130925-studie-wildlife-comeback-in-europe

Habitat preferences
Colonies are often found in or near human settlements,
where walls or roofs of old buildings provide
suitable nesting sites, while rock cliffs, quarries
and heaps of stones are also used [2] . The species
requires open areas over which to forage and is
found in lowland areas with steppe-like habitats,
grasslands and extensively farmed land [2, 7] . Prey
diversity, abundance and accessibility positively
affect breeding success [2, 8] , as does colony location
in suitable agricultural habitats and low human
disturbance levels in colonies [9] .
Roost site availability and habitat quality of
surrounding foraging areas are important in the
post-breeding period, when large proportions of
the breeding population congregate, moult and
prepare for migration [2, 10, 11] .
Legal protection and conservation status
The Lesser kestrel is listed in Appendix II of CITES,
Annex I of the EU Birds Directive, Annex II of
the Bern Convention, and Annex I and II of the
Convention on Migratory Species.
Abundance:
current status and changes
On the basis of the most recent population
estimates, the European Lesser kestrel population
amounts to approximately 26,000 breeding pairs
(Table 2). Spain, Italy and Greece together hold 85%
of the population (Table 2).
The Lesser kestrel underwent dramatic declines
by about 95% between the 1960s and the 1990s [14]
but currently the breeding population in Europe is
increasing overall [15] . The population in southwest
Europe has increased substantially since the
mid-1990s (Figure 1) [2] . Data from Spain, which
holds more than half the European population,
are likely to be underestimates [2, 16] , but along
with other countries in southwest Europe, show
recovery of the species. However, in other parts of
Europe, populations are stable or slowly declining [2]
(Figure 1), although data from southeastern Europe
are less accurate [2] .
Distribution:
current status and changes
Lesser kestrel currently has a mainly Mediterranean
distribution, having undergone substantial
range contractions in central Europe [16] . The
species has recently become extinct from Austria,
Hungary, Poland [6] , Czech Republic [16] , Croatia,
Slovenia [4] , and Bulgaria [2] .
No. of breeding pairs
25,000
20,000
15,000
10,000
5,000
0
1970
Major threats
1976
1982
1988
2000
The main cause of the Lesser kestrel decline
has been habitat degradation, as a result of
agricultural intensification and abandonment,
driven by European agricultural policies [27] .
Land-use change associated with the loss of
grazed grasslands and extensive dry cereal
cultivation, either to intensively farmed crops
or to abandonment, scrub encroachment and
afforestation, causes degradation of foraging
areas by reducing availability and abundance
of prey [2, 7, 27, 28] and correlates negatively with the
abundance of colonies [28] .
Application of pesticides on intensive
farmland further diminishes the prey base
available for Lesser kestrel, resulting in chick
starvation, poor fledging success and direct
mortality of parents feeding broods [2, 27, 29, 30] .
Pesticide use in the wintering and staging areas
leads to reduced juvenile survival, while habitat
loss during the non-breeding season is also an
important threat, e.g. conversion of grassland to
arable cultivation [2] .
2006
2012
125
100
75
50
25
0
Population index (%)
Figure 1.
Number of Lesser
Kestrel breeding
pairs in Europe since
1970, according to
the Species Action
Plans [2, 6, 17] and
other key sources,
showing the total
European population
and southwest
and eastern and
southeast European
populations
separately. The
population trend
since 1970 is
also shown (see
‘Methods’).
Country No. of breeding pairs Year %
Albania 0–20 2002 [2]
Bosnia & Herzegovina 10 2012 [18]
Croatia 20 2010 [2]
France 332 2012 [19] 1
1994
Greece 2,600–3,300
(unconfirmed estimate: >6,000)
Table 2.
Latest Lesser Kestrel
population estimates
in Europe, indicating
those countries
holding more than
1% of the European
population.
2009 [20]
(2013 [21] )
Italy 4,500–5,500 2009 [2] 19
Macedonia (FYROM) 1,500–2,500 2010 [22] 7
Moldova 3–6 2001 [23]
Portugal 527–552 2007 [24] 2
Romania 0–2 2010 [2]
Russia 1,100 2009 [2] 4
Spain 14,072–14,686 2005 [2] 55
10
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