Browsing by Author "Piha, Markus"

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Data package
    Data from: Effects of multiple targeted repelling measures on the behaviour of individually tracked birds in an area of increasing human-wildlife conflict
    (2022-09-29) Heim, Wieland; Piironen, Antti; Heim, Ramona Julia; Piha, Markus; Seimola, Tuomas; Forsman, Jukka T.; Laaksonen, Toni
    Some animal populations are rapidly increasing in numbers and expanding their ranges, leading to intensified human-wildlife conflicts. A wide range of tools has been developed to repel animals from areas where they are suspected to cause damage. For waterfowl, direct comparisons of multiple repelling methods have so far focused only on species´ presence, total numbers, cost effectiveness or subsequent damage assessments, but not on individual behaviour. Here, we investigated the individual responses of free-flying geese to three repelling methods using high-resolution tracking data. In an experimental setup, tracked individuals were repelled by human approach, gunshot sound or handheld lasers. We found that repelling success and return time to the field where the repelling took place increased when individuals were repelled multiple times. Travel distances after the repelling events were longer after human approach and gunshot sound compared to the handheld laser treatments. In spring, the probability to return to the same field was higher after repelling with handheld lasers, but no difference between treatments was evident in autumn. We observed no increase in the probability to visit accommodation fields, where geese were allowed to forage and were not repelled, after the repelling events. Synthesis and applications. We found no strong differences between the three methods regarding the repelling effectiveness and the resulting behaviour of the tracked geese. However, the higher return rates of individuals after repelling with handheld lasers in spring suggest that this method might be less effective in situations with bright sunlight or very large aggregations of geese. Apart from these limitations, we can recommend handheld lasers for repelling as they might reduce energetic losses for the geese and disturbance of non-target wildlife. Since repelling by gunshot sound and handheld lasers was twice as fast as repelling by human approach, those methods will reduce working hours by 50% and therefore be more cost-effective in practice.
  • No Thumbnail Available
    Data package
    Data from: The Indo-European Flyway: opportunities and constraints reflected by common rosefinches breeding across Europe
    (2021-03-11) Lisovski, Simeon; Neumann, Roland; Albrecht, Tomas; Munclinger, Pavel; Ahola, Markus P.; Bauer, Silke; Cepak, Jaroslav; Fransson, Thord; Jakobsson, Sven; Jaakkonen, Tuomo; Klvana, Petr; Kullberg, Cecilia; Laaksonen, Toni; Metzger, Benjamin; Piha, Markus; Shurulinkov, Peter; Stach, Robert; Ström, Kåre; Velmala, William; Briedis, Martins
    Aim: The configuration of the earth's landmasses influences global weather systems and spatiotemporal resource availability, thereby shaping biogeographical patterns and migratory routes of animals. Here, we aim to identify potential migratory barriers and corridors, as well as general migration strategies within the understudied Indo‐European flyway. Methods: We used a combination of theoretical optimization modelling and empirical tracking of Common Rosefinches (Carpodacus erythrinus) breeding across a large latitudinal gradient in Europe. First, we identified optimal migration routes driven by wind and resource availability along the Indo‐European flyway. Second, we tracked rosefinches from five breeding populations using light‐level geolocators. Finally, we compared to what extent empirical tracks overlapped with the modelled optimal routes. Results: In autumn, theoretical wind driven migration routes formed a broad‐front corridor connecting Europe and the Indian Subcontinent while the theoretical resource driven routes formed a distinct north‐south divide. The latter pattern also reflected the rosefinch tracks with all but the most southerly breeding birds making a northern detour towards non‐breeding sites in Pakistan and India. In spring, the resource availability model predicted a similar migratory divide, however, the southern route seemed relatively more favourable and closely matched with the optimal wind driven migration routes. Spring tracking data showed larger overlap with the modelled wind driven migration routes compared to the resource driven routes. Main conclusions: Optimal wind and resource driven migration routes along the Indo‐European flyway are seasonally specific and to a large extend do not overlap with one another. Under these conditions, migratory birds adopt seasonally distinct migration strategies following energy minimization strategy in autumn, driven by resource availability, and time minimizing strategy in spring, driven by wind conditions. Our optimal migration models can be applied worldwide and used to validate against empirical data to explain large‐scale biogeographic pattern of migratory animals.