Raptor health as an indicator of ecosystem health: a novel toolbox for conservation
Monitoring the health of wildlife is a vital element of environmental stewardship, and there are benchmark examples of crucial interventions involving predators, and especially birds of prey (raptors; Order: Accipitres). Such work can involve ecological, behavioural, veterinarian and toxicological a...
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The University of Edinburgh
2021
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Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/1842/38209 https://doi.org/10.7488/era/1475 |
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ftunivedinburgh:oai:era.ed.ac.uk:1842/38209 2023-07-30T04:07:30+02:00 Raptor health as an indicator of ecosystem health: a novel toolbox for conservation Peniche Peyron, Gabriela Meredith, Anna Anderson, Neil Shaw, Darren Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) 2021-07-31 application/pdf https://hdl.handle.net/1842/38209 https://doi.org/10.7488/era/1475 en eng The University of Edinburgh Peniche G, Fernandez JR-R, Durrant C, John SK, Macgregor SK, Cunningham AA, Lawson B. 2017. Nested PCR for Suttonella ornithocola reveals widespread infection in British Paridae species. European Journal of Wildlife Research 63:50-59 Peniche G, Olson PD, Bennett DJ, Wong L, Sainsbury AW, Durrant C. 2016. Protecting Free-Living Dormice: Molecular Identification of Cestode Parasites in Captive Dormice (Muscardinus avellanarius) Destined for Reintroduction. EcoHealth. Springer US Sainsbury A, Yu-Mei R, Agren E, Vaughan-Higgins R, Mcgill I, Molenaar F, Peniche G, Foster J. 2016. Disease risk analysis and post-release health surveillance for a reintroduction programme: the pool frog (Pelophylax lessonae). Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 64:1530–1548. Serna H, Pocknell A, Sainsbury AW, Peniche G, Blake DP, Beckmann KM. 2018. Eimeria spp. in captive reared corncrakes (Crex crex): results of a GeneScan assay consistent with high prevalence of infection and extra-intestinal life stages. Avian Pathology 47:375–383. Taylor & Francis https://hdl.handle.net/1842/38209 http://dx.doi.org/10.7488/era/1475 ecosystem indicator health conservation raptor Thesis or Dissertation Doctoral PhD Doctor of Philosophy 2021 ftunivedinburgh https://doi.org/10.7488/era/1475 2023-07-09T20:30:48Z Monitoring the health of wildlife is a vital element of environmental stewardship, and there are benchmark examples of crucial interventions involving predators, and especially birds of prey (raptors; Order: Accipitres). Such work can involve ecological, behavioural, veterinarian and toxicological approaches. The scale of work can vary from studying a few individuals of a species through to national and global surveillance programmes over long time periods. Such work contributes to our understanding of the health of individuals, species populations and indeed wider ecosystems. Predators are commonly used as indicator species due to their position at the top of the food chain and their susceptibility to processes of bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Furthermore, the relatively small sizes of many predator populations means that they can be more easily and closely monitored, enabling the determination of the causes of decline or poor health at local, regional or wider scales. This project assesses the health of raptor populations in Scotland, through the development of a series of tools. Health examination and blood sampling of live individuals of a single species, the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), were used to develop blood reference intervals as Tool 1 to assess individual health. Biometrics obtained from the same birds were combined to develop Tool 2 for sexing nestlings and later help inform population sex ratios. Post mortem examinations of many raptor species were used to create Tool 3 to assess health at a single point in time, and to see if this could be used to discern the health of raptor populations. Finally, Tool 4 was devised to analyse essential and toxic elements, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and poisons in raptor tissues and blood to obtain an overview of chemicals present in birds at the top of the food chain. These four tools were used to help us understand the health of raptors. The work relied heavily on a wide network of people, both raptor specialists as well as members of the public, ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Aquila chrysaetos golden eagle Edinburgh Research Archive (ERA - University of Edinburgh) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Edinburgh Research Archive (ERA - University of Edinburgh) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivedinburgh |
language |
English |
topic |
ecosystem indicator health conservation raptor |
spellingShingle |
ecosystem indicator health conservation raptor Peniche Peyron, Gabriela Raptor health as an indicator of ecosystem health: a novel toolbox for conservation |
topic_facet |
ecosystem indicator health conservation raptor |
description |
Monitoring the health of wildlife is a vital element of environmental stewardship, and there are benchmark examples of crucial interventions involving predators, and especially birds of prey (raptors; Order: Accipitres). Such work can involve ecological, behavioural, veterinarian and toxicological approaches. The scale of work can vary from studying a few individuals of a species through to national and global surveillance programmes over long time periods. Such work contributes to our understanding of the health of individuals, species populations and indeed wider ecosystems. Predators are commonly used as indicator species due to their position at the top of the food chain and their susceptibility to processes of bioaccumulation and biomagnification. Furthermore, the relatively small sizes of many predator populations means that they can be more easily and closely monitored, enabling the determination of the causes of decline or poor health at local, regional or wider scales. This project assesses the health of raptor populations in Scotland, through the development of a series of tools. Health examination and blood sampling of live individuals of a single species, the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos), were used to develop blood reference intervals as Tool 1 to assess individual health. Biometrics obtained from the same birds were combined to develop Tool 2 for sexing nestlings and later help inform population sex ratios. Post mortem examinations of many raptor species were used to create Tool 3 to assess health at a single point in time, and to see if this could be used to discern the health of raptor populations. Finally, Tool 4 was devised to analyse essential and toxic elements, pesticides, pharmaceuticals and poisons in raptor tissues and blood to obtain an overview of chemicals present in birds at the top of the food chain. These four tools were used to help us understand the health of raptors. The work relied heavily on a wide network of people, both raptor specialists as well as members of the public, ... |
author2 |
Meredith, Anna Anderson, Neil Shaw, Darren Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Peniche Peyron, Gabriela |
author_facet |
Peniche Peyron, Gabriela |
author_sort |
Peniche Peyron, Gabriela |
title |
Raptor health as an indicator of ecosystem health: a novel toolbox for conservation |
title_short |
Raptor health as an indicator of ecosystem health: a novel toolbox for conservation |
title_full |
Raptor health as an indicator of ecosystem health: a novel toolbox for conservation |
title_fullStr |
Raptor health as an indicator of ecosystem health: a novel toolbox for conservation |
title_full_unstemmed |
Raptor health as an indicator of ecosystem health: a novel toolbox for conservation |
title_sort |
raptor health as an indicator of ecosystem health: a novel toolbox for conservation |
publisher |
The University of Edinburgh |
publishDate |
2021 |
url |
https://hdl.handle.net/1842/38209 https://doi.org/10.7488/era/1475 |
genre |
Aquila chrysaetos golden eagle |
genre_facet |
Aquila chrysaetos golden eagle |
op_relation |
Peniche G, Fernandez JR-R, Durrant C, John SK, Macgregor SK, Cunningham AA, Lawson B. 2017. Nested PCR for Suttonella ornithocola reveals widespread infection in British Paridae species. European Journal of Wildlife Research 63:50-59 Peniche G, Olson PD, Bennett DJ, Wong L, Sainsbury AW, Durrant C. 2016. Protecting Free-Living Dormice: Molecular Identification of Cestode Parasites in Captive Dormice (Muscardinus avellanarius) Destined for Reintroduction. EcoHealth. Springer US Sainsbury A, Yu-Mei R, Agren E, Vaughan-Higgins R, Mcgill I, Molenaar F, Peniche G, Foster J. 2016. Disease risk analysis and post-release health surveillance for a reintroduction programme: the pool frog (Pelophylax lessonae). Transboundary and Emerging Diseases 64:1530–1548. Serna H, Pocknell A, Sainsbury AW, Peniche G, Blake DP, Beckmann KM. 2018. Eimeria spp. in captive reared corncrakes (Crex crex): results of a GeneScan assay consistent with high prevalence of infection and extra-intestinal life stages. Avian Pathology 47:375–383. Taylor & Francis https://hdl.handle.net/1842/38209 http://dx.doi.org/10.7488/era/1475 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.7488/era/1475 |
_version_ |
1772820897028112384 |