A horizon scanning assessment of current and potential future threats to migratory shorebirds

We review the conservation issues facing migratory shorebird populations that breed in temperate regions and use wetlands in the non-breeding season. Shorebirds are excellent model organisms for understanding ecological, behavioural and evolutionary processes and are often used as indicators of wetl...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ibis
Main Authors: Sutherland, William J., Alves, Jose A., Amano, Tatsuya, Chang, Charlotte H., Davidson, Nicholas C., Finlayson, C. Max, Gill, Jennifer A., Gill, Robert E., González, Patricia M., Gunnarsson, Tómas Grétar, Kleijn, David, Spray, Chris J., Székely, Tamás, Thompson, Des B. A.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: 2012
Subjects:
shorebirds
Charadriiformes
ecosystem health
ESTUARY WEST PORTUGAL
anthropogenic change
CHANGING CLIMATE
OCEAN ACIDIFICATION
Scolopacidae
horizon scanning
PLUVIALIS-APRICARIA
LAND-USE
FEEDING-BEHAVIOR
MACROALGAL BLOOMS
waders
CLIMATE-CHANGE
Charadriidae
WADER POPULATIONS
HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS
Ocean acidification
Pluvialis apricaria
Online Access:https://discovery.dundee.ac.uk/en/publications/47c3742b-03f1-4c31-8553-e5055cb06b5a
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919X.2012.01261.x
http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84866450204&partnerID=8YFLogxK
Description
Summary:We review the conservation issues facing migratory shorebird populations that breed in temperate regions and use wetlands in the non-breeding season. Shorebirds are excellent model organisms for understanding ecological, behavioural and evolutionary processes and are often used as indicators of wetland health. A global team of experienced shorebird researchers identified 45 issues facing these shorebird populations, and divided them into three categories (natural, current anthropogenic and future issues). The natural issues included megatsunamis, volcanoes and regional climate changes, while current anthropogenic threats encompassed agricultural intensification, conversion of tidal flats and coastal wetlands by human infrastructure developments and eutrophication of coastal systems. Possible future threats to shorebirds include microplastics, new means of recreation and infectious diseases. We suggest that this review process be broadened to other taxa to aid the identification and ranking of current and future conservation actions.

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