Demographic rates reveal the benefits of protected areas in a long-lived migratory bird. ...

• Main Authors: Soriano-Redondo, Andrea, Inger, Richard, Sherley, Richard B, Rees, Eileen C, Abadi, Fitsum, McElwaine, Graham, Colhoun, Kendrew, Einarsson, Olafur, Thorstensen, Sverrir, Newth, Julia, Brides, Kane, Hodgson, David J, Bearhop, Stuart
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 2023
• Subjects: demography; migration; protected area; Humans; Animals; Animal Migration; Birds; Anseriformes; Ducks; Seasons; Demography; FOS Sociology; Cygnus cygnus; Whooper Swan
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.17863/cam.96037; https://www.repository.cam.ac.uk/handle/1810/348611

Recent studies have suggested that protected areas often fail to conserve target species. However, the efficacy of terrestrial protected areas is difficult to measure, especially for highly vagile species like migratory birds that may move between protected and unprotected areas throughout their lives. Here, we use a 30-y dataset of detailed demographic data from a migratory waterbird, the Whooper swan (Cygnus cygnus), to assess the value of nature reserves (NRs). We assess how demographic rates vary at sites with varying levels of protection and how they are influenced by movements between sites. Swans had a lower breeding probability when wintering inside NRs than outside but better survival for all age classes, generating a 30-fold higher annual growth rate within NRs. There was also a net movement of individuals from NRs to non-NRs. By combining these demographic rates and estimates of movement (into and out of NRs) into population projection models, we show that the NRs should help to double the ...