Abstract
The impact on biodiversity of rapidly increasing recreational activities in coastal waters has long concerned conservationists, partly because of effects on birds. Environmental authorities have extensively used sanctuaries where access is prohibited in the breeding season to protect coastal waterbird populations. Although such sanctuaries have been used for long, the knowledge of their effects on populations at a regional level is very limited, nationally as well as internationally. This project aims to reduce this gap of knowledge by analyzing a unique data set from the Swedish west coast, allowing a comparison of population change on 350 protected and 3200 unprotected islands before and after the establisment, as well as before and after a revision, of the sanctuaries. Complementary field studies will be done to compare reproductive success and behaviour connected to human disturbance of birds on protected and unprotected islands. The project will produce the first stringent test of effects of protected nesting-islands on bird populations at a regional level. It will contribute substantially to the understanding of population dynamics and conservation of island-nesting waterbirds in the Nordic countries, and in similar archipelagos elsewhere; information that may help sustain biodiversity of this habitat, and contribute to a sustainable use of coastal areas.
Sweden