Conservation Status
The Ruff has a large range, estimated at 1–10 million square kilometres (0.38–3.8 million square miles) and a population of at least 2,000,000 birds. The European population of 200,000–510,000 pairs, occupying more than half of the total breeding range, seems to have declined by up to 30% over ten years, but this may reflect geographical changes in breeding populations. Numbers in Asia do not appear to be declining, and more Ruffs are wintering in Africa. The species as a whole is therefore not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (that is, declining more than 30 percent in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the Ruff is classified as "least concern".
The most important breeding populations in Europe, in Russia and Sweden are stable, and the breeding range in Norway has expanded to the south, but populations have more than halved in Finland, Poland, Latvia and The Netherlands. Although the small populations in these countries are of limited overall significance, the decline is a continuation of trend towards range contraction that has occurred over the last two centuries. The drop in numbers in Europe has been attributed to drainage, increased fertiliser use, the loss of formerly mown or grazed breeding sites and over-hunting.
Fossils from the Pleistocene suggest that this species bred further south in Europe in the cool periods between glaciations than it does now. Its sensitivity to changing climate as well as to water table levels and the speed of vegetation growth has led to suggestions that its range is affected by global warming, and the Ruff might act as an indicator species for monitoring climate change. Potential threats to this species may also include outbreaks of diseases to which it is susceptible such as influenza, botulism and avian malaria.
The Ruff is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies, where it is allocated to category 2c; that is, the populations in need of special attention as they are showing "significant long-term decline" in much of its range. This commits signatories to regulate the taking of listed species or their eggs, to establish protected areas to conserve habitats for the listed species, to regulate hunting and to monitor the populations of the birds concerned.
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