The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals aim to improve livelihoods and maintain functioning ecosystems, and include the provision of electricity and the prevention of desertification. We show that the pursuit of those two goals can lead to developments that put critical ecosystem functions at risk. Vultures are scavengers that provide sanitary ecosystem services, but their populations across Africa are declining due to poisoning, electrocution, and collision with power infrastructure. The extent to which the pursuit of sustainable development threatens vultures in Africa is unclear. We surveyed 227 km of powerlines in Ethiopia, which revealed bird mortality (0.15 vulture carcasses / km) at power infrastructure constructed under a National Electrification Programme to provide universal electricity access by 2025. We also interviewed 190 local pastoralists in 10 areas about livelihood challenges, which revealed that the bush Prosopis juliflora, which was originally introduced to prevent desertification but then invaded north-eastern Ethiopia, increased livestock predation and motivated the use of poison to control predators. Actions to increase universal access to electricity and to reduce desertification therefore have undesired side-effects that increase vulture mortality through electrocution and poisoning. To avoid negatively affecting local vulture populations and the services they provide, we urge governments to use infrastructure designs that minimise the risk of electrocution and assist pastoralists to protect their livestock and reduce the risk of poisoning to vultures and other wildlife.

Vulture populations are in severe decline across Africa and prioritization of geographic areas for their conservation is urgently needed. To do so, we compiled three independent datasets on vulture occurrence from road-surveys, GPS-tracking, and citizen science (eBird), and used maximum entropy to build ensemble species distribution models (SDMs). We then identified spatial vulture conservation priorities in Ethiopia, a stronghold for vultures in Africa, while accounting for uncertainty in our predictions. We were able to build robust distribution models for five vulture species across the entirety of Ethiopia, including three Critically Endangered, one Endangered, and one Near Threatened species. We show that priorities occur in the highlands of Ethiopia, which provide particularly important habitat for Bearded Gypaetus barbatus, Hooded Necrosyrtes monachus, Rüppell’s Gyps rüppelli and White-backed Gyps africanus Vultures, as well as the lowlands of north-eastern Ethiopia, which are particularly valuable for the Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus. One-third of the core distribution of the Egyptian Vulture was protected, followed by the White-backed Vulture at one-sixth, and all other species at one-tenth. Overall, only about one-fifth of vulture priority areas were protected. Given that there is limited protection of priority areas and that vultures range widely, we argue that measures of broad spatial and legislative scope will be necessary to address drivers of vulture declines, including poisoning, energy infrastructure, and climate change, while considering the local social context and aiding sustainable development.

The Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus is a large Palearctic, Indohimalayan and Afrotropical Old-World vulture. The species’ range is vast, encompassing territories from the Pyrenees to the Himalayas. We reviewed and analysed a long-term data set for Griffon Vulture in the Balkans to estimate the change in its population size and range between 1980 and 2019. After a large historical decline, the Griffon Vulture population slightly increased in the last 39 years (λ = 1.02) and reached 445–565 pairs in 2019. We recorded a gradual increase of Griffon Vulture subpopulations in Serbia (λ = 1.08 ± 0.003), Bulgaria (λ = 1.08 ± 0.003) and Croatia (λ = 1.05 ± 0.005) and steep to a moderate decline of the species subpopulations in Greece (λ = 0.88 ± 0.005) and North Macedonia (λ = 0.94 ± 0.01). However, species range contracted to half of its former range in the same period. It occurred in 42 UTM squares in the 1980–1990 period and only 20 UTM squares between 2011 and 2019 and concentrated into three source subpopulations in Bulgaria, Serbia, and Croatia. Following reintroductions of the Griffon Vulture in Bulgaria, new colonies were formed at three novel localities after 2010. Regular movements of individuals between the different subpopulations exist nowadays. Therefore, preservation of both current and former core areas used for breeding and roosting is essential for species conservation in the region. However, the Griffon Vulture still faces severe threats and risk of local extinction. Various hazards such as poisoning, collision with energy infrastructure, disturbance and habitat alteration are depleting the status of the Balkan population and its full recovery. Further studies should analyse age-specific survival and mortality, recruitment, genetic relatedness, spatial use to inform the viability of this population in the future.

Migratory species rely on several distant sites during the annual cycle which makes their conservation more complex than that of non-migratory species. Even one of the most extensively studied migratory shorebirds - the Red Knot Calidris canutus - is currently ‘Near Threatened’ at the global level. Conflicting observations of migratory routes cast uncertainty on the subspecies classification and migratory connectivity of Red Knots in the Pacific coasts of the Americas. To fill essential information gaps, we present the first detailed population morphometrics of Red Knots during the non-breeding season in the southern Pacific coast, along with resightings of these birds throughout the Americas. We also estimated daily rate of weight gain during fuelling based on body mass at captures and known departure dates. Resightings demonstrate reliance on staging areas in both the Mid-continental and Atlantic flyways during the northward migration, and additionally in the Pacific Flyway during southward migration. In addition to the strong connection with several areas also used by C. c. rufa on the North American Atlantic coast, our results show morphometric differences within the ranges of both C. c. rufa and C. c. roselaari. Given the threats faced by Red Knots, the population in Chiloé Archipelago should be treated as a separate conservation unit within interhemispheric conservation programmes for endangered shorebirds within the Americas.

The increasing pressure of anthropogenic development in areas with high natural value poses a huge challenge for wildlife conservation worldwide. The Tagus estuary in southern Portugal is among the most important wetlands for migratory shorebirds in the East Atlantic Flyway (EAF). However, in 2020 the Portuguese government approved the construction of the new Lisbon international airport at the heart of the Tagus estuary. Intense aircraft traffic, flying at low altitudes during both approach and take-off, is expected to cross the estuary, overlapping to a great extent the important intertidal foraging areas. Here, we aim to quantify the potential loss of conservation value of the intertidal areas of the Tagus estuary for shorebirds resulting from the disturbance (noise) caused by overflying aircraft. Using a comprehensive dataset of wintering shorebird abundance and distribution in the whole intertidal estuarine area we first identified priority areas for conservation using a spatial prioritization approach. We then performed a replacement cost analysis by excluding the areas likely to become unsuitable or severely underused by birds due to intense air traffic noise. Our results suggest that the implementation of the new Lisbon airport may lead to a loss of up to 30% of the conservation value of the Tagus estuary in terms of intertidal feeding areas of wintering birds alone. The global impact will likely be greater when effects on supratidal roosts, as well as on passage birds, are also considered. The Tagus estuary, which is internationally important for six of the 10 species included in our analysis, is just one of a network of already depleted sites along the EAF. Thus, negative impacts on bird populations on the Tagus estuary will have repercussions and undermine conservation efforts elsewhere. The plight of shorebirds at the Tagus estuary is thus a matter of international conservation concern.

New Caledonia hosts a large part of the world’s breeding population of the Tahiti Petrel Pseudobulweria rostrata. This rare, cryptic and little-studied seabird nests locally in the mountains up to 1,200 m in altitude, particularly in ultramafic (i.e. nickel-rich) areas where mining activity is a major threat. The considerable development of mining activities in New Caledonia over the past decade raises concerns about its potential impacts on breeding populations through both direct habitat destruction and side effects such as pollution or repeated disturbances. This context calls for a dedicated assessment of the persistence of local populations to guide the design of an adapted conservation strategy and potential restoration programmes. We investigated the impact of mining activities on a Tahiti Petrel population when surveyed pre-mining (2004–2007) and following a period of full mining (2017–2018). The vocal activity was assessed at a total of 114 night-call count stations spread over the Koniambo massif. Areas with ground-originated vocal activity were then searched during daytime for nesting evidence. Finally, georeferenced aerial photos were used to estimate habitat degradation as the percentage of bare soil cover (PBSC) within a 400-m radius around each call count station. Our study revealed a dramatic decline in the Tahiti Petrel vocal activity and a desertion of breeding habitats during the full-mining period compared to the pre-mining period. In light of these results, we recommend designing safe breeding areas and combining restoration methods including social attraction, predation control and artificial burrows at mining sites.

The incidental mortality of seabirds in fisheries remains a serious global concern. Obtaining unbiased and accurate estimates of bycatch rates is a priority for seabird bycatch mitigation and demographic research. For measuring the capture risk of seabird interactions in fisheries, the rate of carcass retrieval from hauled gear is commonly used. However, reliability can be limited by a lack of direct capture observations and the substantial pre-haul bycatch losses known to occur, meaning incidence of seabird bycatch is underestimated. To solve this problem, a new measure (bycatch vulnerability) that links an observed interaction directly to the underlying capture event is proposed to represent the capture risk of fishery interactions by seabirds. The new measure is not affected by subsequent bycatch loss. To illustrate how to estimate and analyse bycatch vulnerability, a case study based on a long-term dataset of seabird interactions and capture confirmation is provided. Bayesian modelling and hypothesis testing were conducted to identify important bycatch risk factors. Competition was found to play a central role in determining seabird bycatch vulnerability. More competitive environments were riskier for seabirds, and larger and thus more competitive species were more at risk than smaller sized and less competitive species. Species foraging behaviour also played a role. On the other hand, no additional effect of physical oceanic condition and spatio-temporal factors on bycatch vulnerability was detected. Bycatch vulnerability is recommended as a replacement for the commonly used bycatch rate or carcass retrieval rate to measure the capture risk of an interaction. Combined with a normalized contact rate, bycatch vulnerability offers an unbiased estimate of seabird bycatch rate in pelagic longline fisheries.

The carrasco is a dense, shrubby vegetation type that covers the higher parts of table-top mountains in north-eastern Brazil. The vegetation of this phytophysiognomy is often considered to have biogeographical and ecological affinities with the cerrado of Central Brazil, but the biogeographical affinities of its avifauna remain unclear. In recent years, deforestation due to local economic activities has been particularly severe in some carrasco-dominated landscapes. In 2013, we initiated avian surveys at the Fazenda Pau D‘Arco, a privately owned property located on top of the Araripe Plateau, to evaluate the effects of a legal forest management program on the avifauna. Here, we present the results of four years of avian inventories to: i) characterize a well-preserved patch of carrasco vegetation; ii) assess avian biogeographical affinities of this vegetation type; iii) identify associations between managed/unmanaged areas and bird species; and iv) provide baseline data for future avian monitoring studies. Using different survey methods, we provide a list of 148 bird species, including several dry-forest specialists and caatinga endemics. Biogeographically, the avifauna of the carrasco represents a subsample of the Caatinga dry forest, lacking cerrado elements. Forest management significantly affected the distribution of several bird species in the study area. We found that 1/5 of the species (24) recorded during our standardized surveys were significantly associated with either unmanaged (14 species) or managed (10 species) areas. Species such as the Ceará Leaftosser Sclerurus cearensis, a globally vulnerable species, have only been detected in non-managed areas and therefore can be negatively affected by the management program. We also present data on 16 avian taxa with ecological and conservation concerns. By presenting a fairly complete and documented list of the avifauna, we characterize the carrasco avifauna and offer the tools to evaluate the effects of forest management on this poorly known vegetation type.

Since antiquity, the keeping of finches as pets has been common throughout the Mediterranean countries and it remains a widespread hobby to the present day. Since most finches are sourced from the wild this hobby can have implications for their conservation, especially for already imperilled species. We conducted a survey of 257 households in the city of Guelma, in the north-east of Algeria, and of 70 participants to a European Goldfinch Carduelis carduelis show contest in Algiers, to understand the owners’ motives for keeping cage birds and find solutions to mitigate any negative effects on the trade. Keeping and showing finches in Algeria is a male-dominated hobby, especially for the 30–40 year age bracket. Our surveys indicate that almost 60% of households had a cage bird, with the European Goldfinch being the most popular species. With a mean of 0.75 goldfinches per household we estimate that in Guelma alone some 17,000 are kept in captivity. Between 70% and 90% of the owners indicated that their birds were indeed wild-sourced, and over 85% of them were aware of the protected status of the European Goldfinch in Algeria. Our findings underline the need for strict enforcement of existing laws and better targeted awareness campaigns to influence the behaviour of owners in order to reduce the demand for wild specimens.

Populations of the globally endangered Giant Nuthatch Sitta magna have declined significantly throughout their small world range in southern China and northern continental South-East Asia. Distance sampling and direct observations were used to estimate the density and habitat use of the Giant Nuthatch in a potential stronghold for the species, Chiang Dao Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. Thirteen line transects covering 6.2 km were established in open, pine-oak habitat favoured by the nuthatch, during November 2014 to December 2015. The mean density of Giant Nuthatch was 3.94±1.22 (95% CI = 2.15–7.22) individuals/km2. Hierarchical distance sampling models indicated that habitat use by Giant Nuthatch was strongly correlated with trees of large diameter. A pair of Giant Nuthatches was radio-tracked as they fed nestlings during the 2016 breeding season. The female’s home range, centred on the nest, was 7.79 ha (95% kernel home range), approximately one-fourth of that of the male, 32.01 ha. Giant Nuthatches showed a significant preference for foraging on pines Pinus spp. and used the fissured bark of mature pines in which to store acorns of deciduous tree species. Our research indicates the importance of large, mature trees in open pine-oak forest in supporting Giant Nuthatch populations.

Saudi Arabia is the fastest growing electricity consumer in the Middle East, with a rapidly expanding network of powerlines. Bird mortality through electrocution and collision has been recorded in the country, but so far there is little information as to how much the electricity infrastructure affects globally threatened raptor populations that migrate to Saudi Arabia. In 2019, the world’s largest wintering congregation of Steppe Eagles Aquila nipalensis was discovered near a rubbish dump in central Saudi Arabia. We evaluated whether powerlines in the vicinity of this, and another congregation site, caused mortality of large birds. In November 2019, we surveyed powerlines within 6 km of two focal rubbish dumps at Al Qunfudhah (12.4 km) and Ushaiqer (2 km). We found 52 carcasses of five species, of which 85% were Steppe Eagles. Based on the age of these carcasses, we coarsely extrapolate that 14.4 km of powerlines near these two congregation sites may kill 94–240 Steppe Eagles per winter, representing up to 0.3% of their global population. We call for the urgent safeguarding of powerlines that cause mortality near known Steppe Eagle congregation sites, and the adoption and implementation of regulations that ensure that future infrastructure is constructed with designs that are safe for birds.

Tree characteristics, microhabitat, and human presence were measured around nest trees (n = 92) and non-nest trees (n = 92) to identify the best predictors of the European Turtle-dove Streptopelia turtur nest occurrence in date palm plantations of the Biskra region (Algeria). Nest occurrence was (i) positively influenced by the height of trees and that of the herbaceous layer, and (ii) quadratically affected by diameter at breast height (DBH), the cover of trees, the cover of the herbaceous vegetation, and the distance to the edge of date palm plantation. Variation partitioning analysis revealed that the pure effect of tree physical characteristics (tree height and DBH) was robust in explaining the occurrence of Turtle Dove nests (adj. R2 = 0.52, P = 0.001). For an efficient management of this Saharan population, special attention should be paid in the short term to keeping high date palm trees while ensuring, in the medium and long term, the presence of different-sized palm tree classes at each exploitation. There is no doubt that date palm plantations of Biskra are of paramount importance because they offer good opportunities for consolidating and improving the knowledge on this threatened species and other species at the Sahara edge.