1. Five decades of breeding populations census for 12 species of colonial waterbirds in northwestern Italy.
- Author
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Fasola M, Pellitteri-Rosa D, Pinoli G, Alessandria G, Boncompagni E, Boano G, Brangi A, Carpegna F, Cassone P, Della Toffola M, Ferlini F, Gagliardi A, Gargioni A, Gola L, Grattini N, Gustin M, Lavezzi F, Maffezzoli L, Martignoni C, Musumeci R, Pirotta G, Provini I, Ravasini M, Re A, Riboni B, Tamietti A, Viganò E, and Morganti M
- Subjects
- Animals, Biodiversity, Conservation of Natural Resources, Italy, Birds, Censuses, Wetlands
- Abstract
Colonial waterbirds, a major biodiversity element occurring in the core of ultra-anthropized Europe, are ideal indicators of the wellness of inland wetlands. Nonetheless, there is a critical knowledge gap in their trend and population status. We present an uninterrupted 47 years-long dataset of the breeding populations of 12 species of colonial waterbirds (Ardeidae, Phalacrocoracidae, Plataleidae, Threskiornitidae) throughout a 58,000 km
2 agricultural region in the higher Po basin (NW Italy). A trained team of collaborators censused with standardized field techniques the number of nests of each species at 419 colonies in the 1972-2018 period, summing up a total of 236,316 records. Data cleaning and standardization were performed for each census year, ensuring robust and consistent data. This dataset is among the largest ever collected for a guild of European vertebrates. It has already been used to describe the factors influencing population trends, and still offers opportunities to explore a wide range of key ecological processes such as biological invasions, global change consequences and biodiversity impact of agricultural practices., (© 2023. The Author(s).)- Published
- 2023
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