The Experts below are selected from a list of 9864 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Theunis Piersma - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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conserving unprotected important coastal habitats in the yellow sea Shorebird occurrence distribution and food resources at lianyungang
bioRxiv, 2019Co-Authors: Theunis Piersma, Yingchi Chan, Hebo Peng, Yongxiang Han, Sheena Suetwah Chung, Lin ZhangAbstract:Abstract Coastal wetlands around the world are being destroyed and degraded rapidly. In most developing and recently developed countries, the ecological data required for wetland conservation are scarce, and expertise to collect them are less-established. One of the most rapidly deteriorating coastal regions is the Yellow Sea in East Asia, an important staging area for migratory Shorebirds. Conserving the declining Shorebird populations that rely on the Yellow Sea requires habitat protection and management based on sound ecological knowledge, especially on the seasonal occurrence of Shorebirds, their daily movements and their food resources. Here we gather and assimilate such information for the coastal wetlands at Lianyungang on the Chinese Yellow Sea coast, an understudied and unprotected area where we found 27% of intertidal soft sediment habitats have been destroyed in 2003-2018. In 2008-2018, 43 Shorebird species were recorded along this coastline, including 11 globally threatened or ‘Near Threatened’ species. We recorded 18 Shorebird species of numbers exceeded 1% of the Flyway populations, which is the second-highest among the >300 Shorebird sites in East Asia. Shorebirds stopping there during migration are probably attracted by the highly-abundant small soft-shelled bivalve species (including 9399 individuals/m2 of Potamocorbula laevis) that dominate the benthic mollusc community of the intertidal flats. Satellite tracked bar-tailed godwits (Limosa lapponica) and great knots (Calidris tenuirostris) stopped at Lianyungang for 5-28 days during northward and southward migration. The tidal movements of satellite-tagged birds indicated high tide roosts which are inaccessible on-ground. These movements can also be used to evaluate whether high-tide roosts and low-tide foraging areas are close enough to each other, and direct where to create new roost sites. Potential measures to increase the capacity of Lianyungang to support Shorebirds include reducing human disturbances, creating roosts at undeveloped parts of the reclaimed land, and the removal of recently-built sea dikes to restore intertidal flats.
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Shorebirds as integrators and indicators of mudflat ecology
Mudflat Ecology, 2018Co-Authors: Kimberley J. Mathot, Theunis Piersma, Robert W. ElnerAbstract:Shorebirds are major, but thus far under-acknowledged, players in mudflat food webs and associated physio-chemical processes. Mud is a critical habitat type for Shorebirds, offering a multi-dimensional matrix of feeding opportunities through space and time. Shorebirds have evolved a spectrum of foraging modes with associated morphologies, and sensory and physiological adaptations which exploit these foraging opportunities. Although Shorebirds are mud specialists and sentinels of mudflat ecosystem functioning, they have not yet been well integrated into the “mud club”. In this chapter, we highlight the key roles Shorebirds play in food webs, and in physical and chemical processes within mudflat ecosystems. We illustrate how Shorebird distribution and behaviour provides a mirror of mudflat ecology because their foraging behaviour reflects the underlying ecological conditions, including temporal and spatial patterns in food/community structure in and across mud. In particular, Shorebirds may be important indicators of essential fatty acid production by diatoms in epibenthic biofilm fields covering muddy intertidal flats, especially in estuaries. We conclude by highlighting the major challenges facing Shorebirds today and call for a paradigm shift in Shorebird conservation, based on recreating and restoring intertidal mud ecosystems.
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Migrating Shorebirds as integrative sentinels of global environmental change
Ibis, 2004Co-Authors: Theunis Piersma, Åke LindströmAbstract:Many Shorebirds travel over large sections of the globe during the course of their annual cycle and use habitats in many different biomes and climate zones. Increasing knowledge of the factors driving variations in Shorebird numbers, phenotype and behaviour may allow Shorebirds to serve as 'integrative sentinels' of global environmental change. On the basis of numbers, timing of migration, plumage status and body mass, Shorebirds could indicate whether ecological and climate systems are generally intact and stable at hemispheric scales, or whether parts of these systems might be changing. To develop this concept, we briefly review the worldwide Shorebird migration systems before examining how local weather and global climatic features affect several performance measures of long-distance migrants. What do variations in numbers, phenotype and behaviour tell us about the dependence of Shorebirds on weather and climate? How does data on migrating Shorebirds integrate global environmental information? Documenting the dependencies between the population processes of Shorebirds and global environmental features may be an important step towards assessing the likely effects of projected climate change. In the meantime we can develop the use of aspects of Shorebird life histories on large spatial and temporal scales to assay global environmental change.
Siriya Sripanomyom - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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the ecology and economics of Shorebird conservation in a tropical human modified landscape
Journal of Applied Ecology, 2015Co-Authors: Siriya Sripanomyom, Jonathan Green, Xingli Giam, David S. WilcoveAbstract:Summary Rapid and extensive land-use change in intertidal foraging habitat and coastal roosting habitat is thought to be driving major population declines of Shorebirds migrating through the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. Along the Inner Gulf of Thailand, a critical stopover and wintering ground for these birds, artificial wetlands (salt pans and aquaculture ponds) have replaced much of the natural coastal ecosystem. We conducted a two-part study to (i) assess the importance of salt pans and semi-traditional aquaculture ponds to Shorebirds and (ii) understand the economic forces that drive land-use change in this region by interviewing salt pan and aquaculture operators. Salt pans provide important roost habitat, particularly for shorter-legged birds, which are less able to utilize aquaculture ponds due to their greater depth. Moreover, three focal Shorebird species foraged extensively in salt pans and semi-traditional aquaculture ponds, even when intertidal mudflats were exposed, suggesting that artificial wetlands could buffer against the impacts of degraded intertidal foraging areas for some Shorebird species. Economic profits from salt production and semi-traditional aquaculture are similar. Risks to investment and per capita profitability are key factors in determining whether to convert land from one use (e.g. salt pan) to the other (aquaculture). Synthesis and applications. Salt pans provide an important resource to migrating Shorebirds. As development pressures increase, operators may need financial incentives if salt pans are to be maintained over large areas. Although semi-traditional aquaculture is used less by Shorebirds, drained ponds provide opportunities to roost and forage. Semi-traditional aquaculture operators should drain their ponds regularly to provide supplementary habitat for Shorebirds. Use of nets and pond liners should be discouraged in both systems. Optimizing aquaculture pond and salt pan management for Shorebirds could provide a more pragmatic, cost-effective and geographically extensive solution to conserving these birds than protected areas alone.
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Traditional salt-pans hold major concentrations of overwintering Shorebirds in Southeast Asia
Biological Conservation, 2011Co-Authors: Siriya Sripanomyom, Philip D. Round, Tommaso Savini, Yongyut Trisurat, George A. GaleAbstract:Shorebirds are declining worldwide due to loss and degradation of critical breeding and wintering habitats. Some human-modified habitats, particularly salt-pans which are used by Shorebirds in many regions of the world, may help substitute for natural habitats lost for a wide range of species during migration. We studied the influence of landscape characteristics on species richness, abundance, and diversity of Shorebirds at 20 sites covering most of the Inner Gulf of Thailand, a landscape with a long history of salt farming. Sites with salt-pans present held significantly higher species richness, abundance and diversity of Shorebirds. Areas with larger proportions given over to aquaculture tended to have lower species richness, abundance and diversity. Generalized additive models indicated that landscapes with a larger proportion of tidal flats in conjunction with salt-pans were the best predictors of sites with higher species richness, abundance and diversity. Landscape configurations with higher richness, abundance and diversity of Shorebirds also tended to be less fragmented and contained slightly larger patches. Shorebirds appeared to use ponds with exposed mud in salt-pans as both roosting sites and supplementary feeding grounds during high tide. Traditional salt-pans therefore proved to contribute significantly to maintenance of overwintering Shorebird populations in this landscape and should be investigated elsewhere in Asian coastal zones. Collaboration between researchers, salt farmers and planning authorities as to how best to maintain salt-pans as potential Shorebird roost sites such as in the Inner Gulf of Thailand is urgently needed in order to maintain habitat for Shorebird populations in critical wintering and staging areas of this flyway.
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Traditional salt-pans hold major concentrations of overwintering Shorebirds in
2011Co-Authors: Siriya Sripanomyom, Philip D. Round, Tommaso Savini, Yongyut Trisurat, George A. GaleAbstract:Shorebirds are declining worldwide due to loss and degradation of critical breeding and wintering habitats. Some human-modified habitats, particularly salt-pans which are used by Shorebirds in many regions of the world, may help substitute for natural habitats lost for a wide range of species during migration. We studied the influence of landscape characteristics on species richness, abundance, and diversity of Shorebirds at 20 sites covering most of the Inner Gulf of Thailand, a landscape with a long history of salt farming. Sites with salt-pans present held significantly higher species richness, abundance and diversity of Shorebirds. Areas with larger proportions given over to aquaculture tended to have lower species richness, abundance and diversity. Generalized additive models indicated that landscapes with a larger proportion of tidal flats in conjunction with salt-pans were the best predictors of sites with higher species richness, abundance and diversity. Landscape configurations with higher richness, abundance and diversity of Shorebirds also tended to be less fragmented and contained slightly larger patches. Shorebirds appeared to use ponds with exposed mud in salt-pans as both roosting sites and supplementary feeding grounds during high tide. Traditional salt-pans therefore proved to contribute significantly to maintenance of overwintering Shorebird populations in this landscape and should be investigated elsewhere in Asian coastal zones. Collaboration between researchers, salt farmers and planning authorities as to how best to maintain salt-pans as potential Shorebird roost sites such as in the Inner Gulf of Thailand is urgently needed in order to maintain habitat for Shorebird populations in critical wintering and staging areas of this flyway.
George A. Gale - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Traditional salt-pans hold major concentrations of overwintering Shorebirds in Southeast Asia
Biological Conservation, 2011Co-Authors: Siriya Sripanomyom, Philip D. Round, Tommaso Savini, Yongyut Trisurat, George A. GaleAbstract:Shorebirds are declining worldwide due to loss and degradation of critical breeding and wintering habitats. Some human-modified habitats, particularly salt-pans which are used by Shorebirds in many regions of the world, may help substitute for natural habitats lost for a wide range of species during migration. We studied the influence of landscape characteristics on species richness, abundance, and diversity of Shorebirds at 20 sites covering most of the Inner Gulf of Thailand, a landscape with a long history of salt farming. Sites with salt-pans present held significantly higher species richness, abundance and diversity of Shorebirds. Areas with larger proportions given over to aquaculture tended to have lower species richness, abundance and diversity. Generalized additive models indicated that landscapes with a larger proportion of tidal flats in conjunction with salt-pans were the best predictors of sites with higher species richness, abundance and diversity. Landscape configurations with higher richness, abundance and diversity of Shorebirds also tended to be less fragmented and contained slightly larger patches. Shorebirds appeared to use ponds with exposed mud in salt-pans as both roosting sites and supplementary feeding grounds during high tide. Traditional salt-pans therefore proved to contribute significantly to maintenance of overwintering Shorebird populations in this landscape and should be investigated elsewhere in Asian coastal zones. Collaboration between researchers, salt farmers and planning authorities as to how best to maintain salt-pans as potential Shorebird roost sites such as in the Inner Gulf of Thailand is urgently needed in order to maintain habitat for Shorebird populations in critical wintering and staging areas of this flyway.
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Traditional salt-pans hold major concentrations of overwintering Shorebirds in
2011Co-Authors: Siriya Sripanomyom, Philip D. Round, Tommaso Savini, Yongyut Trisurat, George A. GaleAbstract:Shorebirds are declining worldwide due to loss and degradation of critical breeding and wintering habitats. Some human-modified habitats, particularly salt-pans which are used by Shorebirds in many regions of the world, may help substitute for natural habitats lost for a wide range of species during migration. We studied the influence of landscape characteristics on species richness, abundance, and diversity of Shorebirds at 20 sites covering most of the Inner Gulf of Thailand, a landscape with a long history of salt farming. Sites with salt-pans present held significantly higher species richness, abundance and diversity of Shorebirds. Areas with larger proportions given over to aquaculture tended to have lower species richness, abundance and diversity. Generalized additive models indicated that landscapes with a larger proportion of tidal flats in conjunction with salt-pans were the best predictors of sites with higher species richness, abundance and diversity. Landscape configurations with higher richness, abundance and diversity of Shorebirds also tended to be less fragmented and contained slightly larger patches. Shorebirds appeared to use ponds with exposed mud in salt-pans as both roosting sites and supplementary feeding grounds during high tide. Traditional salt-pans therefore proved to contribute significantly to maintenance of overwintering Shorebird populations in this landscape and should be investigated elsewhere in Asian coastal zones. Collaboration between researchers, salt farmers and planning authorities as to how best to maintain salt-pans as potential Shorebird roost sites such as in the Inner Gulf of Thailand is urgently needed in order to maintain habitat for Shorebird populations in critical wintering and staging areas of this flyway.
Gary W. Page - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Identifying habitat conservation priorities and gaps for migratory Shorebirds and waterfowl in California
Biodiversity and Conservation, 2011Co-Authors: Diana Stralberg, D. Richard Cameron, Mark D. Reynolds, Catherine M. Hickey, Kirk Klausmeyer, Sylvia M. Busby, Lynne E. Stenzel, W. David Shuford, Gary W. PageAbstract:Conservation of migratory Shorebirds and waterfowl presents unique challenges due to extensive historic loss of wetland habitats, and current reliance on managed landscapes for wintering and migratory passage. We developed a spatially-explicit approach to estimate potential Shorebird and waterfowl densities in California by integrating mapped habitat layers and statewide bird survey data with expert-based habitat rankings. Using these density estimates as inputs, we used the Marxan site-selection program to identify priority Shorebird and waterfowl areas at the ecoregional level. We identified 3.7 million ha of habitat for Shorebirds and waterfowl, of which 1.4 million ha would be required to conserve 50% of wintering populations. To achieve a conservation goal of 75%, more than twice as much habitat (3.1 million ha) would be necessary. Agricultural habitats comprised a substantial portion of priority areas, especially at the 75% level, suggesting that under current management conditions, large areas of agricultural land, much of it formerly wetland, are needed to provide the habitat availability and landscape connectivity required by Shorebird and waterfowl populations. These habitats were found to be largely lacking recognized conservation status in California (96% un-conserved), with only slightly higher levels of conservation for priority Shorebird and waterfowl areas. Freshwater habitats, including wetlands and ponds, were also found to have low levels of conservation (67% un-conserved), although priority Shorebird and waterfowl areas had somewhat higher levels of conservation than the state as a whole. Conserving migratory waterfowl and Shorebirds will require a diversity of conservation strategies executed at a variety of scales. Our modeled results are complementary with other approaches and can help prioritize areas for protection, restoration and other actions. Traditional habitat protection strategies such as conservation easements and fee acquisitions may be of limited utility for protecting and managing significant areas of agricultural lands. Instead, conservation strategies focused on incentive-based programs to support wildlife friendly management practices in agricultural settings may have greater utility and conservation effectiveness.
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Shorebird Use of Sandy Beaches in Central California
Waterbirds, 2008Co-Authors: Kristina K. Neuman, Laird A. Henkel, Gary W. PageAbstract:Abstract In this study, the relationship between physical attributes of sandy beaches, levels of human disturbance, and Shorebird occurrence was investigated. The linear density km-1 of Shorebirds on 42 km of sandy beaches in Monterey Bay, California was documented from late autumn through spring, and the relationship of Shorebird densities to two physical variables (slope of beach swash zone, total beach width), one spatial variable (distance to Elkhorn Slough, a wetland of regional importance for Shorebirds), and relative level of human disturbance was analyzed using stepwise multiple regression. The six most abundant species were Sanderling (Calidris alba), Willet (Tringa semipalmata), Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa), Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus) and Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus). Mean abundance of four of the six most abundant species (Marbled Godwit, Willet, Whimbrel, Black-bellied Plover) was negatively related to swash zone slope; flatter beaches ...
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Patterns and dynamics of Shorebird use of California's Central Valley
The Condor, 1998Co-Authors: W. David Shuford, Gary W. Page, Janet E. KjelmyrAbstract:Surveys of California's Central Valley between 1992-1995 document it as one of the most important regions in western North America to migratory and wintering Shorebirds. Populations averaged 134,000 individuals in August, 211,000 in November, 303,000 in January, and 335,000 in April. Of 33 species, the 10 or 11 that averaged over 1,000 individuals each season accounted for 99% of total numbers. Managed wetlands, agricultural fields (especially rice), and agricultural evaporation ponds held the most Shorebirds. Species varied their seasonal, geographic, and habitat use of the Central Valley, primarily in response to changes in water availability from rainfall or management practices and latitudinal variation in habitat availability mediated, in part, by climate. In the record rainfall year of 1994-1995, Shorebird numbers increased 74% between November and January, primarily from coast-to-interior movements of the Dunlin (Calidris alpina) and Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus) and local habitat shifts of Killdeer (Charadrius vociferus). Although the Valley's Shorebirds face threats from poor or toxic water quality, changing agricultural practices, and habitat loss to urbanization, they should benefit from current efforts to increase flooding of rice fields and to secure a stable high quality water supply for wetlands. Development of a sound conservation strategy is crucial for the preservation of Shorebird populations in the Central Valley, as this agriculturally-dominated landscape is among the most altered in North America and remains vulnerable to strong economic and population growth pressures that may impact Shorebird habitats in the future.
David S. Wilcove - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Upper tidal flats are disproportionately important for the conservation of migratory Shorebirds.
Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2020Co-Authors: David S. WilcoveAbstract:Migratory animals play vital ecological roles in ecosystems worldwide, yet many species are threatened by human activities. Understanding the detailed patterns of habitat use throughout the migration cycle is critical to developing effective conservation strategies for these species. Migratory Shorebirds undertake some of the longest known migrations, but they are also declining precipitously worldwide. To better understand the dynamics of Shorebird declines along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, we quantified the spatiotemporal foraging distribution of 17 migratory Shorebirds at two critical stopover sites. We found that Shorebirds exhibit substantial interspecific and site-specific differences in their foraging distributions. Notwithstanding these differences, however, the upper tidal flats appear to be especially important to most Shorebirds by providing more than 70% of the birds' cumulative foraging time, twofold greater than their proportional area. Because the upper tidal flats are also more prone to coastal development, our findings may help to explain why Shorebird populations along the flyway have declined much faster than the overall rate of tidal flat loss. Our work highlights the importance of protecting upper tidal flats to conserve migratory Shorebirds and demonstrates the value of a detailed ecological understanding of habitat usage by migratory animals for conservation planning.
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the ecology and economics of Shorebird conservation in a tropical human modified landscape
Journal of Applied Ecology, 2015Co-Authors: Siriya Sripanomyom, Jonathan Green, Xingli Giam, David S. WilcoveAbstract:Summary Rapid and extensive land-use change in intertidal foraging habitat and coastal roosting habitat is thought to be driving major population declines of Shorebirds migrating through the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. Along the Inner Gulf of Thailand, a critical stopover and wintering ground for these birds, artificial wetlands (salt pans and aquaculture ponds) have replaced much of the natural coastal ecosystem. We conducted a two-part study to (i) assess the importance of salt pans and semi-traditional aquaculture ponds to Shorebirds and (ii) understand the economic forces that drive land-use change in this region by interviewing salt pan and aquaculture operators. Salt pans provide important roost habitat, particularly for shorter-legged birds, which are less able to utilize aquaculture ponds due to their greater depth. Moreover, three focal Shorebird species foraged extensively in salt pans and semi-traditional aquaculture ponds, even when intertidal mudflats were exposed, suggesting that artificial wetlands could buffer against the impacts of degraded intertidal foraging areas for some Shorebird species. Economic profits from salt production and semi-traditional aquaculture are similar. Risks to investment and per capita profitability are key factors in determining whether to convert land from one use (e.g. salt pan) to the other (aquaculture). Synthesis and applications. Salt pans provide an important resource to migrating Shorebirds. As development pressures increase, operators may need financial incentives if salt pans are to be maintained over large areas. Although semi-traditional aquaculture is used less by Shorebirds, drained ponds provide opportunities to roost and forage. Semi-traditional aquaculture operators should drain their ponds regularly to provide supplementary habitat for Shorebirds. Use of nets and pond liners should be discouraged in both systems. Optimizing aquaculture pond and salt pan management for Shorebirds could provide a more pragmatic, cost-effective and geographically extensive solution to conserving these birds than protected areas alone.
