Conservation

I have conducted various research projects with direct application to conservation of specific species. These include: the effect of worm treatment of livestock on dung insects, which has an impact on birds such as chough which rely on this food source; variation in inbreeding and its consequences on fitness in Mauritius kestrel Falco punctatus. a species that only 4 decades ago was the rarest bird of prey in the world. I also have studied the ecology of populations of greater flamingos Phoenicopterus ruber roseus and red-throated divers Gavia stellata.  The latter posed a particular challenge due to its remote nesting sites and vulnerability to nest visits which could be overcome by the use of remote nest-based data loggers and digirecording.

Currently I am also concerned about the causes of the dramatic population declines in the UK's larger gulls (herring gull Larus argentatus and lesser black-backed gull Larus fuscus). Recently I have also become involved with a reintroduction program of black grouse Tetrao tetrix and local community-based conservation projects in an urban environment with A Rocha UK. My work on reproducing in a changing environment has also application for conservation biology. 

Flamingo work

  • Nager, R.G., Johnson, A.R., Boy, V., Rendon-Martos, M., Calderon, J. & Cézilly, F.  1996. Spatial and temporal variation in dispersal in the greater flamingo (Phoenicopterus ruber roseus). Oecologia 107:204-211.
  • Pradel, R., Johnson, A.R., Viallefont, A., Nager, R.G. & Cézilly, F. 1997. Local recruitment in the greater flamingo: a new approach using capture-mark-recapture data. Ecology 78:1431-1445.

Past and current group members

Lisa Webb - The impact of avermectin usage on the ecology of dung invertebrate communities and implications for foraging birds

  • Webb, L., Beaumont, D.J., Nager, R.G. and McCracken, D.I. 2007. Effects of avermectin residues in cattle dung on yellow dung fly (Scathophaga stercoraria L.) populations in grazed pastures. Bulletin of Entomological Research 97,129-138.
  • Webb, L., Beaumont, D.J., Nager, R.G. and McCracken, D.I. 2010. Field-scale dispersal of Aphodius dung beetles (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) in response to avermectin treatments on pastured cattle. Bulletin of Entomological Research 100, 175-183.

Avermectin Advice Note

Steven Ewing - Inbreeding depression and conservation management strategies in the Mauritius kestrel

  • Ewing, S, Nager, R.G., Nicoll, M.A.C., Aumjaud, A., Jones, C.G. and Keller L.F. 2008. Inbreeding and loss of genetic variation in a reintroduced population of Mauritius Kestrel (Falco punctatus). Conservation Biology 22,395-404.

Simon Hulka - Biology of the red-throated diver