ADVANCES IN ORNITHOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE THROUGH SPECIES DISTRIBUTION MODELLING

CONVENORS
Thomas Gottschalk
Department of Animal Ecology, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 26-32, D-35392 Giessen
Fax: +49 (0)641 99 35709, Email: Thomas.Gottschalk@allzool.bio.uni-giessen.de

Patrick Osborne
Senior Lecturer in Applied Ecology, Centre for Environmental Sciences, School of Civil Engineering and the Environment, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK .
Fax +44 (0)23 8059 3166, Email: p.e.osborne@soton.ac.uk

DESCRIPTION
Prediction of bird species' distributions is central to many applied aspects of nature conservation, biogeography, ecology and evolution. Various techniques have been devised to predict the probability of a species’ occurrence in relation to environmental conditions. One main application of species modelling is the generation of national distribution maps using European monitoring data to show species’ ranges and to estimate population sizes. Multi-scale approaches are gaining popularity due to the improved accessibility of remote-sensed data at different spatial resolution. This allows improved habitat descriptions to be made and predictions of distribution at large spatial extents and fine grain size. High resolution images provide the possibility to extract fine-grained habitat features (now below 1m with the recently launched GeoEye satellite), which could be especially important for modelling passerine bird species. However, the processing of these data is often very laborious, time-consuming and technically challenging.

The aim of the symposium is to provide an overview of the advances and challenges in modelling bird species distributions throughout Europe across ecosystems and taxa. Several issues such as multiple scales, species, space or time-related predictors are illustrated with case studies. The symposium will illustrate representative applications, highlight recent advances in modelling applications , e.g. for species conservation planning, locating possible sites with endangered or rare species and predicting effects of land use and climate change. Further, it will focus on current challenges as well as limits of predictive habitat distribution model for advancing ornithological knowledge.

KEYNOTE 1: Osborne, P.E., Leitão, P.J. & Moreira, F.         
Multiscale species distribution modelling and the benefits and pitfalls of very high resolution environmental data.

KEYNOTE 2: Brotons, L.
Predicting bird distribution in mediterranean dynamic landscapes in a context of global change: challenges and the way forward

Miranda, A.C.; Santos, C.D. ; Granadeiro, J.P. ; Palmeirim, J.M. ; Cadima, J.F.
Modelling Shorebirds Distribution During Low-Tide in the Tejo Estuary

Strubbe, D.,Graham,C.H. and Matthysen,E.
Assessing the potential impact of invasive species on native biota: a  case study on the invasion of ring-necked parakeets in Belgium

Peter van Horssen, Martin Poot.
Large Scale Mapping of Seabird Densities on the North Sea