E-Mail IMAGE: The Golden Eagle is not under active conservation management in Great Britain and could be candidates for higher prioritisation. view more Credit: Chris Gomersall (rspb-images.com) Scientists have shown where bird species would exist in the absence of human activity under research that could provide a new approach to setting conservation priorities. A study by Durham University, UK, in collaboration with the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB), investigated how human activities such as agriculture, deforestation, and the drainage of wetlands have shaped where bird species are found in Great Britain today. Researchers used data on the geographical distributions of bird species alongside simulation models to predict where bird species would exist today if the effects of human activities on the landscape were removed.