Research interests

My PhD research is focused on the effects of agricultural land use on farmland bird abundance and diversity (see also:  home page of Tomas Pärt). Many common bird species found in European farmland declined dramatically during the last half of the 20th century, and some continue to do so. Many previous studies on the ecology and conservation of farmland birds have led to management measures that will hopefully halt or reverse these declines.

But will all measures have the same effect in all kinds of farmland or in all biogeographical regions? Studies from Söderstöm & Pärt (2000: Cons. Biol. 14, 522-533) and Wretenberg et al (2010: Biol. Cons. 143, 375-381) have shown that habitat specific abundance and species richness of farmland birds can depend on land use in the surrounding landscape.  Many questions I will look at during my PhD build on these ideas. I will investigate the abundance and diversity of birds in specific land uses in farmland study areas with different landscape composition. The results from my PhD research will hopefully allow us to see if conservation measures can be applied with confidence in different regions with varying degrees of agricultural intensity.

Publications

Hiron, M., Rangel-Salazar, J. L. & Christensen, B. (2006) Coexistence of resident and migratory Catharus Thrushes in a montane forest reserve of the northern Neotropics: On habitat use and morphology. Ornitologia Neotropical, 17, 383-394.