1. Unravelling migration connectivity reveals unsustainable hunting of the declining ortolan bunting
- Author
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JIGUET, Frédéric, Robert, Alexandre, Lorrillière, Romain, Hobson, Keith, Kardynal, Kevin, Arlettaz, Raphaël, Bairlein, Franz, Belik, Viktor, Bernardy, Petra, Copete, José, Czajkowski, Michel, Dale, Svein, Dombrovski, Valery, Ducros, Delphine, Efrat, Ron, ELTS, JAANUS, Ferrand, Yves, Marja, Riho, Minkevicius, Simonas, Olsson, Peter, Perez, Marc, Piha, Markus, Raković, Marko, Schmaljohann, Heiko, Seimola, Tuomas, Selstam, Gunnar, Siblet, Jean-Philippe, Skierczyńki, Michał, Sokolov, Alexandr, Sondell, Jan, Moussy, Caroline, Centre d'Ecologie et des Sciences de la COnservation (CESCO), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Sorbonne Université (SU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Ecologie Systématique et Evolution (ESE), Université Paris-Sud - Paris 11 (UP11)-AgroParisTech-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of Western Ontario (UWO), Institute of Avian Research 'Vogelwarte Helgoland', Unité de recherche Comportement et Ecologie de la Faune Sauvage (CEFS), Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE), The Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research (BIDR), Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), CNERA Avifaune Migratrice, Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, Institute for Avian Research, Patrimoine naturel (PatriNat), Muséum national d'Histoire naturelle (MNHN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Office français de la biodiversité (OFB), Conseil General des Landes, Region Aquitaine, Region Nouvelle Aquitaine, Federation Departementale des Chasseurs des Landes [FDC40], Association Departementale des Chasses Traditionnelles a la Matole (ADCTM), French Ministry, Labex BCDiv at MNHN (CNRS), Environment and Climate Change Canada, Swiss federal office for environment [254, 332, 363, 400], Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) [SCHM 2647/1-2], Kvismare Bird Observatory, [N N304 0198 40], Zoology, and Finnish Museum of Natural History
- Subjects
Male ,INBREEDING DEPRESSION ,Conservation of Natural Resources ,EMBERIZA-HORTULANA ,Population Dynamics ,[SDV.BID]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Biodiversity ,Middle East ,CAPTURE-RECAPTURE ,Isotopes ,Animals ,Cluster Analysis ,Humans ,Human Activities ,European Union ,Passeriformes ,RATES ,COLLAPSE ,Research Articles ,POPULATION ,Probability ,[SDV.EE]Life Sciences [q-bio]/Ecology, environment ,Geography ,Ecology ,Norway ,Endangered Species ,SciAdv r-articles ,Bayes Theorem ,Deuterium ,REPRODUCTION ,EXTINCTION ,1181 Ecology, evolutionary biology ,570 Life sciences ,biology ,590 Animals (Zoology) ,Animal Migration ,Female ,INFERENCE ,France ,Seasons ,FARMLAND BIRD ,Research Article - Abstract
Targeting bird migration connectivity adressed a pressing conservation policy question to save ortolan buntings., In France, illegal hunting of the endangered ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana has been defended for the sake of tradition and gastronomy. Hunters argued that ortolan buntings trapped in southwest France originate from large and stable populations across the whole of Europe. Yet, the European Commission referred France to the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) in December 2016 for infringements to legislation (IP/16/4213). To better assess the impact of hunting in France, we combined Pan-European data from archival light loggers, stable isotopes, and genetics to determine the migration strategy of the species across continents. Ortolan buntings migrating through France come from northern and western populations, which are small, fragmented and declining. Population viability modeling further revealed that harvesting in southwest France is far from sustainable and increases extinction risk. These results provide the sufficient scientific evidence for justifying the ban on ortolan harvesting in France.
- Published
- 2019