldwide. Tracking technologies can be an important tool to investigate temporal and spatial patterns of bird mortality as well as their drivers. We compiled 1704 mortality records from tracking studies across the African-Eurasian flyway for 45 species, including raptors, storks, and cranes, covering the period from 2003 to 2021. Our results show a higher frequency of human-induced causes of mortality than natural causes across taxonomic groups, geographical areas, and age classes. Moreover, we found that the frequency of human-induced mortality remained stable over the study period. From the human-induced mortality events with a known cause ( n = 637), three main causes were identified: electrocution (40.5 %), illegal killing (21.7 %), and poisoning (16.3 %). Additionally, combined energy infrastructure-related mortality (i.e., electrocution, power line collision, and wind-farm collision) represented 49 % of all human-induced mortality events. Using a random forest model, the main predictors of human-induced mortality were found to be taxonomic group, geographic location (latitude and longitude), and human footprint index value at the location of mortality. Despite conservation efforts, human drivers of bird mortality in the African-Eurasian flyway do not appear to have declined over the last 15 years for the studied group of species. Results suggest that stronger conservation actions to address these threats across the flyway can reduce their impacts on species. In particular, projected future development of energy infrastructure is a representative example where application of planning, operation, and mitigation measures can enhance bird conservation.

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Juan Serratosa, Steffen Oppel, Andrea Santangeli, Shay Rotics, Stuart H. M. Butchart, Luis S. Cano-Alonso, José L. Telleria, Ryno Kemp, Aaron Nicholas, Aigars Kalvansj, Aitor Galarza, Aldina M. A. Franco, Alessandro Andreotti, Alexander N.G. Kirschel, Alex Ngari, Alvaro Soutullo, Ana Bermejo-Bermejo, Andre J Botha, Andrea Ferri, Angelos Evangelidis, Anna Cenerini, Anton Stamenov, Antonio Hernandez-Matias, Arianna Aradis, Atanas P Grozdanov, Beneharo Rodriguez, Cagan H. Sekercioglu, Catuxa Cerecedo-Iglesias, Christina Kassara, Christos Barboutis, Claire Bracebridge, Clara Garcia-Ripolles, Corinne J. Kendall, Damijan Denac, Dana G. Schabo, David Barber, Dimitar V Popov, Dobromir D Dobrev, Egidio Mallia, Elena Kmetova-Biro, Ernesto Alvarez, Evan R Buechly, Evgeny A. Bragin, Fabrizio Cordischi, Fadzai Zengeya, Flavio Monti, Francois Mougeot, Gareth Tate, Georgi Stoyanov, Giacomo Dell'Omo, Giuseppe Lucia, Gradimir Gradev, Guido Ceccolini, Guilad Friedemann, Hans-Gunther Bauer, Holger Kolberg, Hristo Peshev, Ines Catry, Ingar J. Oien, Isidoro Carbonell Alanis, Ivan Literak, Ivan Pokrovsky, Ivar Ojaste, Jan E. Ostnes, Javier de la Puente, Joan Real, Joao L. Guilherme, Jose C. Gonzalez, Jose M. Fernandez-Garcia, Juan Antonio Gil, Julien Terraube, Karel Poprach, Karen Aghababyan, Katharina Klein, Keith L. Bildstein, Kerri Wolter, Kjell Janssens, Kyle D. Kittelberger, Lindy J. Thompson, Mansoor H. AlJahdhami, Manuel Galan, Marcin Tobolka, Mario Posillico, Mario Cipollone, Marion Gschweng, Maris Strazds, Mark Boorman, Mark Zvidzai, Marta Acacio, Marta Romero, Martin Wikelski, Matthias Schmidt, Maurizio Sara, Michael J. McGrady, Mindaugas Dagys, Monique L. Mackenzie, Muna Al Taq, Msafiri P. Mgumba, Munir Z. Virani, Nicolaos I. Kassinis. 2024. Tracking data highlight the importance of human-induced mortality for large migratory birds at a flyway scale. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2024.110525

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