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Bird disturbance on conservation sites in Brittany (France): the standpoint of geographers

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Abstract

Bird disturbance by human activities is one of the impacts related to human presence at conservation sites in Brittany (France). This paper is an attempt at reviewing this relatively unknown problem through the results of an international bibliographical review and of a regional inquiry conducted in close collaboration with managers of the conservation areas in Brittany. These two approaches will help to demonstrate the extent and complexity of the human / fauna interactions, as well as to take stock of the state of research in this field and, last but not least, to highlight the difficulties managers of conservation sites are facing to deal with this new issue. For the managers, bird disturbance is indeed the most important impact related to human attendance on conservation sites in Brittany.

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Notes

  1. These databases are: “Current Contents”, “Asfa”, “Pascal”, “Science Direct Navigator” and “Web of Science”.

  2. The evolution of publications focusing on bird disturbance was compared with the general evolution of publications (all topics considered) for the two most important journals studied in our synthesis: “Biological Conservation” and “The Journal of Wildlife Management”. Results show that the increase in the amount of publications focusing on bird disturbance is greater than the general increase in publications.

  3. An “effect” is an animal’s reaction (whether visible or not) in the encounter with a source of disturbance (Blanc et al. 2006). The effect is neutral, neither positive nor negative; it is a fact.

  4. On the other hand, an “impact” characterizes the repeated effects of bird disturbance that affect “the dynamics of species populations by reducing their survival and/or breeding success rates” (Tamisier et al. 2003).

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Acknowledgements

We would like to thank the Direction Régionale de l’Environnement (Bretagne), Bretagne Vivante-SEPNB and all the managers of conservation areas in Brittany for their interest in our research and the time dedicated to our survey.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratoire CNRS Géomer (UMR 6554), Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer, Technopôle Brest-Iroise, Place Nicolas Copernic, 29280, Plouzané, France

    Nicolas Le Corre & Louis Brigand

  2. Bretagne Vivante-SEPNB, Réserve Naturelle des Marais de Séné, Brouel-Kerbihan, 56860, Séné, France

    Guillaume Gélinaud

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  1. Nicolas Le Corre
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  2. Guillaume Gélinaud
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  3. Louis Brigand
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Correspondence to Nicolas Le Corre.

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Le Corre, N., Gélinaud, G. & Brigand, L. Bird disturbance on conservation sites in Brittany (France): the standpoint of geographers. J Coast Conserv 13, 109–118 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-009-0057-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11852-009-0057-8

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