Symposium number: 08

Title of Symposium: BIRDS AS INDICATORS OF THE ENVIRONMENT

Principal organizer: David Noble
British Trust for Ornithology, The Nunnery, Thetford, Norfolk, IP24 2EQ, United Kingdom
email: david.noble@bto.org

Second organizer: Michel Louette
Royal Museum for Central Africa, Department of Zoology, Leuvensesteenweg 13, 3080 Tervuren, Belgium

First Keynote speaker: Richard Gregory
European Bird Census Council, The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, The Lodge, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 2DL, United Kingdom
Title of first keynote paper: Using birds as indicators of environmental change in Europe

Second Keynote speaker: Walter Sontag
Museum of Natural History, Ornithology, Burgring 7, 1010 Vienna, Austria
Title of second keynote paper: The potential of particular starlings (Sturnidae) as indicators of habitat change

Contributed talks

Symposium description: The main aim of this symposium is to critically review recent developments in avian indicators, focusing on their use as measures of environmental quality or change (e.g. agricultural intensification) and as surrogates for other taxonomic groups. The scope will range from using the presence of sentinel species in vulnerable habitats to assess environmental conditions, to the development of composite indicators generated from aggregated annual population trends for a suite of characteristic species (e.g. the European Farmland Bird Index). Potential topics include the use of species diversity indices, the abundance of keystone and umbrella species, and demographic measures such as productivity or survival. A further aim is to draw together scientists with experience in the development of bird indicators to address issues of suitability, representativeness, spatial scale, sensitivity, and practicality. Drawing on examples from across the globe, speakers will be asked to provide any evidence that bird indicators can be used as surrogates for other species, that changes in the indicators can be related to changes in environmental quality and how indicators can be linked to conservation policies and targets.

back to list of symposia

Home | Scientific Programme | Officers | Venue | Accommodation | Tours | Past Congresses