Andres Kuresoo

Waterbird Populations and Pressures in the Baltic Sea

This report outlines the results of the internationally coordinated census of wintering waterbirds in the Baltic Sea 2007-2009 undertaken under the SOWBAS project (Status of wintering Waterbird pop ...

Recent changes in the status of Steller's Eider Polysticta stelleri wintering in Europe: a decline or redistribution?

Stellers Eider Polysticta stelleri has a restricted arctic breeding range. The world population declined to c. 220,000 individuals in the late 1990s from an estimated 400,000-500,000 in the 1960s. The species has a limited global wintering distribution, occurring in marine habitats in north-east Europe, islands close to Kamchatka in Russia, and the eastern Aleutian Islands and south-west Alaska. European wintering numbers were estimated at 30,000-50,000 in the early 1990s, when the population was considered of favourable conservation status. Recent census data from the most important European wintering sites show annual declines of 8% in Norway since 1984, 9% in Estonia since 1994 and 22% in Lithuania since 1995, suggesting an overall 65% reduction in Europe. Counts in 1994 suggested that 30-50% of the European population wintered in Russia at that time. Current census data from Russia show similar declines along monitored sections of the Kola Peninsula wintering grounds since 1994. Accounting for trends in Russia, the current European wintering population could possibly stand at 10,000-15,000 individuals (a more than a 50% decline in 10 years), qualifying this population as Endangered under IUCN criteria. The changes in Baltic/Norwegian wintering numbers did not correlate with changes in the extent of ice-free marine waters in the Kola Peninsula/White Sea areas, but changes in annual numbers in Norway were correlated with winter North Atlantic Oscillation indices. Variation in annual numbers in the Baltic Sea correlated with projected number of juveniles among wintering birds. However, none of the possible causes discussed in this paper could fully explain the decline in Stellers Eider, confirming the need for comprehensive monitoring of the population throughout its winter range and for cohesive demographic monitoring to target effective conservation action. (Less)

Land-based Census of Wintering Waterfowl: Reliability and Conservation Implications

Abstract The International Waterbird Census (IWC) is one of the longest-running bird monitoring schemes in the Western Palearctic. Most of its data are collected with land-based counts, the reliability of which is largely unknown. This study compared estimates of land-based vs. aerial counts, and the relative conservation values of coastal sites obtained with the two methods. The data were collected in the West-Estonian archipelago of the Baltic Sea in 1993, and analyzed at two spatial scales (mean area of plots 9 and 36 km2). Among nine waterfowl species, land-based and aerial census provided closely correlated local population estimates for the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor), Steller’s Eider (Polysticta stelleri), Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) and, at the larger scale, for the Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos). However, small numbers of all species, except the swan, remained undetected with the land-based census, and numbers of Mallard and Steller’s Eider were also systematically underestimated. The areas having the highest conservation value were reliably identified with the land-based census, particularly at the larger scale. Hence, land-based studies are in general accordance with the aims of the IWC, but the absolute population estimates should be interpreted with care.

The Gulf of Riga as a resource for wind energy — a project description

Wind is one of the main renewable energy resources. The planning of offshore wind farms is an ongoing process and the Gulf of Riga region is no exception. Accurate information on marine wind field with high spatial and temporal resolution is therefore needed. Rough ice conditions in the Gulf of Riga could impose a threat to the construction and operation of offshore wind parks. The Gulf of Riga is an important habitat area for marine mammals and birds. They could suffer the most from the operational activity of wind parks. People are afraid that their living standards may decrease. In several cases it remains uncertain how the planned wind parks contribute to the energy needs of adjacent counties. The project aims directly at producing policy-relevant and scientifically based information on wind energy fields, the most affected key natural species populations and social reactions of and economic benefits for the entire Gulf of Riga region. A decision-making tool based on spatial planning methods of the GIS environment will be developed to facilitate common planning for the exploitation of wind energy in the Gulf of Riga region. Dynamic maps of wind energy, ice conditions, migrating and wintering bird populations, and seals dating back to 2001 and having the projection to future climate will be produced. The indicators for spatial planning with regard to public attitude towards the development of wind parks and for the quantification of local plans concerning renewal energy consumption will be developed and integrated into the decision-making tool. The outputs of the project contribute to the elaboration of policy-relevant, environmental and socio-economic issues related to the exploitation of renewable energy. The project objectives are to provide the decision-makers and potential developers of wind parks in the Gulf of Riga with reliable marine wind information derived from high-resolution remote sensing data, coastal wind measurements and an ensemble of regional climate models. Wind fields will be complemented with the information on habitat areas for seals and wintering, migrating and breeding birds. Local people and authorities will be involved in the active process of the selection of suitable areas for wind parks through mapping their attitude and considering the requirements for the areas of renewable energy. The project partners are research institutes and funds for nature from Estonia and Latvia and the project period is from July 2010 until June 2012. This project is financed by the Estonia-Latvia Programme. Estonia-Latvia Programme is implemented according to the principles of the European Territorial Cooperation and it supports cross-border cooperation between Estonia and Latvia. It is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the Republic of Estonia and the Republic of Latvia.