Publicación conjunta de Durham University, RSPB y Lynx Edicions en asociación con University of Cambridge, BirdLife International y EBCC. Se trata del primer libro que realiza una investigación exhaustiva de la relación entre la distribución de las aves nidificantes en Europa y el clima actual, y de cómo el cambio climático podría alterar la distribución potencial de nidificación de cada especie. Los resultados se presentan de manera detallada para 431 especies, con reseñas breves para otras 48 especies nativas y 16 introducidas. El volumen incluye resúmenes de los patrones climáticos y de vegetación en Europa, un análisis biogeográfico de las aves nidificantes de dicho continente, una revisión de la base de los estudios sobre las relaciones entre la distribución de las especies y el clima y un debate sobre los métodos utilizados en dichos estudios. Contiene también un sumario de los cambios previstos que experimentará el clima en Europa hasta finales de siglo así como un debate sobre la respuesta de las especies al cambio climático. Además, para cada una de las 431 especies, se incluye un breve resumen de su distribución y ecología, mapas de su distribución recientemente corregida y de su potencial futura distribución a finales del siglo XXI, una representación gráfica de la respuesta de cada especie a las tres variables bioclimáticas principales, acompañada de un texto describiendo los posibles efectos que el cambio climático pueda tener sobre dichas especies. Finalmente, se incluye una síntesis y una recapitulación de los resultados obtenidos del conjunto de 431 especies examinadas y una sección final presentando las implicaciones de estos resultados, especialmente con respecto a la conservación de aves en Europa.

Presenting an integrated picture of the distribution and abundance of the breeding birds of Europe, this text compiles and organizes bird survey data from all over Europe. Over 100 regional and national atlases have been produced, surveying areas from such obscure regions as Madeira and the Azores. It describes the present and allows the reader to predict success of future conservation initiatives and the failures of further habitat loss and degradation.

Climate change issues are attracting rapidly increasing interest from a wide range of biologists due to their unprecedented effects on global biodiversity, although there remains a lack of general knowledge as to the environmental consequences of such rapid change. Compared with any other class of animals, birds provide more long-term data and extensive time series, a more geographically and taxonomically diverse source of information, a richer source of data on a greater range of topics dealing with the effects of climate change, and a longer tradition of extensive research. The first edition of the book was widely cited and this new edition continues to provide an exhaustive and up-to-date synthesis of our rapidly expanding level of knowledge as it relates to birds, highlighting new methods and areas for future research.

What can one Welsh hill farm tell us about how we can help nature thrive? In this captivating debut, conservationist David Elias explores one a hill farm in Snowdonia National Park and what it can show us about the realities of farming and looking after nature in this environment. As he visits throughout the seasons, he forms a deep relationship with the land and the people who have worked upon it, discovering their history and traditions, current lifestyle and thoughts on their future. He also explores the many farm’s many habitats and the wildlife that can be found upon them and shows how this has been influenced by changing farming practices over the generations. Through lyrical prose and first-hand conversations with farmers, Elias also shows what current policies have achieved – and not achieved – and why it’s so important that we get a better understanding of the realities and challenges of farming if we are to truly going to reconcile this vital industry while also looking after nature.

The average person can name more bird species than they think, but do we really know what a bird “species” is? This open access book takes up several fascinating aspects of bird life to elucidate this basic concept in biology. From genetic and physiological basics to the phenomena of bird song and bird migration, it analyzes various interactions of birds – with their environment and other birds. Lastly, it shows imminent threats to birds in the Anthropocene, the era of global human impact. Although it seemed to be easy to define bird species, the advent of modern methods has challenged species definition and led to a multidisciplinary approach to classifying birds. One outstanding new toolbox comes with the more and more reasonably priced acquisition of whole-genome sequences that allow causative analyses of how bird species diversify. Speciation has reached a final stage when daughter species are reproductively isolated, but this stage is not easily detectable from the phenotype we observe. Culturally transmitted traits such as bird song seem to speed up speciation processes, while another behavioral trait, migration, helps birds to find food resources, and also coincides with higher chances of reaching new, inhabitable areas. In general, distribution is a major key to understanding speciation in birds. Examples of ecological speciation can be found in birds, and the constant interaction of birds with their biotic environment also contributes to evolutionary changes. In the Anthropocene, birds are confronted with rapid changes that are highly threatening for some species. Climate change forces birds to move their ranges, but may also disrupt well-established interactions between climate, vegetation, and food sources. This book brings together various disciplines involved in observing bird species come into existence, modify, and vanish. It is a rich resource for bird enthusiasts who want to understand various processes at the cutting edge of current research in more detail. At the same time it offers students the opportunity to see primarily unconnected, but booming big-data approaches such as genomics and biogeography meet in a topic of broad interest. Lastly, the book enables conservationists to better understand the uncertainties surrounding “species” as entities of protection.