Movement patterns of Common Crossbills Loxia curvirostra in Europe

Over much of Europe, Common Crossbills Loxia curvirostra depend primarily on the seeds of Norway Spruce Picea abies , and their breeding and movement patterns are governed largely by the cropping patterns of this tree species. Good cone crops occur only every few years in particular areas, but in different years in different areas. The main period of movement is in summer, when the previous year's crop is coming to an end, and a new crop is forming in different areas. In years when the Norway Spruce crop is poor over a wide area, and when Common Crossbills are abundant, they leave the boreal forest in large numbers, and appear as irruptive migrants in southwest Europe, with at least 40 invasions reaching Britain in the 120-year period 1881–2000. On irruptions the main migration axis is from northeast to southwest or west. Recoveries of birds ringed mainly in Germany confirm that these birds do not return to the boreal forest in northern Russia in the same calendar year as their irruption, but do so only in a later calendar year, when a new Norway Spruce crop is becoming available. The findings agree with an earlier interpretation of Common Crossbill movements, but not with an alternative hypothesis that irrupting Common Crossbills return to their region of origin in the same calendar year as the outward movement. Recoveries also suggest that some individual Common Crossbills may have bred in widely separated localities in different years (records up to 3170 km apart), and sometimes in localities far removed from their natal sites (records up to 2950 km apart).     

华南贵州早奥陶世红花园组的镰箭类牙形刺

本文描述了产自华南贵州下奥陶统红花园组(桐梓红花园标准剖面,沿河甘溪剖面和贵阳黄花冲剖面)的四个镰箭类牙形刺种:Drepanoistodus sp.cf.nowlani,Paltodus sp.cf.P.subaequalis,Paltodus sp.A和Paroisto-dus sp.。D.sp.cf.nowlani为红花园组常见种,但另三种则相对稀少。在红花园组标准剖面,Paltodus sp.cf.P.subaequalis最低出现于该组底部,证实此层位为晚特马豆克期。文中详细图示了产于瑞典下奥陶统的两个带化石种:Paltodus deltifer和Paroistodus proteus,以及瑞典镰箭刺属的三个常见种:Drepanoistodus forceps,D.basiovalis和D.sp.cf.D.suberectus。通过与瑞典材料的详细对比,我们认为华南以前关于P.proteus和P.deltifer两种的记述多有误,须重新厘定。     

Flow- and substratum-mediated movement by a stream insect

1. In streams subject to frequent hydrologic disturbance, the ability of benthic invertebrates to disperse within the channel is key to understanding the mechanisms of flow refugium use and population persistence. This study focuses on crawling invertebrates, the effects on movement of abiotic factors (specifically, flow near the stream bed and bed micro‐topography) and the consequences for dispersal. 2. In a large flume, we observed individual cased caddisflies, Potamophylax latipennis, moving in fully turbulent flows over a precise replica of a water‐worked surface. From maps of movement paths, we quantified crawling behaviour and entrainment, and the influence of bed micro‐topography. We manipulated discharge and tested its effect on movement, linear displacement and areal dispersal. The highest discharge treatment was a disturbance to the caddis; the lowest discharge was not. Crawling behaviours were used to parameterise random walk models and estimate population dispersal, and to test the effects of abiotic factors on movement. 3. Bed micro‐topography influenced crawling in several ways. Caddis spent most of their time at the junctions between proud particles and the adjacent plane bed. The frequency distribution of turn angles was bimodal, with modal values approximating the angle required to travel around median‐sized particles. Larvae generally crawled downstream, but crawling direction relative to the flow was skewed by bed micro‐topography and was not directly downstream, unlike drift. 4. Caddis crawled for most of the time and discharge affected almost every aspect of their movement. As discharge increased, caddis crawled less often, more slowly and over shorter distances; they also became entrained more frequently and over greater distances. With increased discharge, caddis spent proportionately less time at the junctions between proud particles and the adjacent plane bed, and more time on the tops and sides of proud clasts. This is curious as most entrainment occurred from the tops and sides of clasts and entrainment is generally considered to be disadvantageous during disturbances. 5. Linear displacement (drift and entrainment combined) was downstream, but the relation between total displacement and discharge was complex. Total displacement decreased at intermediate discharge as crawling decreased, but increased at high discharge as entrainment and drift played a greater role in movement. 6. Within‐stream dispersal via crawling contained elements of both a correlated random walk (we observed directional persistence in turn angles) and a biased random walk (we observed downstream bias in move direction angles) and was best described as a biased correlated random walk. Dispersal was inversely related to discharge, suggesting that the ability of P. latipennis to crawl into flow refugia on the streambed is reduced at high flow.     

Seasonal variation in the migration strategies of the green lacewing Chrysoperla carnea species complex

Abstract.  1. Insect migration strategies are generally poorly understood due to the propensity for high-altitude flight of many insect species, and the technical difficulties associated with observing these movements. While some progress has been made in the study of the migration of important insect pests, the migration strategies of insect natural enemies are often unknown.
2. Suction trapping, radar monitoring, and high-altitude aerial netting were used to characterise the seasonal migrations in the U.K. of an assemblage of aphid predators: three green lacewings in the Chrysoperla carnea species complex.
3. Chrysoperla carnea sens. str . was found to be very abundant at high altitudes during their summer migration, and some individuals were capable of migrating distances of ≈ 300 km during their pre-ovipositional period. In contrast, high-altitude flights were absent in the autumn migration period, probably due to a behavioural adaptation that increases the probability that migrants will encounter their over-wintering sites. The other two species in the complex, C. lucasina and C. pallida , were much rarer, making up ≈ 3% of the total airborne populations throughout the study period.
4. The summer migration of C. carnea sens. str . was not directly temporally associated with the summer migration of its cereal aphid prey, but lagged behind by about 4 weeks. There was also no evidence of spatial association between aphid and lacewing populations.
5. The results show that to understand the population ecology of highly mobile insect species, it is necessary to characterise fully all aspects of their migration behaviour, including the role of high-altitude flights.     

Assessing the implications of the loss of set‐aside for farmland birds

Between 1988 and 2007, set‐aside, a European Commission production control measure, took an average of 10% of arable farmland in the EU out of production each year. In 2007, the set‐aside rate was set to 0% and the scheme was later abandoned altogether. By assessing associations of farmland birds with set‐aside and quantifying the extent of set‐aside loss, this study aims to assess the implications of set‐aside loss for farmland bird conservation. During the lifespan of set‐aside, a large number of studies assessed the biodiversity value of set‐aside and other agricultural crops and habitats. Where possible we considered measurable benefits of set‐aside. However, some studies did not specify the type of set‐aside and in some cases set‐aside fields were grouped with cereal stubble fields. In these cases, we took the pragmatic approach of assessing the value of generic stubble fields as a conservative minimum estimate of the value of set‐aside fields. A re‐analysis of data from 30 intensive studies demonstrates that farmland bird densities tended to be higher on set‐aside than on either cereal or oilseed rape crops. Without mitigation, these are the two crops likely to replace most set‐aside fields. We estimate that 26–52% of the farmland populations of key granivorous passerines were present on stubble fields, giving an indication of the proportion of birds likely to be present on set‐aside fields within this broader category. An extensive survey of lowland farmland during winters 1999/2000, 2000/2001 and 2002/2003, repeated in February 2008, showed a doubling of the number of 1‐km squares with no stubble and a halving of the number of squares with more than 10 ha of stubble. After set‐aside abandonment, 72% of squares had no stubble in the important late winter period, confirming that many of the former stubble fields were retained as set‐aside. A simple correlative model suggests that this could cause a small increase in the rate of decline of Skylark Alauda arvensis and Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella populations, assuming causal links between stubble area and demography. However, even if this assumption cannot be supported, these results clearly indicate that a significant proportion of some farmland bird populations will need to find alternative breeding and foraging habitats.     

Assessment of long-term changes in habitat availability for Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) in a temperate lake using oxygen profiles and hydroacoustic surveys

1. Hydroacoustics (2002–04) and long‐term oxygen data (1969–2004) have been used in conjunction to examine the habitat of Arctic charr in the north and south basins of Windermere, U.K., a temperate lake subjected to cultural eutrophication and subsequent nutrient management. 2. Since 1969 there has been a gradual decline in the oxygen concentration in the bottom waters of both basins of 0.03–0.04 mg L^?1year^?1, resulting in up to 43% of the volume of the south basin having an oxygen concentration <5 mg L^?1 in the early autumn. 3. Hydroacoustic data indicate that most Arctic charr routinely avoid the upper 10 m of the water column irrespective of temperature, with the implication that an observed gradual warming of the lake has not yet directly impacted upon their habitat. 4. In recent years there has been a behavioural response of the Arctic charr population to migrate vertically to avoid oxygen concentrations <2.3–3.1 mg L^?1. Further, the depth of the lower bound of the Arctic charr population is shown to be highly correlated with the deep water oxygen concentration throughout the year prior to autumnal overturn.     

Making the biodiversity monitoring system sustainable: Design issues for large‐scale monitoring systems

Abstract There is strong demand for information about the status of, and trends in, Australia's biodiversity. Almost inevitably, this demand for information has led to demand for a broad‐scale monitoring system. However, the decision to embark on a monitoring system should only be made once it has been established that a monitoring system is the optimal way to inform management. We stress the need to invest resources in assessing whether a monitoring system is necessary before committing resources to the design and implementation of the system. Current debate associated with the design of a biodiversity monitoring system has similarities to the debate within the range management profession in the early 1970s. The experience with range monitoring shows that large‐scale monitoring systems such as those being proposed will require considerable resources, recurrently expended into the distant future, but with only a limited ability to adapt to new demands. Those involved in any biodiversity monitoring system will need to understand the implications of investing in a long‐term monitoring programme. Monitoring sustainability will only be possible if the monitoring system is itself sustainable. We discuss a number of issues that need to be addressed before the system is at all sustainable. These attributes are a mix of biophysical, social and institutional attributes and highlight the view that monitoring systems of the type being suggested comprise an unusual mixture of attributes not found in typical scientific activity. The present paper is not a technical manual, but rather considers some of the design issues associated with designing and implementing large‐scale monitoring systems.