Waterfowl Dataset on LifeWatch Italy portal
This news item was originally published on LifeWatch Italy.
A dataset on waterfowl has been published on the LifeWatch Italy portal.
Populations of herons and egrets in north-western Italy increased considerably from 1972 to 2000, but then the positive trend started reversing – this change was detected thanks to a 50-year monitoring programme on the nesting populations of 12 species of colonial aquatic birds (Families Ardeidae, Phalacrocoracidae, Plataleidae, Threskiornithidae). The study represents the longest census programme ever carried out in Italy, and one of the most extensive in Europe, comprising an area of 58,000 km2.
The researchers from University of Pavia, CNR-IRSA and collaborators who participated in the monitoring programme believe that the decline in the breeding population is due to changes in rice cultivation practices, which is their main foraging habitat.