- Silkeborg, Central Jutland, Denmark
tony fox
Aarhus University, Bios, Department Member
Research Interests: Botany, Animal Science, Biology, Ecology, Medicine, and 8 moreOecologia, Grazing, Growth rate, Lamina, Cumulant, Protein content, Protein intake, and GOOSE
The use of radar to detect ships and aircraft became a key part of Britain's defence in the early part of the Second World War, but not all echoes were those of operational targets. David Lack, of the Army Operational Research Group,... more
The use of radar to detect ships and aircraft became a key part of Britain's defence in the early part of the Second World War, but not all echoes were those of operational targets. David Lack, of the Army Operational Research Group, showed that many unexplained echoes came from flying birds, despite critics at the time. Careful observation combined with experiments provided observers with means of differentiating birds from boats and aircraft. Lack went on to use his wartime experience to launch the science of radar ornithology during the 1950s, which formed the basis of a development that continues to the present day with a range of more sophisticated radar equipment.
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This paper reviews factors affecting site selection amongst waterfowl (Anatidae) during the flightless remigial moult, emphasising the roles of predation and food supply (especially protein and energy). The current literature suggests... more
This paper reviews factors affecting site selection amongst waterfowl (Anatidae) during the flightless remigial moult, emphasising the roles of predation and food supply (especially protein and energy). The current literature suggests survival during flightless moult is at least as high as at other times of the annual cycle, but documented cases of predation of flightless waterfowl under particular conditions lead us to infer that habitat selection is generally highly effective in mitigating or avoiding predation. High energetic costs of feather replacement and specific amino-acid requirements for their construction imply adoption of special energetic and nutritional strategies at a time when flightlessness limits movements. Some waterfowl meet their energy needs from endogenous stores accumulated prior to remigial moult, others rely on exogenous supply, but this varies with species, age, reproductive status and site. Limited evidence suggests feather proteins are derived from endog...
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While wild goose populations wintering in North America and Europe are mostly flourishing by exploiting farmland, those in China (which seem confined to natural wetlands) are generally declining. Telemetry devices were attached to 67... more
While wild goose populations wintering in North America and Europe are mostly flourishing by exploiting farmland, those in China (which seem confined to natural wetlands) are generally declining. Telemetry devices were attached to 67 wintering wild geese of five different species at three important wetlands in the Yangtze River Floodplain (YRF), China to determine habitat use. 50 individuals of three declining species were almost entirely diurnally confined to natural wetlands; 17 individuals from two species showing stable trends used wetlands 83% and 90% of the time, otherwise resorting to farmland. These results confirm earlier studies linking declines among Chinese wintering geese to natural habitat loss and degradation affecting food supply. These results also contribute to explaining the poor conservation status of Chinese wintering geese compared to the same and other goose species wintering in adjacent Korea and Japan, western Europe and North America, which feed almost enti...
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... A consequence of the population increase has been intensive scaring of the geese on ... of har-nesses and radio devices will inevitably restrict movement, contribute drag in flight and add ... for instance, that in travelling from... more
... A consequence of the population increase has been intensive scaring of the geese on ... of har-nesses and radio devices will inevitably restrict movement, contribute drag in flight and add ... for instance, that in travelling from Trondheim Fjord to Vesterålen, the geese do not use any ...
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Species are responding to climate change by changing their distributions, creating debate about the effectiveness of existing networks of protected areas. As a contribution to this debate, we assess whether regional winter abundances and... more
Species are responding to climate change by changing their distributions, creating debate about the effectiveness of existing networks of protected areas. As a contribution to this debate, we assess whether regional winter abundances and distribution of the Smew Mergellus albellus, a migratory waterbird species listed on Annex I (EU Birds Directive) that overwinters exclusively in European wetlands, changed during 1990–2011, the role of global warming in driving distributional changes and the effectiveness of the network of Special Protection Areas (SPAs, EU Birds Directive) in the context of climate change.
We used site-specific counts (6,883 sites) from 16 countries covering the entire flyway to estimate annual abundance indices and trends at country, region (north-eastern, central and south-western) and flyway scales, inside and outside SPAs. We fitted autoregressive models to assess the effect of winter temperature on the annual abundance indices whilst accounting for autocorrelation.
The Smew wintering distribution shifted north-eastwards in Europe in accordance with the predictions of global warming, with increasing numbers in the north-eastern region and declines in the central region. Trends in wintering numbers were more positive in SPAs on the north-eastern and south-western part of the flyway. However, a large proportion of the wintering population remains unprotected in north-eastern areas outside of the existing SPA network.
SPAs accommodated climate-driven abundance changes in the north-eastern region of the wintering distribution by supporting increasing numbers of Smew in traditional and newly colonized areas. However, we highlight gaps in the current network, suggesting that urgent policy responses are needed. Given rapid changes in species distributions, we urge regular national and international assessments of the adequacy of the EU Natura 2000 network to ensure coherence in site-safeguard networks for this and other species.
We used site-specific counts (6,883 sites) from 16 countries covering the entire flyway to estimate annual abundance indices and trends at country, region (north-eastern, central and south-western) and flyway scales, inside and outside SPAs. We fitted autoregressive models to assess the effect of winter temperature on the annual abundance indices whilst accounting for autocorrelation.
The Smew wintering distribution shifted north-eastwards in Europe in accordance with the predictions of global warming, with increasing numbers in the north-eastern region and declines in the central region. Trends in wintering numbers were more positive in SPAs on the north-eastern and south-western part of the flyway. However, a large proportion of the wintering population remains unprotected in north-eastern areas outside of the existing SPA network.
SPAs accommodated climate-driven abundance changes in the north-eastern region of the wintering distribution by supporting increasing numbers of Smew in traditional and newly colonized areas. However, we highlight gaps in the current network, suggesting that urgent policy responses are needed. Given rapid changes in species distributions, we urge regular national and international assessments of the adequacy of the EU Natura 2000 network to ensure coherence in site-safeguard networks for this and other species.
Research Interests: Ornithology, Climate Change, Wetlands, Conservation Biology, Conservation, and 13 moreClimate Change Adaptation, Species Distribution Models, Climate change policy, Baltic Sea Region Studies, Environment and natural resources conservation, Ecology, Climate Change Adaptation And Mitigation Strategies, Wildlife Conservation, Protected areas, Waterbirds, Wintering distribution, Waterfowl management, and Natura2000
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CRAIG R. ELY*1, ANTHONY D. FOX2, RAY T. ALISAUSKAS3, ALEXANDER ANDREEV4, ROBERT G. BROMLEY5, AG DEGTYAREV6, BARWOLT EBBINGE7, EN GURTOVAYA8, RICHARD KERBES3, ALEXANDER V. KONDRATYEV9, IGOR KOSTIN10, ARSENI V. ...
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We review the current and future threats to duck populations that breed, stage, moult and/or winter in the Nordic countries. Migratory duck species are sensitive indicators of their changing environment, and their societal value confirms... more
We review the current and future threats to duck populations that breed, stage, moult
and/or winter in the Nordic countries. Migratory duck species are sensitive indicators
of their changing environment, and their societal value confirms the need to translate
signals from changes in their distribution, status and abundance into a better understanding
of changes occurring in their wetland environments. We used expert opinion
to highlight 25 major areas of anthropogenic change (and touch briefly on potential
mitigation measures through nature restoration and reserve management projects) that
we consider key issues likely to influence Nordic duck populations now and in the near
future to stimulate debate, discussion and further research. We believe such reviews
are essential in contributing to development of successful management policy as well
as stimulating specific research to support the maintenance of duck species in favourable
future conservation status in the face of multiple population pressures and drivers.
and/or winter in the Nordic countries. Migratory duck species are sensitive indicators
of their changing environment, and their societal value confirms the need to translate
signals from changes in their distribution, status and abundance into a better understanding
of changes occurring in their wetland environments. We used expert opinion
to highlight 25 major areas of anthropogenic change (and touch briefly on potential
mitigation measures through nature restoration and reserve management projects) that
we consider key issues likely to influence Nordic duck populations now and in the near
future to stimulate debate, discussion and further research. We believe such reviews
are essential in contributing to development of successful management policy as well
as stimulating specific research to support the maintenance of duck species in favourable
future conservation status in the face of multiple population pressures and drivers.