Conservation measures that directly target wetland conservation are most likely to help waterbird communities adapt to climate change, according to a study recently published in the journal Biological Conservation
When confronted with global warming, waterbird communities are responding to changes in their environment. The main strategy observed among these species is to shift their range to cooler regions, either by moving towards the poles or by gaining altitude.
This shift is particularly visible among migratory waterbirds, whose high mobility allows them to quickly change their wintering grounds when temperatures change. For example, the common cranes are increasingly wintering in the Camargue region of France, rather than flying south to Spain or crossing the Mediterranean Sea.
However, although waterbirds are changing their geographical distribution, this adaptation is still too slow to adapt to climate change. This growing gap is creating a ‘climate debt’ for species, whose environments are becoming increasingly out of synch with their biological needs.
Adapting to climate change is a crucial challenge for scientists and natural area managers, who need to develop new conservation approaches. Often referred to as “climate change adaptation strategies for biodiversity”, these approaches will become essential in the coming years.
Protecting ecosystems to better protect species
This study assessed how Natura 2000 site management carried out under LIFE projects helped waterbird communities adapt to global warming. It drew on data from 26 EU countries and more than 2,300 sites located in Natura 2000 sites receiving LIFE funding.
The results show that conservation measures that helped waterbirds adapt the most were those directly targeting wetland conservation. These measures enable adaptation twice as fast as other conservation measures targeting waterbirds directly, other species or habitats other than wetlands.
‘The results are encouraging because they also suggest that, although the vast majority of LIFE projects did not explicitly target climate change, they enabled species to adapt to rising temperatures,’ notes Elie Gaget, statistical ecology researcher at the Tour du Valat and co-author of the article.
Previous studies have shown that protected areas, particularly those with management plans, contribute most to the adaptation of waterbird communities to global warming, while the destruction of natural habitats is detrimental to adaptation. This study now demonstrates that the conservation of waterbird habitats is a key parameter for their adaptation to global warming.
Study reference
Leonie Jonas, Jon E. Brommer, Martin Jung, Michal Baláž, John J. Borg, Luka Božič, Preben Clausen, Antoine Derouaux, Koen Devos, Cristian Domșa, Sándor Faragó, Niamh Fitzgerald, Valeri Georgiev, Fredrik Haas, Menno Hornman, Christina Ieronymidou, Tom Langendoen, Aleksi S. Lehikoinen, Kim Lindner, Leho Luigujõe, Włodzimierz Meissner, Tibor Mikuska, Blas Molina, Filipe Moniz, Zuzana Musilová, Danae Portolou, Gwenaël Quaintenne, Juhani Rantanen, Laimonas Šniaukšta, Antra Stīpniece, Norbert Teufelbauer, Marco Zenatello, Elie Gaget
Interactions between climate warming and management actions determining bird community change in protected areas,
Biological Conservation, Volume 308, 2025, 111213, ISSN 0006-3207, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2025.111213.