Behavioural responses to human activities and implications for conservation

Behavioural ecology has a key role to play for improving wildlife conservation. Behavioural studies applied to animal conservation are increasingly frequent, although research at the intersection of both research disciplines has still potential for further development. We briefly review some of the benefits of the interplay between both disciplines, focusing on human disturbances, and illustrate them using two case studies on steppe-birds of conservation concern. We first highlight the benefits of combining measures of behaviour and physiological stress to assess the potential adverse effects of adverse effects of human activities on little bustards and pin-tailed sandgrouse wintering in central Spain. We show how human activities (particularly hunting) increase the time spent flying, the size of wintering flocks, the levels of stress hormones and foraging behaviour after the disturbances. We highlight that creation of hunt-free reserves with good feeding habitats should minimize the negative effects of disturbances. In the second case study, we look at how human disturbances through nest visits visits may have had long-term effects on the phenotypic composition, in terms of behavioural personality types, of a population of Montagu's harrier monitored over 20 years. Behavioural responses to nest visits, which are necessary to protect nestlings from mortality during cereal harvesting, define female personalities (bold vs shy). Disturbance during nest visits induce breeding failure in shy but not in bold females, leading to a population compositional change with an increasing proportion of bold females in monitored populations. We highlight the importance of behavioural studies aimed at conservation problems, particularly in a context where human activities are increasing in space and time.