MIAMI.- A new study reveals for the first time the impact of current armed conflicts on the migration of an endangered bird species.
Researchers of the University of East Anglia (UEA), the British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) and the Estonian University of Life Sciences compared the movement and migration of the spotted eagle across Ukraine, before and shortly after it was invaded by Russia in February 2022. They publish findings in Current Biology.
They were already studying the species when the war began, and the dangers faced by migratory birds were generally related to disruptive weather or drought, changes in land use affecting traditional stopping points, or the destruction of essential habitats. .
However, during the invasion, the team discovered that the eagles, which had previously been equipped with GPS tracking devices, were exposed to multiple conflicting events throughout their journey across the country in March and April.
These included artillery fire, jet aircraft, tanks and other weapons, as well as unprecedented numbers of soldiers moving across the landscape and millions of displaced civilians.
Their migratory behavior, compiled from tracking data, was compared to previous years as they passed between wintering grounds in southern Europe and East Africa and key breeding grounds in southern Belarus.
The findings reveal that the eagles deviated greatly from their traditional migratory routes. They also spent less time stopping at their usual refueling sites in Ukraine or avoided them altogether.
This caused the eagles to travel further and arrive at their nesting areas later than usual. This could seriously affect them and likely contributed to lower fitness at a time when optimal condition is critical for successful reproduction.
The researchers say the findings show the potentially wide-ranging impacts of conflict on wildlife, which is important as many biodiversity hotspots are located in politically volatile countries.
DEVASTATING IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
Lead author of the study, Charlie Russell, a postgraduate researcher at UEA’s School of Environmental Sciences, said: “The war in Ukraine has had a devastating impact on people and the environment. Our findings provide a rare window into how conflicts affect wildlife, improving our understanding of the potential impacts of exposure to such events or other extreme human activities that are difficult to predict or monitor.
“These types of disturbances can have significant impacts on the behavior and potentially the fitness of eagles. For individuals that breed in these areas, or other species that are less able to respond to disturbances, the impacts are likely to be much older.”
“Our findings show how human disturbance can inadvertently affect wildlife,” Dr Adham Ashton-Butt, senior research ecologist at the BTO, said in a statement.
By early March 2022, when the first of 19 GPS-tagged eagles entered Ukraine on their way north, the war had spread to most major cities, exposing them to areas of intense human conflict.
The team found that the birds flew further and less directly to their breeding grounds, traveling an additional 85 kilometers on average. Migrations also took longer: 246 hours compared to 193 before the conflict for females, and 181 hours compared to 125 before the conflict for males. The males also traveled more slowly than in pre-war years.
Fewer birds stopped in Ukraine before returning to their breeding grounds: Only six in 19 (30%) stopped over, compared to 18 in 20 (90%) in 2018-2021, while some important stopover sites, for example in Ukraine Polesia, were not used at all in 2022.
The researchers suggest that sex differences in flight speed may correspond to migration strategies, with males making longer trips from wintering grounds in East Africa before reaching Ukraine, compared to females. who migrate from Greece. This could also affect reproductive success if a disproportionate number of both sexes are severely affected by war-related events.
Co-author Dr. Aldina Franco, from the UEA, develops technologies for animal tracking. He added: “Remote wildlife monitoring allows researchers to understand the impact of human activities, such as hunting or energy infrastructure, on the environment and wildlife populations. In this case, it provides insights into how “Armed conflicts affect the behavior and migration of animals.”
“Collection of this data is limited by the logistical implications of working in these areas and previous research has been limited to birds resident in military training areas. However, our tracking data gives us a unique window into how migratory eagles experience and respond to intense conflict.
Source: EUROPA PRESS
