Unravelling migration connectivity reveals unsustainable hunting of the declining ortolan bunting.

ABSTRACT: In France, illegal hunting of the endangered ortolan bunting Emberiza hortulana has been defended for the sake of tradition and gastronomy. Hunters argued that ortolan buntings trapped in southwest France originate from large and stable populations across the whole of Europe. Yet, the European Commission referred France to the Court of Justice of the European Union (EU) in December 2016 for infringements to legislation (IP/16/4213). To better assess the impact of hunting in France, we combined Pan-European data from archival light loggers, stable isotopes, and genetics to determine the migration strategy of the species across continents. Ortolan buntings migrating through France come from northern and western populations, which are small, fragmented and declining. Population viabili

SUBMITTER: Jiguet F 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6530999 | biostudies-literature | 2019 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature