2025 Publications
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Massie GN, Kuskoff E, Paterson MBA & Fuller RA (2025) To the rescue? A nationwide survey of the who, what, and why of wildlife rescue in Australia. Biological Conservation, 309, 111275.
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Wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and release is a global practice that generates significant public interest. Nonetheless, little is known about the people who choose to engage in or abstain from wildlife rescue. Here we present the results from the first nationwide survey in Australia (n = 492) about peoples' knowledge, beliefs and practice of wildlife rescue. Sixty-three percent of respondents underestimated the scale of wildlife rescue in Australia, 68 % of respondents overestimated the survival outcomes of rescued wildlife, and 59 % of respondents reported rescuing a wild animal in the 12-months prior to taking the survey. Forty-four percent of respondents held self-contradicting beliefs, selecting answers that reflected a central concern for animal welfare while simultaneously prioritising or avoiding the rescue of particular species. We identified two beliefs significantly associated with differing odds of wildlife rescue: beliefs about the type of wildlife rescued and beliefs about how rescued wildlife should be prioritised for care. We identified similar significant associations with the sociodemographic characteristics of age, gender, and region of childhood upbringing. Of note, we found no significant associations with participation in wildlife rescue based on housing, rural/metro location, education level, political inclination, or religion. Our study serves as a step towards closing the knowledge gap about the people who engage in wildlife rescue – a key requirement to developing effective and targeted monitoring and communication about the practice.
Submitted to Biological Conservation on 10 Jan 2025; revision requested 11 Apr 2025; resubmitted 30 Apr 2025; accepted 26 May 2025; published online 6 Jun 2025.
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Shi X, Clarke RH, Simmonds JS, Kerswell A, Holden W, Chapman JW & Fuller RA (2025) Characterising migratory bird assemblages in understudied regions by integrating radar and citizen science data. Global Ecology and Biogeography, 34, e70104.
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Migratory birds are declining globally. In regions where bird migration patterns remain poorly documented, comprehensive data and tools are needed to advance conservation efforts, support sustainable development and fulfil international biodiversity commitments. We aim to enhance understanding of migratory birds in understudied regions by quantifying migration dynamics and identifying overlooked species, using Eastern Australia as a model to demonstrate how multi-method approaches can resolve uncertainties in migration patterns. We estimated migration phenology from eBird data in ten regions across Eastern Australia based on abundance changes of species throughout the year; we cross-validated phenology estimates with those estimated from movement traffic measured by weather radar. We identified species with movement indicative of migration in each region and investigated their legal protection status in Australia. Radar and eBird data showed strong correlations in mid-latitude regions (Victoria to Southeast Queensland), with median migration dates aligning closely, but weaker agreement in Tasmania and tropical Queensland. We identified 311 species with fluctuations of relative abundance suggestive of migration—far exceeding prior estimates—averaging > 90 migratory species per region. Eleven of 18 avian orders included migratory taxa, but legal protection varied: 70% of migratory Charadriiformes (e.g., internationally migrating shorebirds) were listed under national law. In contrast, Passeriformes, Psittaciformes, Anseriformes, primarily moving within Australia, have lower representation, with only 19% of identified Passeriformes formally protected. This study uncovers a hidden diversity of migratory birds in Australia, many of which lack formal protections, especially short-distance and intracontinental migrants. We recommend additional conservation measures and targeted surveys focused on these species to better assess threats and support nature-positive development, including potentially impactful renewable energy projects. Our approach—combining radar and citizen science data—offers a replicable framework to document and protect poorly understood migratory systems globally.
Submitted to Global Ecology and Biogeography on 4 Mar 2025; minor revision requested on 23 Apr 2025; resubmitted May 2025; further minor revisions requested 5 Jul 2025; resubmitted 11 Jul 2025; accepted 29 Jul 2025.
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Kuempel CD, Christofidis M, Fuller RA, Bush R, Garnett ST & Jackson MV (2025) Half of coastal aquaculture sites in Queensland are in close proximity to shorebird habitats. Ocean and Coastal Management, 269, 107850.
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Aquaculture is now the primary source of seafood globally. Terrestrial coastal aquaculture is often located near sensitive habitats such as tidal flats and wetlands, which are crucial for many species including migratory shorebirds. However, the overlap between shorebird habitat and aquaculture ponds is often poorly mapped, hampering effective management. Here we assess the potential interaction between shorebirds and terrestrial coastal aquaculture (present and future) in Queensland, Australia. Queensland has a growing aquaculture industry, focusing on high-value coastal species such as tiger prawns. We found high potential for interaction between active aquaculture sites and shorebirds, with 14.5% of active sites directly overlapping Shorebird Areas (mapped shorebird habitat) and 50% within 5 km. Active aquaculture sites near Pumicestone Passage and Burnett River Estuary Shorebird Areas require special management consideration due to the high counts of shorebirds at these sites (many at internationally and nationally significant levels) and their close proximity to active aquaculture sites. In addition, we found that a satellite tracked critically endangered Far Eastern Curlew likely visited an active aquaculture site, underscoring the need for further on-the-ground assessment and effective management. Nearly all (7 of 8) aquaculture development areas identified for future aquaculture expansion overlapped or were within 5 km of a Shorebird Area, along with 15% of inactive sites (approved sites without ponds), signifying the need to plan and manage development of future aquaculture sites carefully. In light of these results, we urge policy makers and industry leaders to ensure that current and future aquaculture production in Queensland co-exists sustainably and aligns with biodiversity conservation and shorebird protection agreements.
Submitted to Ocean and Coastal Management on 18 Mar 2025; revision requested 5 May 2025; resubmitted 30 Jun 2025; accepted 9 Jul 2025.
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Sockhill NJ, Backstrom LJ & Fuller RA (2025) Level-up urban conservation by increasing vegetation complexity. Urban Forestry & Urban Greening, 112, 128949.
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Greenspaces provide important habitats for species in urban environments, and their effective management is crucial to achieving biodiversity protection goals. Here we investigate how three habitat features that are readily influenced by management—tree cover, vegetation complexity and water area—are associated with bird richness and species presence within urban greenspaces. Analysing remote sensing and citizen science data from Brisbane, Australia, we find that bird species richness within urban greenspaces has a strong positive association with vegetation complexity, but no significant association with tree cover or water cover. These results suggest that urban greenspace management strategies that focus simply on increasing tree cover might overlook valuable biodiversity enhancement opportunities. We also explore how these three management goals influence the presence of individual species and find that the effect of each variable varies among species. These results highlight the importance of formulating urban greenspace management plans with specific objectives in mind—a particular management approach will benefit some species, but harm others. Management to increase vegetation complexity is likely more beneficial for overall bird species richness than simply increasing the area coverage of vegetation or waterbodies.
Submitted to Landscape and Urban Planning on 17 Jan 2025; rejected after review 24 Mar 2025; submitted to UFUG on 4 Apr 2025; revision requested 3 Jun 2025; resubmitted 26 Jun 2025; accepted 2 Jul 2025; published 3 Jul 2025.
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Sockhill NJ, Lin BB, Berthon K, Thomas F, Fuller RA & Bekessy S (2025) Designing urban garden beds: native vegetation creates healthy habitats for arthropods in Melbourne, Australia. Urban Ecosystems, 28, 144.
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Effective management of urban green spaces can positively contribute to the biodiversity of a city. Yet, much of the information about which management practices support biodiversity are derived from data on vertebrates, with little known about invertebrates. Here we report on a year-long field study in Melbourne, Australia across 12 urban garden beds that vary in their design and management. We investigate vegetation-based design and management choices that impact arthropod populations, to provide guidelines for the design and management of urban garden beds. First, we show that native vegetation facilitates flowering and enables arthropods to undertake crucial life cycle activities across the year. We also suggest that complex vegetation (that is, vegetation with canopy, midstorey and understorey elements) may facilitate important arthropod behaviours, and find that canopy trees are not strongly associated with arthropod activity, despite being a common target of vegetation management interventions in urban parks. Finally, we find that the vegetation preferences are not uniform across all arthropod groups, and as such a patchwork of garden beds with different design features will support a diverse set of arthropods within a park and across a city. We recommend that these three interventions be considered when designing and managing urban garden beds, to encourage functioning arthropod populations and support conservation in urban areas.
Submitted to Urban Ecosystems on 3 Apr 2025; revision requested 6 May 2025; further minor revision requested 27 May 2025; accepted 30 May 2025.
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Lin S, Li X, Zhao W, Luo Y, Wang J, Wu W, Li Y, Xie L & Fuller RA (2025) Assessing the spatial pattern of capacity and demand for coastal protection ecosystem services in mainland China. Ocean and Coastal Management, 269, 107815.
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Coastlines are increasingly threatened by natural hazards such as intensifying storms, flooding, and erosion. The safety of lives and property in coastal zones can only be ensured when the biophysical capacity for coastal protection services adequately meets demand. Yet existing capacity-demand models often fail to account for the combined impacts of marine and terrestrial hazards (e.g. extreme rainfall coinciding with storm surges) and the mitigating effects of human critical infrastructure (e.g. dikes). To address this gap, we analyzed 228 county-level coastal assessment units along the Chinese mainland. First, we measured the biophysical capacity of coastal protection services using five indicators related to natural ecosystem properties. Next, we evaluated demand for coastal protection services by integrating six natural hazard indicators, four human exposure indicators, and four social adaptive capacity indicators into a risk reduction model. Finally, we identified nine distinct types of capacity-demand relationships across space (High-Low, High-Medium, High-High, Medium-Low, Medium-Medium, Medium-High, Low-Low, Low-Medium, and Low-High). Seventy-seven counties exhibited relatively low capacity and relatively high demand, located mostly in Guangdong and Jiangsu provinces. Furthermore, we found that many economically underdeveloped counties showed capacity-demand mismatches (e.g. the coastal counties of Hainan Province), perhaps because local infrastructure development has not kept pace with overall economic growth. This study provides a comprehensive framework for identifying spatial patterns of coastal protection services capacity-demand mismatches, thereby informing decision-making to enhance disaster resilience in China's coastal zones.
Submitted to Ocean and Coastal Management on 5 Feb 2025; revision requested 20 Mar 2025; resubmitted 12 May 2025; further very minor revision requested 11 Jun 2025; accepted 14 Jun 2025; published online 18 Jun 2025.
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Chowdhury S, Cardillo M, Chapman JW, Green D, Norris DR, Riva F, Zalucki MP & Fuller RA (2025) Protected area coverage of the full annual cycle of migratory butterflies. Conservation Biology, 39, e14423.
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Effective conservation of migratory species relies on habitat protection throughout their annual cycle. Although protected areas (PAs) play a central role in conservation, their effectiveness at conserving habitats across the annual cycle of migratory species has rarely been assessed. We developed seasonal ecological niche models for 418 migratory butterfly species across their global distribution to assess whether they were adequately represented in the PAs across their full annual cycle. PA coverage was inadequate in at least one season for 84% of migratory butterflies, adequate for only 17% of species in one season, and inadequate for 45% of species in all seasons. There was marked geographic variation in PA coverage: 77% of species met representation targets in Sri Lanka, for example, but only 32% met targets in Italy. Our results suggest that coordinated efforts across multiple countries will be needed to develop international networks of PAs that cover the full annual cycle of migratory insects and that conservation measures, in addition to the establishment and maintenance of PAs, are likely to be needed to effectively conserve these species.
Submitted to Nature; desk reject; submitted to Nature Ecology and Evolution on 17 Nov 2022; rejected after review 13 Dec 2022; presubmission enquiry sent to Current Biology on 15 Dec 2022; full submission invited in January; rejected after review 21 Feb 2023; submitted to PNAS on 6 Jun 2023; major revision requested on 24 Jul 2023; rejected 4 Dec 2023; submitted to Ecology Letters 12 Dec 2023; rejected; submitted to Conservation Biology on 29 Jan 2024; major revision decision 5 Apr 2024; resubmitted 31 May 2024; further minor revisions requested 22 Aug 2024; resubmitted 4 Sep 2024; accepted 2 Oct 2024.
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Proboste T, Turnlund A, Bengsen A, Gentle M, Wilson C, Harriott L, Fuller RA, Marshall D & Soares Magalhães RJ (2025) Quantifying feral pig interactions to inform disease transmission networks. eLife, 13, RP102643.
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Feral pigs threaten biodiversity in 54 countries and cause an estimated $120 billion in damages annually in the USA. They endanger over 600 native species and have driven 14 to extinction. Additionally, they pose a significant zoonotic disease risk, carrying pathogens such as Brucella, leptospirosis, and Japanese encephalitis. Understanding and controlling disease spread relies on models of social dynamics, but these vary widely across regions, limiting the transferability of findings from the USA and Europe to other locations like Australia. This study addresses this gap by analysing the social interactions of 146 GPS-tracked feral pigs in Australia using a proximity-based social network approach. Findings reveal that females exhibit stronger group cohesion, while males act as key connectors between groups. Contact rates are high within groups, facilitating rapid intra-group disease spread, whereas inter-group transmission is slower. Seasonal variations further impact dynamics, with increased contact in summer. These insights suggest that targeting adult males in control programs could help limit disease outbreaks. Given the rising economic and public health concerns associated with animal diseases, the study highlights the need for localized strategies based on feral pig social behaviour to enhance global control efforts.
Submitted to eLife 31 Aug 2024, revisions requested 3 Dec 2024; resubmitted 28 Feb 2025; accepted 6 May 2025.
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Massie GN, Backstrom LJ, Holland DP, Paterson MBA & Fuller RA (2025) Methodological rigour and reporting quality of the literature on wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and release: A global systematic review. Veterinary Quarterly, 45, 1-12.
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Wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and release is a global practice with a broad body of scientific literature; nonetheless, no studies have assessed and quantified the methodological rigour and reporting quality of this literature. In this PRISMA systematic review, we assessed and quantified the reporting of controls, randomisation, blinding, experimental animal data, and housing and husbandry data in 152 primary studies on wildlife rescue, rehabilitation, and release published between 1980 and 2021. We then tested for associations between reporting and study characteristics. Of the 152 reviewed studies, one study reported a control, randomisation, and blinding; 17 studies reported species, age, sex, weight, and body condition; and 14 studies reported housing size, housing location, type of food, provision of water, and provision of enrichment. No study reported all 13 of these elements. Studies published in veterinary-focused journals reported lower methodological rigour and had lower reporting quality than studies published in other types of journals. Studies on mammals had higher reporting quality than studies on birds and on reptiles, and studies that included the word "welfare" had higher reporting quality than studies that did not. The overall low methodological rigour and reporting quality of the literature limits study replicability and applicability and impedes meta-analyses.
Submitted to Biological Reviews on 7 Nov 23; desk rejection; submitted to Animal Conservation 18 Apr 2024; desk rejection 30 Apr 2024; submitted to Veterinary Quarterly 27 Jun 2024; revision requested 19 Oct 2024; resubmitted 16 Nov 2024; accepted 24 Feb 2025.
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Wu Y, Lei W, Wu E, Pan H, Jia Y, Lu C, Han Y, Wang J, Fan R, Ma Z, Zhang Z & Fuller RA (in prep) A multi-perspective understanding of population change in migratory species: A case study with pied avocets (Recurvirostra avosetta) in East Asia. Biological Conservation, 304, 111048.
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Understanding the population dynamics of migratory species is crucial for their conservation. However, researchers often encounter challenges due to insufficient data, especially when monitoring migratory species throughout their annual cycle. One solution to this issue is to combine multiple types of data. Here we develop and test such an approach, using the Pied Avocet, a migratory waterbird species in East Asia, as a case study. We integrate count data, presence-only records, satellite tracking data, and species distribution models.
Our findings reveal an 85 % increase in the annual population of Pied Avocets in East Asia over the past 13 years, despite inconsistent trends across their four major wintering sites. Tracking data indicated that the species experiences low migratory mortality and a moderate to high overall survival rates, with survival not differing significantly between first-year birds and adults. We estimated a 109 % increase in suitable wintering habitat extent and a 42 % increase in breeding habitat extent for Pied Avocets over the past 20 years. These changes are primarily attributed to the proliferation of artificial wetlands, with climate change also contributing to the expansion of wintering habitats.
We conclude that multi-dimensional sources of evidence can be combined to assess and explain population changes even though data of any particular type are relatively limited. We emphasize the effectiveness and importance of using diverse methods to obtain comprehensive information on the population dynamics of migratory species, while concurrently establishing and improving long-term monitoring networks.
Submitted to Biological Conservation on 27 Feb 2024; revisions requested 15 Jun 2024; resubmitted 11 Feb 2025; accepted 23 Feb 2025; published 28 Feb 2025.
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Border JA, Pearce-Higgins JW, Hewson CM, Howard C, Stephens PA, Willis SG, Fuller RA, Hanson JO, Sierdsema H, Foppen RPD, Brotons L, Gargallo G, Fink D & Baillie SR (2025) Expanding protected area coverage for migratory birds could improve long-term population trends. Nature Communications, 16, 1813.
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Populations of many migratory taxa have been declining over recent decades. Although protected areas are a cornerstone for conservation, their role in protecting migratory species can be incomplete due to the dynamic distributions of these species. Here, we use a pan-European citizen science bird occurrence dataset (EurobirdPortal) with Spatiotemporal Exploratory Modelling to assess how the weekly distributions of 30 passerine and near passerine species overlap with protected areas in Europe and compare this to range adjusted policy protection targets. Thirteen of our 30 species were inadequately covered by protected areas for some, or all, of the European part of their annual cycle under a target based on the 2020 Convention on Biodiversity framework and none were adequately covered under a target based on the 2030 Convention on Biodiversity framework. Species associated with farmland had the lowest percentage of their weekly distribution protected. The percentage of a species’ distribution within protected areas was positively correlated with its long-term population trend, even after accounting for confounding factors, suggesting a positive influence of protected areas on long-term trends. This emphasises the positive contribution that an informed expansion of the European protected area system could play for the future conservation of migratory land birds.
Submitted to Nature on 12 Apr 2024; desk rejected 18 Apr 2024; submitted to Nature Communications 19 Apr 2024; sent out for review 25 Apr 2024; revisions requested 2 Jul 2024; resubmitted 20 Sep 2024, in-principle accept 3 Dec 2024; resubmitted 18 Jan 2025; accepted 4 Feb 2025; published 20 Feb 2025. -
Oh RRY, Suarez-Castro AF, Fuller RA, Tervo M, Rozario K, Peters B, Chowdhury S, von Gönner J, Friedrichs-Manthey M, Berger A, Schultz T, Dean AJ, Tulloch A & Bonn A (in press, accepted 14 Jan 2025) Using nature-based citizen science initiatives to enhance nature connection and mental health. Frontiers in Environmental Science, 13, 1461601.
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The global rise in mental health issues underscores the critical importance of assessing the mental health benefits of engaging with nature. Beyond their primary aim of involving citizens in scientific data collection, nature-based citizen science initiatives offer significant potential for enhancing outcomes related to conservation (e.g., connection to nature) and human health and wellbeing (e.g., emotions, depression, stress, anxiety). However, the effectiveness of various types of initiatives in achieving specific outcomes remain unclear. This study evaluates changes in eight outcomes related to nature connection and health and wellbeing before and after participation in five initiatives in Australia and Germany. These initiatives varied in ecosystem type (urban parks, terrestrial forests and freshwater streams) and the participation duration (from 15 min to 48 h). We assessed three dimensions of connection to nature (Self, Experience and Perspective) measured by the Nature-Relatedness scale, mental health outcomes (symptoms of depression, stress and anxiety) using the DASS-21 scale, and emotional states (positive and negative emotions) using the Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE). We found that while participants generally reported improvements across all measured outcomes, only participation in the Queensland Trust for Nature initiative, characterized by its extended duration and social interactions, demonstrated statistically significant enhancements in mental health and emotions after controlling for socio-economic confounders. These findings suggest that while short-term nature-based interventions can effectively alleviate anxiety and stress symptoms and boost emotions, significant changes in nature connection and depression may require more intensive interventions than what is available through typical citizen science experiences. We advocate for reframing nature-based initiatives as integral components of broader health-promoting strategies. By aligning citizen science efforts with health promotion frameworks, these initiatives can achieve greater impact and simultaneously advance scientific understanding, support conservation strategies while improving human health.
Submitted to Frontiers in Environmental Science on 9 Jul 2024; revision requested soon thereafter; resubmitted 23 Dec 2024; accepted 14 Jan 2025; published 18 Feb 2025.
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Lin D-L, Amano T, Fuller RA, Ding T-S & Maron M (2025) Designing biodiversity-friendly landscapes: the effects of landscape heterogeneity across scales on bird species richness in Taiwan. Landscape Ecology, 40, 39.
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Context
Promoting heterogeneous landscapes could help to reduce the negative impacts of habitat conversion on biota, especially for countries with limited lands. However, the benefits of landscape heterogeneity can vary among spatial scales and taxa.
Objectives
To design biodiversity-friendly landscapes, we use nationwide bird survey data and land use maps to examine the effects of compositional heterogeneity, configurational heterogeneity, and habitat amount at different scales on the species richness of different bird groups.
Methods
We examined the effects of configurational heterogeneity (measured using edge density), compositional heterogeneity (Shannon’s diversity index of habitat types), and habitat amount (proportion of forest and farmland cover) at both transect (local) and landscape (0.5, 1, and 2 km) scales on the species richness of all breeding birds, forest birds, farmland birds, and introduced birds.
Results
Total species richness had a hump-shaped relationship with local forest cover, and with farmland cover at landscape scale. Richness of both forest birds and richness of farmland birds increased with Shannon’s diversity index of habitat types at both local and landscape scales, but only increased with the amount of their preferred habitat at the local scale. Richness of introduced birds was greater in landscapes with higher edge density, suggesting those species are associated with human-dominated landscapes.
Conclusions
High compositional heterogeneity with low configurational heterogeneity at the landscape scale may help maintain native bird richness while minimising the spread of introduced species in Taiwan. These results can help guide land use planning to achieving biodiversity goals in a country with intensive land use competition.
Submitted to Landscape Ecology on 15 Nov 2023; revision requested 15 Sep 2024; resubmitted late 2024; accepted 25 Jan 2025, published 5 Feb 2025.
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Wilson JP, Amano T & Fuller RA (2025) Inconsistent scientific methods hamper the management of drone use near birds. Journal of Wildlife Management, 89, e22692.
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Drone use has increased in the last decade, prompting efforts to manage their operation near wildlife. These efforts are hampered by variations in methods among studies, leading to evidence that is fragmented, inconsistent, and incomplete. To address this, we extracted evidence from 194 studies involving drones and birds, covering 314 species, including 61 studies on drone-induced bird disturbance that encompassed 206 species. We summarized the results of these 61 studies, identified evidence gaps, and developed a standard method for characterizing drone-induced bird disturbance. Drone-induced bird disturbance varied with species, breeding status, and distance of the drone from the birds. Key evidence gaps include a lack of studies on small terrestrial species likely to occur in urban environments where drones are often used and limited research in Africa, Asia, and South America. Methods were inconsistent among studies, with only 20% of studies reporting the often-recommended response variable of flight initiation distance (FID). We conclude that 1) managers should use evidence, including our database, to inform regulations, such as buffer distances, that account for species, breeding status, and drone type, 2) researchers should target contexts where interactions between drones and birds are likely but few studies exist, such as urban environments, and 3) researchers investigating drone-induced bird disturbance should conduct horizontal and vertical approaches directly towards birds, and record the FID along with predictors describing the environment, target, and stimulus.
Submitted to Remote Sensing in Ecology and Conservation on 11 Feb 2024; desk rejected on 12 Feb; submitted to Journal of Wildlife Management 13 Feb 2024; R&R decision on 6 Mar 2024; resubmitted 6 Apr 2024; further minor revision requested 23 May 2024; resubmitted on 9 Jul 2024; further minor revision requested 12 Aug 2024; resubmitted 5 Sep 2024; accepted 8 Oct 2024.
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Backstrom LJ, Callaghan CT, Worthington H, Fuller RA & Johnston A (2025) Estimating sampling biases in citizen science datasets. Ibis, 167, 73-87.
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The rise of citizen science (also called community science) has led to vast quantities of species observation data collected by members of the public. Citizen science data tend to be unevenly distributed across space and time, but the treatment of sampling bias varies between studies, and interactions between different biases are often overlooked. We present a method for conceptualizing and estimating spatial and temporal sampling biases, and interactions between them. We use this method to estimate sampling biases in an example ornithological citizen science dataset from eBird in Brisbane City, Australia. We then explore the effects of these sampling biases on subsequent model inference of population trends, using both a simulation study and an application of the same trend models to the Brisbane eBird dataset. We find varying levels of sampling bias in the Brisbane eBird dataset across temporal and spatial scales, and evidence for interactions between biases. Several of the sampling biases we identified differ from those described in the literature for other datasets, with protected areas being undersampled in the city, and only limited seasonal sampling bias. We demonstrate variable performance of trend models under different sampling bias scenarios, with more complex biases being associated with typically poorer trend estimates. Sampling biases are important to consider when analysing ecological datasets, and analysts can use this method to ensure that any biologically relevant sampling biases are detected and given due consideration during analysis. With appropriate model specification, the effects of sampling biases can be reduced to yield reliable information about biodiversity.
Submitted to Methods in Ecology and Evolution on 31 Jan 2023; rejected after review on 5 Apr 2023; submitted to Ibis on 12 Jun 2023; Reject & Resubmit decision on 20 Aug 2023; resubmitted 17 Feb 2024; further minor revision requested 31 Mar 2024; resubmitted 26 Apr 2024; accepted 15 Jun 2024.