Lessons from GPS-tagged Eurasian Curlews: synthesising movement ecology to inform conservation
Abstract
Remote tracking of animals complements traditional marking and recapture methods across ecological studies, improving estimates of demographic rates, migration connectivity, habitat selection, and social interactions. Its insights into how individual behaviour scales up to population dynamics are especially critical for effective transnational conservation, particularly for threatened migratory species. Here, we synthesise over two decades of GPS tracking data from 626 Eurasian curlews (Numenius arquata) to assess how movement ecology informs conservation and policy for this species of high conservation concern across Europe. We show how tracking has refined our understanding of migration connectivity, demography, and habitat selection, and how it can be translated into actionable insights for conservation. Tracking data provided unprecedented information confirming strong site fidelity among adult curlews and evidence of local recruitment. It highlights the importance of young birds' survival until they become reproductively mature and recruit for the population dynamics, and therefore the need for appropriate conservation measures. At the same time, this review shows how movement data contributes to or can contribute to characterize most of the threats to curlews, such as human disturbance or the development of human infrastructure. These findings translate into policy recommendations, including habitat protection, network-based conservation of migratory nodes, mitigation of anthropogenic threats, and the strategic use of population reinforcement. Overall, this synthesis highlights the critical role of individual-based tracking in bridging ecological knowledge and conservation action and provides guidance for the future use of tracking data to improve the conservation status of the Eurasian Curlew along its flyway.
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BibTeX
@article{jiguet2026lessons,
title = {{Lessons from GPS-tagged Eurasian Curlews: synthesising movement ecology to inform conservation}},
author = {Frédéric Jiguet and Aurélien Besnard and Pierrick Bocher and Andrea Kölzsch and Aleksi Lehikoinen and Markus Piha and Petr Procházka and Marie Donnez and Tuomas Seimola and Jimmy Allain and Lise Bartholus and Carole Doucerain and Jan Hanzelka and Odin Rumianowski and Valeria Valanne and Katharine Bowgen and Alain Chartier and Heinz Düttmann and Jaanus Elts and Thomas Fartmann and Wolfgang Fiedler and Samantha Franks and Jérôme Fuchs and Stefan Garthe and Gerrit Gerritsen and Emmanuel Joyeux and Steffen Kämpfer and Michał Korniluk and Helmut Kruckenberg and Riho Marja and Vladimir Morozov and Griet Nijs and Przemysław Obłoza and Pierre Rousseau and Philipp Schwemmer and Tatiana Sviridova and Beate Zein and Anne-Christine Monnet},
journal = {Biological Conservation},
year = {2026},
month = aug,
doi = {10.1016/j.biocon.2026.112033},
url = {https://hal.science/hal-05858395v1},
note = {CC BY 4.0},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Lessons from GPS-tagged Eurasian Curlews: synthesising movement ecology to inform conservation
AU - Frédéric Jiguet
AU - Aurélien Besnard
AU - Pierrick Bocher
AU - Andrea Kölzsch
AU - Aleksi Lehikoinen
AU - Markus Piha
AU - Petr Procházka
AU - Marie Donnez
AU - Tuomas Seimola
AU - Jimmy Allain
AU - Lise Bartholus
AU - Carole Doucerain
AU - Jan Hanzelka
AU - Odin Rumianowski
AU - Valeria Valanne
AU - Katharine Bowgen
AU - Alain Chartier
AU - Heinz Düttmann
AU - Jaanus Elts
AU - Thomas Fartmann
AU - Wolfgang Fiedler
AU - Samantha Franks
AU - Jérôme Fuchs
AU - Stefan Garthe
AU - Gerrit Gerritsen
AU - Emmanuel Joyeux
AU - Steffen Kämpfer
AU - Michał Korniluk
AU - Helmut Kruckenberg
AU - Riho Marja
AU - Vladimir Morozov
AU - Griet Nijs
AU - Przemysław Obłoza
AU - Pierre Rousseau
AU - Philipp Schwemmer
AU - Tatiana Sviridova
AU - Beate Zein
AU - Anne-Christine Monnet
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/08/14
JO - Biological Conservation
DO - 10.1016/j.biocon.2026.112033
UR - https://hal.science/hal-05858395v1
AB - Remote tracking of animals complements traditional marking and recapture methods across ecological studies, improving estimates of demographic rates, migration connectivity, habitat selection, and social interactions. Its insights into how individual behaviour scales up to population dynamics are especially critical for effective transnational conservation, particularly for threatened migratory species. Here, we synthesise over two decades of GPS tracking data from 626 Eurasian curlews (Numenius arquata) to assess how movement ecology informs conservation and policy for this species of high conservation concern across Europe. We show how tracking has refined our understanding of migration connectivity, demography, and habitat selection, and how it can be translated into actionable insights for conservation. Tracking data provided unprecedented information confirming strong site fidelity among adult curlews and evidence of local recruitment. It highlights the importance of young birds' survival until they become reproductively mature and recruit for the population dynamics, and therefore the need for appropriate conservation measures. At the same time, this review shows how movement data contributes to or can contribute to characterize most of the threats to curlews, such as human disturbance or the development of human infrastructure. These findings translate into policy recommendations, including habitat protection, network-based conservation of migratory nodes, mitigation of anthropogenic threats, and the strategic use of population reinforcement. Overall, this synthesis highlights the critical role of individual-based tracking in bridging ecological knowledge and conservation action and provides guidance for the future use of tracking data to improve the conservation status of the Eurasian Curlew along its flyway.
SN - 0006-3207
ER -