Arctic Council Working Group Recommendations
| Project | Type | # | Outcome | Report | Year | FEC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) | Action | 5 | Address other threats to Arctic migratory birds along Central and East Asian Flyways and improve international cooperation 5.1 (All countries): Analyse and assess development aid funding structures in high-income-countries and explore opportunities to help identify how AMBI can empower communities to support conservation of important priority species’ habitats, and develop solutions to address illegal hunting where pressures exist. 5.2. (All countries): Initiate work on evaluation of the effect of contaminants and/or pathogens on Arctic-breeding migratory birds as factors possibly decreasing their survival and reproduction potential and estimate bio-transition along the flyway to the Arctic. 5.3. (All countries): Promote cooperation between EAAFP’s Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force and AMBI in addressing Spoon-billed Sandpiper conservation activities identified in this workplan. 5.4. (All countries): Create an intervention tool box to ensure resilience of Arctic-breeding migratory birds along Central and East Asian Flyways with the involvement of Arctic Council Observer countries as recommended by the draft AMBI crosswalk analysis under the PSI funded project. | AMBI Work Plan 2019-2025: Central and East Asian Flyways | 2021 | |
| Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) | Advice | 1 | Methods to monitor plastic pollution in seabirds – Standardized methods (OSPAR 2015; Provencher et al. 2017, 2019) should be used where possible to make data comparable across spatially and temporally. | Plastic Pollution in Seabirds: Developing a program to monitor plastic pollution in seabirds in the pan-Arctic region | 2021 | |
| Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) | Advice | 2 | Monitoring temporal trends in plastic ingestion: The northern fulmar, thick-billed murre and black-legged kittiwake should be monitored for temporal trends in plastic pollution ingestion. | Plastic Pollution in Seabirds: Developing a program to monitor plastic pollution in seabirds in the pan-Arctic region | 2021 | |
| Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) | Advice | 3 | Monitoring temporal trends in plastic ingestion: The northern fulmar, thick-billed murre and black-legged kittiwake should be monitored for temporal trends in plastic pollution ingestion. | Plastic Pollution in Seabirds: Developing a program to monitor plastic pollution in seabirds in the pan-Arctic region | 2021 | |
| Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) | Advice | 4 | Monitoring nest incorporation and entanglement: Black-legged kittiwake and northern gannet (Morus bassanus) nests should be monitored for nest incorporation of and entanglement in plastic pollution. | Plastic Pollution in Seabirds: Developing a program to monitor plastic pollution in seabirds in the pan-Arctic region | 2021 | |
| Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) | Advice | 5 | Monitoring microplastics and plastic-associated contaminants: Northern fulmars, thick-billed murres, black-legged kittiwakes and common eiders should be monitored for microplastics and plastic-associated contaminants. | Plastic Pollution in Seabirds: Developing a program to monitor plastic pollution in seabirds in the pan-Arctic region | 2021 | |
| Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) | Advice | 6 | Monitoring point sources of plastic pollution: Glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus), great skua (Stercorarius skua) and other gull species that feed at landfills and other urban or rural sites, pellets/regurgitations should be monitored for plastic pollution near point sources to track local trends in plastic pollution. | Plastic Pollution in Seabirds: Developing a program to monitor plastic pollution in seabirds in the pan-Arctic region | 2021 | |
| Arctic Migratory Birds Initiative (AMBI) | Advice | 7 | Monitoring species of high conservation concern – Leach’s storm-petrels should be monitored where possible for potential effects of plastic pollution. | Plastic Pollution in Seabirds: Developing a program to monitor plastic pollution in seabirds in the pan-Arctic region | 2021 | |
| Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI) | Key finding | 1 | Broad-scale, multi-species trends for Arctic migratory birds are currently unavailable, although they are necessary for designing and targeting effective conservation strategies to address reported declines in these species. | Arctic Species Trend Index: Migratory Birds Index | 2015 | |
| Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI) | Key finding | 2 | We use a robust method to describe trends in 129 selected Arctic migratory bird species, using abundance change estimates from inside and outside the Arctic. The selected species have increased in abundance by 40% on average between 1970 and 2011. | Arctic Species Trend Index: Migratory Birds Index | 2015 | |
| Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI) | Key finding | 3 | This overall trend masks differences between taxa and in flyway regions, with declines in East Asia and Central Asia (-40% and -70%), and recoveries in Africa-Eurasia and the Americas (50% and 15%). | Arctic Species Trend Index: Migratory Birds Index | 2015 | |
| Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI) | Key finding | 4 | Shorebirds are in decline overall (-10%), with negative trends in the Americas and East Asia (-10% and -70%). Populations of this group are faring better in Africa-Eurasia, where abundance is 40% higher compared to 1970. | Arctic Species Trend Index: Migratory Birds Index | 2015 | |
| Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI) | Key finding | 5 | Waterfowl have increased across all flyway regions mainly due to geese, but there are differences in the underlying trends for geese/swans and for ducks. Geese and swans combined more than quadrupled in abundance between 1970 and 2011, showing positive change across regions (Figure 20), although coverage is too patchy for reliable conclusions. The increase in geese/swans is largely driven by geese, which make up the majority of this data set. Swans have been in decline since 1994. Duck abundance is 10% lower overall (Figure 19), but there are regional differences, with a halving in the Americas and a 70% increase in Africa-Eurasia. | Arctic Species Trend Index: Migratory Birds Index | 2015 | |
| Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI) | Key finding | 6 | In the Wadden Sea, Arctic bird abundance is 75% higher in 2010 than in 1980, but the trend has been following a negative trajectory since 2002. | Arctic Species Trend Index: Migratory Birds Index | 2015 | |
| Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI) | Key finding | 7 | A number of species in our data set showed declines across flyway regions, e.g., Red knot Calidris canutus. Others have increased more recently, e.g., Greater white-fronted goose Anser albifrons. | Arctic Species Trend Index: Migratory Birds Index | 2015 | |
| Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI) | Key finding | 8 | Due to data limitations, this report is a first step towards developing detailed knowledge of macroecological patterns in Arctic breeding migratory birds. Trends may differ from expert knowledge until data gaps are filled. In addition, we did not examine if abundance change is attributable to factors other than the loss of individuals, e.g., shifts in seasonal ranges. | Arctic Species Trend Index: Migratory Birds Index | 2015 | |
| Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI) | Key finding | 9 | Due to time and resource limitations some data on abundance change was not included, accounting for some of the data gaps. Additional gaps are due to lack of access to data and the ongoing need for more data collection. It is hoped that this report will trigger increased interest and wider participation from all countries and organisations along the migration routes as international cooperation is vital to ensure the conservation of Arctic migratory birds. | Arctic Species Trend Index: Migratory Birds Index | 2015 | |
| Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI) | Key finding | 1 | The Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI): 2011 update. 1.1 Average abundance of Arctic vertebrates increased from 1970 until 1990 then remained fairly stable through 2007, as measured by the ASTI 2011. 1.2 When species abundance is grouped by broad ecozones, a different picture emerges, with low Arctic species abundance increasing in the first two decades much more than high Arctic and sub Arctic species abundance. The low Arctic index has stabilized since the mid-1990s while the high Arctic index appears to be recovering in recent years and the sub Arctic index has been declining since a peak in the mid-1980s. 1.3 The trend for Arctic marine species is similar to that of the overall ASTI, while the trend for terrestrial species shows a quite different pattern: a steady decline after the early 1990s to a level below the 1970 baseline by 2005. | The Arctic Species Trend Index 2011: Key findings from an in-depth look at marine species and development of spatial analysis techniques | 2012 | |
| Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI) | Key finding | 2 | Tracking trends in Arctic marine vertebrates. 2.1 The trend for marine fish is very similar to the trend for all marine species, increasing from 1970 to about 1990 and then levelling off. This indicates that the ASTI is strongly influenced by fish trends. Overall, marine mammals also increased, while marine birds showed less change. 2.2 The three ocean regions, Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic, differed significantly in average population trends with an overall decline in abundance in the Atlantic, a small average increase in the Arctic and a dramatic increase in the Pacific. These differences seem to be largely driven by variation in fish population abundance—there were no significant regional differences for birds or mammals. 2.3 Pelagic fish abundance appears to cycle on a time frame of about 10 years. These cycles showeda strong association with a large-scale climate oscillation. 2.4 The ASTI data set contains population trends for nine sea ice associated species. There were mixed trends among the 36 populations with just over half showing an overall decline. 2.5 The Bering Sea and Aleutian Island (BSAI) region of the Pacific Ocean is well studied, providing an opportunity to examine trends in more detail. Since 1970, BSAI marine fish and mammals showed overall increases, while marine birds declined. However, since the late 1980s, marine mammal abundance has declined while marine fish abundance has largely stabilized. | The Arctic Species Trend Index 2011: Key findings from an in-depth look at marine species and development of spatial analysis techniques | 2012 | |
| Arctic Species Trend Index (ASTI) | Key finding | 3 | Tracking trends through space and time. 3.1 Spatial analysis of the full ASTI data set (1951 to 2010) started with an evaluation of vertebrate population trend data from around the Arctic. The maps produced from this analysis provide information useful for identifying gaps and setting priorities for biodiversity monitoring programs. 3.2 Mapping trends in vertebrate populations provides information on patterns of biodiversity change over space and time, especially when examined at regional scales. 3.3 Understanding of the causes of Arctic vertebrate population change can be improved by expanding the spatial analysis of ASTI data to include spatial data on variables that represent driversof biodiversity change. | The Arctic Species Trend Index 2011: Key findings from an in-depth look at marine species and development of spatial analysis techniques | 2012 |