DETERMINATION OF VALUABLE AREAS FOR MIGRATORY SONGBIRDS ALONG THE EAST-ASIAN AUSTRALASIAN FLYWAY (EEAF), AND AN APPROACH FOR STRATEGIC CONSERVATION PLANNING

• Main Author: Beiring, Maria
• Format: Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: Arctic; Pacific; Alaska
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/11122/2676

Having valuable high-quality stopover sites available for migratory birds is one of the key factors for the success of migration. However, beside the conservation of breeding and wintering grounds, the actual protection of valuable stopover sites has often been somewhat neglected. Overall 93 of 315 passerine species along the East-Asian Australasian Flyway (EEAF) are declining. That’s the highest overall number of threatened passerines on any known flyway. Additionally, the high human density in South-East Asia and the ongoing degradation of natural resources further poses a serious problem and threat to migratory songbirds and necessitates urgent action. This study aims to identify valuable areas for migratory songbirds along the vast EAAF (China, Japan, Korea, Far Eastern Russia and Alaska) and to develop a first approach for Strategic Conservation Planning. The main methodological framework encompasses predictive modeling (TreeNet, stochastic gradient boosting) and the Strategic Conservation Planning Tool ‘Marxan’. Overall, six models were created by using mistnet data (fall migration) of five selected index species (Arctic Warbler, Yellow Wagtail, Bluethroat, Siberian Rubythroat & Black- faced Bunting) as well as a by developing a ‘Species Richness Index’ (songbirds) and choosing widely used predictive environmental layers. In northern Russia and Alaska, most contiguous areas with a high index of occurrence are concentrated on the coastline of the Pacific Rim with smaller patterns in the interior and differences between their extents. In central-east Asia contiguous areas were found along the coastline stretching deeper inland than for the other regions. For the ‘Species Richness Index’, valuable areas were mostly predicted for the areas along the border of China and Russia, and comprise large parts of the Manchurian forest (deciduous). In general, it’s notable that the characteristics of the predicted hotspots seem to be linked to the habitat preferences of the selected songbirds during the breeding ...