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Ring Ouzel Study Group | |
ResearchSummary of research into potential causes of UK population declinesBackgroundAlthough historical records suggest that the British and Irish Ring Ouzel population was stable throughout the 19th century (Holloway 1996), there is evidence of a widespread and steady decline throughout the 20th century (Baxter & Rintoul 1953, Thom 1986, Hutchinson 1989, Gibbons et al 1996, Wotton et al 2002). This decline has continued in recent years, with an estimated 58% population decrease between 1988-91 and 1999 (Gregory et al 2002), resulting in a UK population estimate of 6157-7549 pairs in 1999 (Wotton et al 2002). The underlying causes of this serious decline are unknown, but various hypotheses have been proposed (e.g. changes in grazing regimes, agricultural improvement, afforestation, disturbance, pollution, competition with congeners, habitat loss in wintering areas, problems on migration routes, climate change). Research Projects involving RSPB
Other Research Projects on this subject: Atlas Mountains, Morocco (838 kB PDF)
Other Research Areas The contribution of Ring Ouzels to the seed production and dispersal of juniper (665 kB PDF) - refer to page 1421 of this paper. Although Ring Ouzels are mentioned in connection with juniper in Spain, the comments are still relevant to British birds.
Sites containing Scientific Papers mentioning Ring Ouzels
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