Chapter 12
Evaluating the Impacts of a New Railway
on Shorebirds: A Case Study in Central
Portugal (Aveiro Lagoon)
Tiago Múrias, David Gonçalves and Ricardo Jorge Lopes
Abstract In 2007, the Portuguese Railway Company (REFER) began to build a
new railway connecting the commercial port of Aveiro (Central Portugal) to the
national rail network, which extended for about 9 km and crossed three of the
remaining saltpans of the Aveiro Lagoon through a viaduct. Due to the importance
of these habitats for shorebirds, and because the railway crossed a Natura 2000 site,
the national biodiversity conservation authority required the impact assessment of
this infrastructure. The study extended from 2006 (pre-construction), through 2008
and 2009 (construction), to 2011 (post-construction), encompassing four breeding
and four wintering seasons. We used a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI)
design, with three impacted (those under the viaduct) and six control saltpans.
During the breeding season (April–July) we monitored the numbers and breeding
parameters of Black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus), and the numbers of
Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) and Little tern (Sterna albifrons). In the
winter, we monitored the numbers and spatial distribution of all shorebirds, and the
activity of Dunlin (Calidris alpina). There was evidence for reductions in the
abundance of the three breeding species in impacted saltpans in 2011, while no
significant negative effects were found on abundances during 2008–2009 and on the
breeding parameters of Black-winged Stilt. There was also evidence for reductions
in wintering shorebird abundances in impacted saltpans in 2011, with no significant
effects on abundances in 2008–2009, and on shorebird spatial distribution and
activity patterns. Overall, the results suggest that the operation of a new railway
close to important wetland habitats had negative impacts on the abundance of
breeding and wintering shorebirds.
T. Múrias Á D. Gonçalves Á R.J. Lopes (&)
CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos,
Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas,
4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
e-mail: riclopes@me.com
D. Gonçalves
Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto,
Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
© The Author(s) 2017
L. Borda-de-Água et al. (eds.), Railway Ecology,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-57496-7_12
197
Evaluating the Impacts of a New Railway
on Shorebirds: A Case Study in Central
Portugal (Aveiro Lagoon)
Tiago Múrias, David Gonçalves and Ricardo Jorge Lopes
Abstract In 2007, the Portuguese Railway Company (REFER) began to build a
new railway connecting the commercial port of Aveiro (Central Portugal) to the
national rail network, which extended for about 9 km and crossed three of the
remaining saltpans of the Aveiro Lagoon through a viaduct. Due to the importance
of these habitats for shorebirds, and because the railway crossed a Natura 2000 site,
the national biodiversity conservation authority required the impact assessment of
this infrastructure. The study extended from 2006 (pre-construction), through 2008
and 2009 (construction), to 2011 (post-construction), encompassing four breeding
and four wintering seasons. We used a Before-After-Control-Impact (BACI)
design, with three impacted (those under the viaduct) and six control saltpans.
During the breeding season (April–July) we monitored the numbers and breeding
parameters of Black-winged stilt (Himantopus himantopus), and the numbers of
Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) and Little tern (Sterna albifrons). In the
winter, we monitored the numbers and spatial distribution of all shorebirds, and the
activity of Dunlin (Calidris alpina). There was evidence for reductions in the
abundance of the three breeding species in impacted saltpans in 2011, while no
significant negative effects were found on abundances during 2008–2009 and on the
breeding parameters of Black-winged Stilt. There was also evidence for reductions
in wintering shorebird abundances in impacted saltpans in 2011, with no significant
effects on abundances in 2008–2009, and on shorebird spatial distribution and
activity patterns. Overall, the results suggest that the operation of a new railway
close to important wetland habitats had negative impacts on the abundance of
breeding and wintering shorebirds.
T. Múrias Á D. Gonçalves Á R.J. Lopes (&)
CIBIO/InBIO, Centro de Investigação em Biodiversidade e Recursos Genéticos,
Universidade do Porto, Campus Agrário de Vairão, Rua Padre Armando Quintas,
4485-661 Vairão, Portugal
e-mail: riclopes@me.com
D. Gonçalves
Departamento de Biologia, Faculdade de Ciências, Universidade do Porto,
Rua do Campo Alegre, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal
© The Author(s) 2017
L. Borda-de-Água et al. (eds.), Railway Ecology,
DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-57496-7_12
197