A project has been carried out by the CSIC to analyse the loss of the European turtle dove in Spain, with the aim of implementing conservation measures.

The CSIC (Spanish National Research Council) was a beneficiary in the 2017 Call for Grants with the project “Study of critical population parameters for the European turtle dove: Applications for its management” which has aimed to identify causes of the decline of the European turtle dove in Spain and possible conservation measures.

The use of VHF transmitters in European turtle doves has allowed the location and monitoring of a sample of nests, and to make estimates of productivity in three study areas of Castilla la Mancha and Catalonia. The productivity per pair and year observed in this study may be too low to allow population sustainability, but this will need to be confirmed in future studies. Productivity varies more between individuals than between study areas, and understanding the factors that determine this variation will allow the design of effective measures to increase the productivity of the species. The use of transmitters has also made it possible to evaluate the grazing areas and movements during reproduction. The distances of more than 2 km between nest and feeding areas suggest that turtle doves seen in feedlots in a reserve may come from adjacent reserves.

On the other hand, satellite transmitters have been used to evaluate movements after the breeding season. It has been determined that the migratory routes of turtle doves that breed in Catalonia, where population trends seem to be less negative than in other areas of the Peninsula, differ from the migratory routes of turtle doves that breed in Castilla la Mancha. This suggests that both populations could be exposed to different mortality pressures during migration. In addition,stock models have been implemented with existing information to determine whether current catches are greater than the maximum extractable fraction of the stock. These models indicate that there is overhunting in both Catalonia and Castilla la Mancha. Simulations with the models suggest that overhunting would disappear in Catalonia if there were an increase in productivity or a decrease in catches. In Castilla la Mancha, it would be necessary for both things to happen simultaneously to avoid situations of overhunting.

Finally, the perceptions of the different sectors involved (hunters, conservationists and administration) on the situation of the turtle dove and, specifically, on the relative priority of modifying the hunting pressure compared to carrying out other conservation actions have been evaluated, detecting profound differences between sectors. This must be taken into account if consensus decisions and/or solutions are to be reached in the future.