Importance of the conservation policies for facilitate community adjustment to climate warming of the Mediterranean wintering waterbirds ; Importance des politiques de conservation pour faciliter l'ajustement des communautés d'oiseaux d'eau hivernants au réchauffement climatique en Méditerranée
Human activities seriously threaten biodiversity. In terms of global changes, overexploitation of populations and habitat destruction/degradation are at the top of the list of factors responsible for biodiversity loss. Climate change is increasing in magnitude and adding additional pressure on species. In response to the increase in global temperatures, communities are changing as a result of the shift in the geographical distribution of species towards the poles. But the accumulation of anthropogenic pressures is likely to produce interaction effects that limit community adjustment to global warming. In this critical context, conservation biology aims to reconcile human activities with biodiversity conservation. In this thesis I have investigate how the accumulation of anthropogenic pressures can limit the adjustment of communities to global warming and to identify solutions that could be put in place to facilitate their adaptation to this warming. I have used the wintering waterbird species in the countries of the Mediterranean basin as a model for my study. These iconic species benefit from an international census to monitor their populations in response to hunting and the degradation of the wetlands on which they depend. The Mediterranean is a highly anthropized region where the use of natural resources exerts significant pressures on wetlands and their biodiversity. In response, countries have different strategies to protect these ecosystems, making this region an interesting experimental plan to measure the impact in global changes on species assemblage based on conservation measures implemented. By studying the response of communities to global warming under a gradient of habitat loss/degradation, I show that community adjustment is reduced or even prevented by wetland degradation. The Ramsar Convention aims to protect wetlands and their biodiversity by maintaining a rational use of natural resources. In assessing the effect of this convention, I show that its effectiveness in conserving bird populations ...