Volume 13, Number 3—March 2007
Perspective
Bird Migration Routes and Risk for Pathogen Dispersion into Western Mediterranean Wetlands
Table
Periods of major risk for pathogen introduction in the Camargue from sub-Saharan Africa, Siberia-Scandinavia, or continental Europe for all species, Anatidae species, and waders*
Origin | Species | Spring | Summer | Autumn | Winter |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
sub-Saharan Africa | All | ++ | + | (±) | (–) |
Waterfowl | +/– | – | (±) | (–) | |
Waders | ++ | + | (+) | (–) | |
Scandinavia/Siberia | All | (±) | (–) | ++ | + |
Waterfowl | (–) | (–) | ++ | ++ | |
Waders | (+) | (±) | ++ | ± | |
Continental Europe | All | (±) | (–) | ++ | + |
Waterfowl | (–) | (–) | ++ | ++ | |
Waders | (+) | (–) | ++ | + |
*The risk is supposed to increase both with the number of species and the number of individual birds present in the Camargue (++, very high; +, high; ±, medium; –, low). In addition, the timing of migration matters since the introduction of pathogens from Africa (Eurasia) during the autumn (spring) migration is less likely because birds do not come directly from these areas. The corresponding risks are therefore in parentheses.