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The hazel dormouse is predominantly an arboreal species that moves down to the ground to hibernate in the autumn in temperate parts of its distributional ranges at locations not yet well understood. The main objective of this study is to test whether environmental characteristics surrounding hazel dormouse hibernacula can be identified using high-resolution remote sensing and data collected in situ. To achieve this, remotely sensed variables, including canopy height and cover, topographic slope, sky view, solar radiation and cold air drainage, were modelled around 83 dormouse hibernacula in England (n = 62) and the Netherlands (n = 21), and environmental characteristics that may be favoured by pre-hibernating dormice were identified. Data on leaf litter depth, temperature, canopy cover and distance to the nearest tree were collected in situ and analysed at hibernaculum locations in England. The findings indicated that remotely sensed data were effective in identifying attributes surrounding the locations of dormouse hibernacula and when compared to in situ information, provided more conclusive results. This study suggests that remotely sensed topographic slope, canopy height and sky view have an influence on hazel dormice choosing suitable locations to hibernate; whilst in situ data suggested that average daily mean temperature at the hibernaculum may also have an effect. Remote sensing proved capable of identifying localised environmental characteristics in the wider landscape that may be important for hibernating dormice. This study proposes that this method can provide a novel progression from habitat modelling to conservation management for the hazel dormouse, as well as other species using habitats where topography and vegetation structure influence fine-resolution favourability. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Around fifteen thousand fieldworkers annually count breeding birds using standardized protocols in 28 European countries. The observations are collected by using country-specific and standardized protocols, validated, summarized and finally used for the production of continent-wide annual and long-term indices of population size changes of 170 species. Here, we present the database and provide a detailed summary of the methodology used for fieldwork and calculation of the relative population size change estimates. We also provide a brief overview of how the data are used in research, conservation and policy. We believe this unique database, based on decades of bird monitoring alongside the comprehensive summary of its methodology, will facilitate and encourage further use of the Pan-European Common Bird Monitoring Scheme results. Measurement(s) population Technology Type(s) Count Factor Type(s) time scale • geographic location Sample Characteristic - Organism Aves Sample Characteristic - Location Europe Machine-accessible metadata file describing the reported data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.13240760 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Climate change is a major global threat to biodiversity with widespread impacts on ecological communities. Evidence for beneficial impacts on populations is perceived to be stronger and more plentiful than that for negative impacts, but few studies have investigated this apparent disparity, or how ecological factors affect population responses to climatic change. We examined the strength of the relationship between species-specific regional population changes and climate suitability trends (CST), using 30-year datasets of population change for 525 breeding bird species in Europe and the USA. These data indicate a consistent positive relationship between population trend and CST across the two continents. Importantly, we found no evidence that this positive relationship differs between species expected to be negatively and positively impacted across the entire taxonomic group, suggesting that climate change is causing equally strong, quantifiable population increases and declines. Species' responses to changing climatic suitability varied with ecological traits, however, particularly breeding habitat preference and body mass. Species associated with inland wetlands responded most strongly and consistently to recent climatic change. In Europe, smaller species also appeared to respond more strongly, whilst the relationship with body mass was less clear-cut for North American birds. Overall, our results identify the role of certain traits in modulating responses to climate change and emphasise the importance of long-term data on abundance for detecting large-scale species' responses to environmental changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied the effect of a forest edge management quasi-experiment on hazel dormouse ( Muscardinus avellanarius) nest numbers in the reproductive season in the Netherlands. We found that the number of nests increased significantly from 2009 to 2013 in managed edges after clearing 75-100 % of mature trees, with a peak in the second year, whereas those in unmanaged edges decreased. In addition, we studied habitat characteristics in forest edges and hedgerows, and found a positive effect of a high upper shrub layer and a high abundance of blackberry ( Rubus fruticosus agg. and Rubus spp.), rowan ( Sorbus aucuparia) and common hawthorn ( Crataegus monogyna) on nest densities. Based on these results, we propose a potential dormouse management strategy that extends conventionally advocated coppice management for regions with well-developed forest edges by (i) postulating a blackberry-oriented landscape restoration approach and (ii) using clearing of mature trees as a tool to boost local dormouse populations in forest edges that have become unsuitable as dormouse habitat due to vegetational succession. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have shown that neonicotinoid insecticides have adverse effects on non-target invertebrate species. Invertebrates constitute a substantial part of the diet of many bird species during the breeding season and are indispensable for raising offspring. We investigated the hypothesis that the most widely used neonicotinoid insecticide, imidacloprid, has a negative impact on insectivorous bird populations. Here we show that, in the Netherlands, local population trends were significantly more negative in areas with higher surface-water concentrations of imidacloprid. At imidacloprid concentrations of more than 20 nanograms per litre, bird populations tended to decline by 3.5 per cent on average annually. Additional analyses revealed that this spatial pattern of decline appeared only after the introduction of imidacloprid to the Netherlands, in the mid-1990s. We further show that the recent negative relationship remains after correcting for spatial differences in land-use changes that are known to affect bird populations in farmland. Our results suggest that the impact of neonicotinoids on the natural environment is even more substantial than has recently been reported and is reminiscent of the effects of persistent insecticides in the past. Future legislation should take into account the potential cascading effects of neonicotinoids on ecosystems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]