Taxonomic recommendations for British birds†

These recommendations of the Taxonomic Sub‐committee of the BOU Records Committee will take effect immediately for the purposes of the British List. A paper outlining the approach of the Sub‐committee to species‐level decisions has recently been published (Helbig et al. 2002. Guidelines for assigning species rank. Ibis 144 : 518–525).     

Changes to Category C of the British List†

In its maintenance of the British List, the British Ornithologists’ Union Records Committee (BOURC) is responsible for assigning species to categories to indicate their status on the List. In 1995, the British Ornithologists’ Union (BOU) and the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) held a conference on naturalized and introduced birds in Britain ( Holmes & Simons 1996 ). This led to a review of the process of establishment of such species and the terms that best describe their status ( Holmes & Stroud 1995 ) as well as a major review of the categorization of species on the British List ( Holmes et al. 1998 ). The BOURC continues to review the occurrence and establishment of birds of captive origin in Britain. This paper summarizes the status of naturalized and introduced birds in Britain and announces changes to the categorization of many on the British List or its associated appendices (Categories D and E): Mute Swan Cygnus olor Categories AC change to AC2 Black Swan Cygnus atratus Category E* – no change Greylag Goose Anser anser Categories ACE* change to AC2C4E* Snow Goose Anser caerulescens Categories AE* change to AC2E* Greater Canada Goose Branta canadensis Categories ACE* change to C2E* Barnacle Goose Branta leucopsis Categories AE* change to AC2E* Egyptian Goose Alopochen aegyptiacus Categories CE* change to C1E* Ruddy Shelduck Tadorna ferruginea Categories BDE* – no change Muscovy Duck Cairina moschata Category E* – alert JNCC Wood Duck Aix sponsa Category E* – no change Mandarin Duck Aix galericulata Categories CE* change to C1E* Gadwall Anas strepera Category A change to AC2 Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Categories AE* change to AC2C4E* Red‐crested Pochard Netta rufina Categories AE* change to AC2E* Ruddy Duck Oxyura jamaicensis Categories CE* change to C1E* Black Grouse Tetrao tetrix Categories AE – no change Western Capercaillie Tetrao urogallus Categories BC change BC3 Red‐legged Partridge Alectoris rufa Categories CE* change to C1E* Grey Partridge Perdix perdix Categories ACE change to AC2E Common Pheasant Phasianus colchicus Categories CE* change to C1E* Golden Pheasant Chrysolophus pictus Categories CE* change to C1E* Lady Amherst's Pheasant Chrysolophus amherstiae Categories CE* change to C6E* Black‐crowned Night Heron Nycticorax nycticorax Categories AE* – no change Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus Category E – no change Red Kite Milvus milvus Categories AC change to AC3 White‐tailed Eagle Haliaeetus albicilla Categories ACE change to AC3E Northern Goshawk Accipiter gentilis Categories AE* change to AC3E* Rock/Feral Pigeon Columbia livia Categories AE* change to AC4E* Rose‐ringed Parakeet Psittacula krameri Categories CE* change to C1E* Barn Owl Tyto alba Categories AE* – no change Little Owl Athene noctua Category C change to C1     

Meeting report—Small GTPases in membrane processes: FASEB summer research conference

In September 2018, conference organizers Nava Segev (University of Illinois, Chicago) and Marino Zerial (MPI, Dresden) hosted the 5th FASEB Meeting in Small GTPases in Membrane Processes: Trafficking, Autophagy and Disease at the National Conference Center in Leesburg, Virginia. With over 100 attendees from across the globe sharing their varied expertise and interests, we came together with the common goal of gaining a better understanding of how small GTPases and their regulators act in both canonical and non‐canonical pathways to conduct a diversity of essential cellular functions. A broad range of disciplines was covered in this meeting, including the study of biophysical and structural properties of these proteins, functional studies to get at the roles of these proteins in various cellular contexts (eg, ciliary function, mitophagy, cell motility, cell cycle, and development), and translational approaches to understand the greater implications of small GTPases and their regulators in multicellular systems and disease pathology. This meeting provided attendees with the opportunity to discuss pressing questions that are driving the study of small GTPases and to explore directions for the future. Of particular note, both formal talks and informal discussions very clearly highlighted the clinical importance of these proteins and pathways, the ways in which cutting edge imaging technologies are expanding our understanding of them, and the need to work better in groups to tackle the larger questions of how GTPases contribute to cellular homeostasis or dysfunction. In this meeting report, we focus upon these three themes, as they have the potential to help shape our future studies of both the biology of small GTPases and their roles in a wide array of fundamental cellular functions.     

Predictors of contraction and expansion of area of occupancy for British birds

Geographical range dynamics are driven by the joint effects of abiotic factors, human ecosystem modifications, biotic interactions and the intrinsic organismal responses to these. However, the relative contribution of each component remains largely unknown. Here, we compare the contribution of life-history attributes, broad-scale gradients in climate and geographical context of species’ historical ranges, as predictors of recent changes in area of occupancy for 116 terrestrial British breeding birds (74 contractors, 42 expanders) between the early 1970s and late 1990s. Regional threat classifications demonstrated that the species of highest conservation concern showed both the largest contractions and the smallest expansions. Species responded differently to climate depending on geographical distribution—northern species changed their area of occupancy (expansion or contraction) more in warmer and drier regions, whereas southern species changed more in colder and wetter environments. Species with slow life history (larger body size) tended to have a lower probability of changing their area of occupancy than species with faster life history, whereas species with greater natal dispersal capacity resisted contraction and, counterintuitively, expansion. Higher geographical fragmentation of species'' range also increased expansion probability, possibly indicating a release from a previously limiting condition, for example through agricultural abandonment since the 1970s. After accounting statistically for the complexity and nonlinearity of the data, our results demonstrate two key aspects of changing area of occupancy for British birds: (i) climate is the dominant driver of change, but direction of effect depends on geographical context, and (ii) all of our predictors generally had a similar effect regardless of the direction of the change (contraction versus expansion). Although we caution applying results from Britain''s highly modified and well-studied bird community to other biogeographic regions, our results do indicate that a species'' propensity to change area of occupancy over decadal scales can be explained partially by a combination of simple allometric predictors of life-history pace, average climate conditions and geographical context.     

Cost implications of the British Pacing and Electrophysiology Group's recommendations for pacing.

OBJECTIVE--To compare present pacing practice with the recommendations recently published by the British Pacing and Electrophysiology Group and to assess the increase in annual budget required to implement these recommendations in a regional cardiothoracic unit. DESIGN--Retrospective analysis of pacemaker implantation for 1991 with calculation of the costs required to implement the group''s recommendations based on average 1991 costs of the types of pacing generators and electrode leads used. SETTING--Regional cardiothoracic unit for South West Thames Health Authority. PATIENTS--433 consecutive patients receiving permanent pacemaker generators: 76 (18%) with sinus node disease; 270 (62%) with atrioventricular block; 25 (6%) with both sinus node disease and atrioventricular block; 59 (14%) with chronic atrial fibrillation and atrioventricular block; and 3 (1%) with carotid sinus or malignant vasovagal syndromes. RESULTS--Only 102 (24%) patients received pacemaker generators recommended by the British Pacing and Electrophysiology Group; however, 355 (82%) patients were older than 65 years, and 264 (61%) were aged 75 or over. The cost of hardware for pacing was 462,885 pounds. Using generators as recommended would have cost 810,525 pounds for "optimal" systems (an increase of 75%) and 710,750 pounds for "alternative" systems (an increase of 54%). These increases would have been considerably reduced by limiting the use of sophisticated pacing to younger patients (aged under 75). Further savings could be made by using the least expensive pacing models available. CONCLUSIONS--Implementing these recommendations should reduce morbidity related to bradyarrhythmia but will lead to major increases in pacing costs. Age and patients'' expected activity may be used to select simple pacing systems and thus to contain cost. More research is needed to determine which patient groups will benefit most from complex pacing systems.     

Impacts of onshore wind energy production on birds and bats: recommendations for future life cycle impact assessment developments

Purpose

Models for quantifying impacts on biodiversity from renewable energy technologies are lacking within life cycle impact assessment (LCIA). We aim to provide an overview of the effects of wind energy on birds and bats, with a focus on quantitative methods. Furthermore, we investigate and provide the necessary background for how these can be integrated into new developments of LCIA models in future.

Methods

We reviewed available literature summarizing the effects of wind energy developments on birds and bats. We provide an overview of available quantitative assessment methods that have been employed outside of the LCIA framework to model the different impacts of wind energy developments on wildlife. Combining the acquired knowledge on impact pathways and associated quantitative methods, we propose possibilities for future approaches for a wind energy impact assessment methodology for LCIA.

Results and discussion

Wind energy production has impacts on terrestrial biodiversity through three main pathways: collision, disturbance, and habitat alterations. Birds and bats are consistently considered the most affected taxonomic groups, with different responses to the before-mentioned impact pathways. Outside of the LCIA framework, current quantitative impact assessment prediction models include collision risk models, species distribution models, individual-based models, and population modeling approaches. Developed indices allow scaling of species-specific vulnerability to mortality, disturbance, and/or habitat alterations.

Conclusions

Although insight into the causes behind collision risk, disturbance, and habitat alterations for bats and birds is still limited, the current knowledge base enables the development of a robust assessment tool. Modeling the impacts of habitat alterations, disturbance, and collisions within an LCIA framework is most appropriate using species distribution models as those enable the estimation of species’ occurrences across a region. Although local-scale developments may be more readily feasible, further up-scaling to global coverage is recommended to allow comparison across regions and technologies, and to assess cumulative impacts.

     

Living on the edge: British and Irish woodland birds in a European context

This paper reviews broad geographical patterns in the species composition of breeding woodland bird communities from Ireland to eastern Europe and outlines how processes affecting woodland birds in Britain and Ireland may differ from those operating in mainland Europe. Bird communities in British and Irish woodlands consist of a subset of the species occurring within European forests at similar latitudes. The occurrence of virtually all groups of forest birds is lower in Britain, and strikingly lower in Ireland, than in other temperate areas of mainland Europe. This phenomenon appears to form part of a west–east gradient in species diversity and is probably not just a consequence of insularity. Across this gradient there appears to be broad geographical constancy in the types (taxonomic, ecological and life-history groups) of species present. There is considerable spatial variation in habitat use by forest species within Europe. Some species in Britain probably use habitats in different ways to elsewhere for reasons related to competition, predation and historical adaptation to landscape change. Several species appear to reach the limits of their geographical ranges within Britain (i.e. in the absence of physical barriers). We suggest that range contraction of one of these species, the Common Nightingale Luscinia megarhynchos , in Britain may partially reflect redistribution into the highest quality areas in response to a wider population decline. It is argued that conclusions drawn from studies of forest birds in Britain do not necessarily apply in other regions and vice versa. There is a need for large-scale studies in Europe of the spatial variation in organization of forest bird assemblages, habitat use and the genetic structure of populations.