DOCSLIB.ORG

Loss of Shorebird Habitat As a Result of Mangrove Incursion Due to Sea-Level Rise and Urbanization

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Loss of Shorebird Habitat As a Result of Mangrove Incursion Due to Sea-Level Rise and Urbanization Extract only - complete publication at www.jncc.gov.uk/worldwaterbirds Waterbirds around the world A global overview of the conservation, management and research of the world's waterbird flyways Edited by G.C. Boere, C.A. Galbraith and D.A. Stroud Assisted by L.K. Bridge, I. Colquhoun, D.A. Scott, D.B.A. Thompson and L.G. Underhill EDINBURGH, UK: THE STATIONERY OFFICE Extract only - complete publication at www.jncc.gov.uk/worldwaterbirds © Scottish Natural Heritage 2006 First published in 2006 by The Stationery Office Limited 71 Lothian Road, Edinburgh EH3 9AZ, UK. Applications for reproduction should be made to Scottish Natural Heritage, Great Glen House, Leachkin Road, Inverness IV3 8NW, UK. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library ISBN 0 11 497333 4 Recommended citation: Boere, G.C., Galbraith, C.A. & Stroud, D.A. (eds). 2006. Waterbirds around the world. The Stationery Office, Edinburgh, UK. 960 pp. Names used for geographical entities do not imply recognition, by the organisers of the Waterbirds around the world conference or other supporting organisations or governments, of the political status or boundaries of any particular territory. Names of territories used (and any alternatives) are included solely to help users of this publication apply information contained within this volume for waterbird conservation purposes. The views expressed in papers included within this volume do not necessarily represent views of the editors or the organisations and governments that supported the conference and this publication. Cover photography: Whooper Swans Cygnus cygnus arriving at Martin Mere, England. Photo: Paul Marshall. (www.paulmarshallphotography.com) Copyright of all photographs used in this publication resides with the named photographers. Waterbirds around the world Loss of shorebird habitat as a result of mangrove incursion due to sea-level rise and urbanization Phil Straw1 & Neil Saintilan2 1 Avifauna Research & Services, PO Box 2006, Rockdale Delivery Centre, NSW 2216, Australia. (email: [email protected]) 2 Centre for Environmental Restoration and Stewardship, Australian Catholic University, Mackillop Campus. PO Box 968, North Sydney, NSW 2059, Australia. (email: [email protected]) Straw, P. & Saintilan, N. 2006. Loss of shorebird habitat as a result of mangrove incursion due to sea-level rise and urbanization. Waterbirds around the world. Eds. G.C. Boere, C.A. Galbraith & D.A. Stroud. The Stationery Office, Edinburgh, UK. pp. 717-720. ABSTRACT In a study of 134 sites used by roosting shorebirds in 18 estuaries Most migratory shorebird species require areas of open habitat in New South Wales, Lawler described the roosting habitat of such as tidal flats and salt-marshes where they can forage, rest five species with respect to a range of variables. Of the ground and moult. The expansion of mangroves into shorebird feeding roosts, of which there were 93, only two were within 10 m of and roosting habitats due to sea-level rise and increased sedi- vegetation over 5 m tall, and 83% were at least 30 m distant mentation is presenting a significant problem in closed situa- from trees 5 m tall. Ninety percent of ground roosting sites were tions such as estuaries in Hong Kong, Taiwan and eastern further than 10 m from 2 m high trees and bushes. Beaches Australia. Seaward invasion of mangroves onto tidal mudflats as accounted for 55% of roost sites, salt-marshes for 15%, a result of excessive sedimentation caused by poor watershed mangrove trees for 19%, and artificial structures for 11%. management is affecting shorebird feeding areas. Landward Studies of the Hunter Estuary in New South Wales have invasion of mangroves in response to sea-level rise is affecting revealed that shorebirds abandon diurnal roost sites on sand spits salt-marsh areas important as shorebird roosting and feeding and river-training walls where terrestrial predators, such as habitat. Options for management intervention, such as the foxes, might be able to approach under the cover of darkness controlled removal of accreting mangrove seedlings and (Clarke & van Gessel 1983, Geering 1995, Straw 2000). The saplings from key shorebird feeding grounds, as well as the sites chosen at night are flooded back-swamps: usually salt- restoration and creation of mudflat and salt-marsh habitat, are marsh or shallow lagoons where predators would be reluctant to discussed. stalk roosting shorebirds and where they would be more obvious. As there are few studies of nocturnal roost sites, it is SHOREBIRD HABITAT REQUIREMENTS unknown how widespread this practice is. Most migratory shorebirds prefer to feed on open areas of undis- turbed mudflats where they have a clear view of the approach of THE MANGROVE ENVIRONMENT avian or terrestrial predators. Roosting sites are also selected to Mangroves form an important part of the coastal ecology in provide an open view and easy escape in case a predator southern Asia and throughout Australasia, together with approaches. Only under certain circumstances, where they have sea-grasses and open tidal flats on the seaward side and salt-marsh no alternative, will shorebirds utilize habitats close to tall vege- communities on the landward side of the mangrove belt. The width tation or structures that obscure their view. of mangrove woodland varies from a few metres to several kilo- In a survey of 63 inter-tidal flats in nine New South Wales metres, depending on the latitude and coastal topography. The estuaries on the east coast of Australia, Lawler (1996) deter- most extensive forests tend to exist in the tropics along shallow mined estuarine features which related to abundance in the coastlines where there are many species of mangrove, whereas in feeding habitat of six species. The Bar-tailed Godwit Limosa temperate regions only one or two species occur. lapponica selected large, low-lying flats for feeding; Whimbrel The widespread loss and degradation of mangrove forests Numenius phaeopus favoured mangrove-lined flats in high-sedi- throughout South-east Asia and on the eastern coast of Australia ment regimes; and Far Eastern Curlew N. madagascariensis and are well documented. Logging and conversion for aquaculture are Pacific Golden Plover Pluvialis fulva favoured large complexes among the most frequently cited causes in South-east Asia, while of flats. Common Greenshanks Tringa nebularia frequented the conversion of mangrove forests into waterfront residential and feeding areas of any size, provided they were wet, nutrient-rich resort accommodation has been one of the main causes in and mangrove-fringed. Grey-tailed Tattlers Heteroscelus Australia. Over the years, awareness regarding the ecological and brevipes were more likely to feed adjacent to mangroves and on economic importance of mangroves has grown. As a result, many flats with some ground cover. authorities are engaged in efforts to restore this valuable resource, During high tide, when tidal flats are submerged, shorebirds and this is reflected in the increasing number of publications and require roosting sites such as beaches, sand spits, salt-marshes, workshops dedicated to the subject (e.g. JAM 1994, Khemnark and structures such as infrequently used jetties, barges, rock 1995, Field 1996). In New South Wales, the removal of mangroves walls and oyster platforms. A few species, such as the Grey- without a licence now carries heavy penalties, with fines of tailed Tattler and Whimbrel, frequently roost on exposed AUS$ 55 000 for individuals and AUS$ 100 000 applying for branches of mangrove trees. corporations (Diver 2003). Any licences that are granted usually One of the most significant findings of Lawler (1996) was require the planting of at least one mangrove for every one the extent to which most shorebirds avoided trees while roosting. removed in a place where they have a high likelihood of survival. 717 Waterbirds around the world Unfortunately, many mangrove restoration projects move both a seaward and landward direction. Recent studies have immediately into planting mangroves without determining why shown that mangroves have invaded large areas of salt-marsh and natural recovery has not occurred (Lewis 1998). Mangrove open tidal mudflats, two types of habitat utilized by shorebirds. planting efforts have been conducted both in degraded former This situation is most pronounced in areas of rapid coastal devel- mangrove areas as well as in areas where mangroves have not opment where coastal wetlands, including tidal mudflats, have previously occurred. Various South-east Asian countries have been substantially reduced. The accretion of mangroves onto tidal carried out large-scale planting of mangrove seedlings on inter- mudflats is thought to be a result of increased silt loads and tidal mudflats (which cannot be considered “restoration”) as part nutrient levels due to uncontrolled development and soil erosion of well-intentioned mangrove restoration programmes. Though in upstream catchment areas. Mangroves follow such fertile areas limited in success, these efforts have resulted in afforestation of of mud accretion, and their establishment in such environments significant tracts of open tidal flats over the past decade, may lead to a reduction in the extent of open tidal flat habitat substantially reducing the area of inter-tidal mudflat habitat available to shorebirds (Augustinus 1995). Mangrove expansion (Erftemeijer & Lewis 2000). Land-ownership issues appear to in a landward direction over the past five decades may be attrib- play a major role in targeting mudflats for such planting uted to a rise in sea level, which has exposed upper inter-tidal programmes, as mudflats are “easily” accessible (with no-one environments to mangrove colonization. Wilton (2001) demon- claiming ownership), while access to abandoned shrimp ponds strated that while salt-marsh losses in recent decades have been in former mangrove areas - which should be the real target for greatest in urbanized estuaries, the component of loss due to restoration - usually involves complicated legal claims over land mangrove encroachment is relatively constant between estuaries, ownership.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Table 7: Species Changing IUCN Red List Status (2014-2015)
    IUCN Red List version 2015.4: Table 7 Last Updated: 19 November 2015 Table 7: Species changing IUCN Red List Status (2014-2015) Published listings of a species' status may change for a variety of reasons (genuine improvement or deterioration in status; new information being available that was not known at the time of the previous assessment; taxonomic changes; corrections to mistakes made in previous assessments, etc. To help Red List users interpret the changes between the Red List updates, a summary of species that have changed category between 2014 (IUCN Red List version 2014.3) and 2015 (IUCN Red List version 2015-4) and the reasons for these changes is provided in the table below. IUCN Red List Categories: EX - Extinct, EW - Extinct in the Wild, CR - Critically Endangered, EN - Endangered, VU - Vulnerable, LR/cd - Lower Risk/conservation dependent, NT - Near Threatened (includes LR/nt - Lower Risk/near threatened), DD - Data Deficient, LC - Least Concern (includes LR/lc - Lower Risk, least concern). Reasons for change: G - Genuine status change (genuine improvement or deterioration in the species' status); N - Non-genuine status change (i.e., status changes due to new information, improved knowledge of the criteria, incorrect data used previously, taxonomic revision, etc.); E - Previous listing was an Error. IUCN Red List IUCN Red Reason for Red List Scientific name Common name (2014) List (2015) change version Category Category MAMMALS Aonyx capensis African Clawless Otter LC NT N 2015-2 Ailurus fulgens Red Panda VU EN N 2015-4
    [Show full text]
  • Nordmann's Greenshank Population Analysis, at Pantai Cemara Jambi
    Final Report Nordmann’s Greenshank Population Analysis, at Pantai Cemara Jambi Cipto Dwi Handono1, Ragil Siti Rihadini1, Iwan Febrianto1 and Ahmad Zulfikar Abdullah1 1Yayasan Ekologi Satwa Alam Liar Indonesia (Yayasan EKSAI/EKSAI Foundation) Surabaya, Indonesia Background Many shorebirds species have declined along East Asian-Australasian Flyway which support the highest diversity of shorebirds in the world, including the globally endangered species, Nordmann’s Greenshank. Nordmann’s Greenshank listed as endangered in the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species because of its small and declining population (BirdLife International, 2016). It’s one of the world’s most threatened shorebirds, is confined to the East Asian–Australasian Flyway (Bamford et al. 2008, BirdLife International 2001, 2012). Its global population is estimated at 500–1,000, with an estimated 100 in Malaysia, 100–200 in Thailand, 100 in Myanmar, plus unknown but low numbers in NE India, Bangladesh and Sumatra (Wetlands International 2006). The population is suspected to be rapidly decreasing due to coastal wetland development throughout Asia for industry, infrastructure and aquaculture, and the degradation of its breeding habitat in Russia by grazing Reindeer Rangifer tarandus (BirdLife International 2012). Mostly Nordmann’s Greenshanks have been recorded in very small numbers throughout Southeast Asia, and there are few places where it has been reported regularly. In Myanmar, for example, it was rediscovered after a gap of almost 129 years. The total count recorded by the Asian Waterbird Census (AWC) in 2006 for Myanmar was 28 birds with 14 being the largest number at a single locality (Naing 2007). In 2011–2012, Nordmann’s Greenshank was found three times in Sumatera Utara province, N Sumatra.
    [Show full text]
  • Long-Billed Curlew Distributions in Intertidal Habitats: Scale-Dependent Patterns Ryan L
    LONG-BILLED CURLEW DISTRIBUTIONS IN INTERTIDAL HABITATS: SCALE-DEPENDENT PATTERNS RYAN L. MATHIS, Department of Wildlife, Humboldt State University, Arcata, Cali- fornia 95521 (current address: National Wild Turkey Federation, P. O. Box 1050, Arcata, California 95518) MARK A. ColwELL, Department of Wildlife, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California 95521; [email protected] LINDA W. LEEMAN, Department of Wildlife, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California 95521 (current address: EDAW, Inc., 2022 J. St., Sacramento, California 95814) THOMAS S. LEEMAN, Department of Wildlife, Humboldt State University, Arcata, California 95521 (current address: Environmental Science Associates, 8950 Cal Center Drive, Suite 300, Sacramento, California 95826) ABSTRACT. Key ecological insights come from understanding a species’ distribu- tion, especially across several spatial scales. We studied the distribution (uniform, random, or aggregated) at low tide of nonbreeding Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) at three spatial scales: within individual territories (1–8 ha), in the Elk River estuary (~50 ha), and across tidal habitats of Humboldt Bay (62 km2), Cali- fornia. During six baywide surveys, 200–300 Long-billed Curlews were aggregated consistently in certain areas and were absent from others, suggesting that foraging habitats varied in quality. In the Elk River estuary, distributions were often (73%) uniform as curlews foraged at low tide, although patterns tended toward random (27%) when more curlews were present during late summer and autumn. Patterns of predominantly uniform distribution across the estuary were a consequence of ter- ritoriality. Within territories, eight Long-billed Curlews most often (75%) foraged in a manner that produced a uniform distribution; patterns tended toward random (16%) and aggregated (8%) when individuals moved over larger areas.
    [Show full text]
  • The First Record of Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius Madagascariensis) in British Columbia
    The First Record of Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) in British Columbia. By Rick Toochin and Don Cecile. Submitted: April 15, 2018. Introduction and Distribution The Far Eastern Curlew (Numenius madagascariensis) is the largest migratory shorebird in the world. This species is found only along the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. The Far Eastern Curlew breeds on open mossy or transitional bogs, moss-lichen bogs and wet meadows, and on the swampy shores of small lakes in Siberia and Kamchatka in Russia, as well as in north-eastern Mongolia and China (Hayman et al. 1986, del Hoyo et al. 1996). The Yellow Sea of the Republic of Korea and China is a vitally important stopover site on migration. This species is also a common passage migrant in Japan and Indonesia, and is occasionally recorded moving through Thailand, Brunei, Bangladesh, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia and Singapore (O’Brien et al. 2006). During the winter a few birds occur in southern Republic of Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan (Brazil 2009, EAAFP 2017). About 25% of the population is thought to winter in the Philippines, Indonesia and Papua New Guinea. Most birds, approximately 73% or 28,000 individuals, spend the winter in Australia, where birds are found primarily on the coast of all states, particularly the north, east and south-east regions including Tasmania (Bamford et al. 2008, BirdLife 2016). In the early 2000’s, the global population of the Far Eastern Curlew was estimated at 38,000 individuals (BirdLife 2016). Unfortunately due to the fact that the global population is declining, the true population size is likely to be much smaller, and may not exceed 20,000 individuals (BirdLife 2016).
    [Show full text]
  • A Case of the Population Trend of Far Eastern Curlew Numenius Madagascariensis in Banyuasin Peninsula, South Sumatra, Indonesia
    Ecologica Montenegrina 44: 11-18 (2021) This journal is available online at: www.biotaxa.org/em http://dx.doi.org/10.37828/em.2021.44.2 Is the global decline reflects local declines? A case of the population trend of Far Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis in Banyuasin Peninsula, South Sumatra, Indonesia MUHAMMAD IQBAL1*, CIPTO DWI HANDONO2, DENI MULYANA3, ARUM SETIAWAN4, ZAZILI HANAFIAH4, HENNI MARTINI5, SARNO4, INDRA YUSTIAN4 & HILDA ZULKIFLI4 1Biology Program, Faculty of Science, Sriwijaya University, Jalan Padang Selasa 524, Palembang, South Sumatra 30139, Indonesia. 2Yayasan Ekologi Satwa Liar Indonesia (EKSAI), Jalan Kutisari 1 No. 19, Surabaya, East Java 60291, Indonesia 3Berbak Sembilang National Park, South Sumatra office, Jalan Tanjung Api-api komplek Imadinatuna No. 114, South Sumatra, Indonesia 4Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Sriwijaya University, Jalan Raya Palembang-Prabumulih km 32, Indralaya, South Sumatra, Indonesia. 5Hutan Kita Institute (HAKI), Jalan Yudo No. 9H, Palembang, South Sumatra 30126, Indonesia *Corresponding author: [email protected] Received 28 June 2021 │ Accepted by V. Pešić: 13 July 2021 │ Published online 16 July 2021. Abstract Far Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis (Linnaeus, 1766) is Endangered species confined in East Asian Australasian Flyway (EAAF) sites. We compiled and summarized all historical numbers of Far Eastern Curlew in Banyuasin Peninsula, South Sumatra, Indonesia. A total of 30 records were documented from 1984 to 2020. The largest number is 2,620 individuals during the migration period in 1988. Unfortunately, the largest number drop to 1,750 individuals in wintering period in 2008, and then drop to 850 individuals in 2019. The numbers indicate that the population decline by up to 62% in the last 35 years (1984 to 2019).
    [Show full text]
  • Literature Review: Importance of Artificial Roosts for Migratory Shorebirds
    Literature Review: Importance of Artificial Roosts for Migratory Shorebirds April 2017 Recommended citation: Jackson, M. V. Literature Review: Importance of artificial roosts for migratory shorebirds. 2017. Report to Charles Darwin University. April 2017 Author contact: School of Biological Sciences, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia. [email protected] Front cover: Whimbrel roosting. Image: Micha V. Jackson Disclaimer The information contained in this report represents a review of available third party literature and has been provided for information purposes only. This information does not constitute any type of legal, professional or commercial advice. While every care has been taken to ensure that the content is useful and accurate, the author gives no guarantees in this regard, and does not accept any legal liability or responsibility for the content or the accuracy of the information so provided, or, for any loss or damage caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with reliance on the use of such information. Literature Review: Importance of Artificial Roosts for Migratory Shorebirds Table of Contents Acknowledgements .........................................................................................................................................................................ii Summary ...........................................................................................................................................................................................iii
    [Show full text]
  • First Record of Long-Billed Curlew Numenius Americanus in Peru and Other Observations of Nearctic Waders at the Virilla Estuary Nathan R
    Cotinga 26 First record of Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus in Peru and other observations of Nearctic waders at the Virilla estuary Nathan R. Senner Received 6 February 2006; final revision accepted 21 March 2006 Cotinga 26(2006): 39–42 Hay poca información sobre las rutas de migración y el uso de los sitios de la costa peruana por chorlos nearcticos. En el fin de agosto 2004 yo reconocí el estuario de Virilla en el dpto. Piura en el noroeste de Peru para identificar los sitios de descanso para los Limosa haemastica en su ruta de migración al sur y aprender más sobre la migración de chorlos nearcticos en Peru. En Virilla yo observí más de 2.000 individuales de 23 especios de chorlos nearcticos y el primer registro de Numenius americanus de Peru, la concentración más grande de Limosa fedoa en Peru, y una concentración excepcional de Limosa haemastica. La combinación de esas observaciones y los resultados de un estudio anterior en el invierno boreal sugiere la posibilidad que Virilla sea muy importante para chorlos nearcticos en Peru. Las observaciones, también, demuestren la necesidad hacer más estudios en la costa peruana durante el año entero, no solemente durante el punto máximo de la migración de chorlos entre septiembre y noviembre. Shorebirds are poorly known in Peru away from bordered for a few hundred metres by sand and established study sites such as Paracas reserve, gravel before low bluffs rise c.30 m. Very little dpto. Ica, and those close to metropolitan areas vegetation grows here, although cows, goats and frequented by visiting birdwatchers and tour pigs owned by Parachique residents graze the area.
    [Show full text]
  • Vulnerability Assessment of Olango Island to Predicted Climate Change and Sea Level Rise
    Vulnerability assessment of Olango Island to predicted climate change and sea level rise Amuerfino Mapalo Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Region 7 Banilad, Mandaue City, Cebu, Philippines, 6014 ([email protected]) Executive summary The Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research (APN) funded a study assessing the vulnerability of Olango Island, in the Central Philippines, to predicted climate change and sea level rise. The study was coordinated by the Environmental Research Institute of the Supervising Scientist (eriss), in Australia, and Wetlands International–Oceania, with the major local collaborator being the Philippines Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR). The study’s major objectives were to raise awareness of the issue of climate change and sea level rise in the Asia-Pacific region, to provide advice and training to national and local agencies on procedures for Vulnerability Assessment, and specifically, to obtain a preliminary understanding of the potential impacts of climate change and sea level rise on the biological, physical and socio-economic attributes of Olango Island. Olango Island was chosen as a study site for several reasons: It is a small, coral reef island (~6 × 3 km) with low topographical relief and a maximum elevation above sea level of only 9 m; it sustains a population of over 20 000 and is already under pressure from anthropogenic activities including fishing, groundwater extraction and mangrove harvesting; it is a major wetland site for shorebirds, being nominated for the East Asian–Australasian Shorebird Reserve Network and listed as a wetland of international importance by the Ramsar Wetland Convention. Due to its importance as a flyway stopover site, a 920 ha wildlife sanctuary was established in the south of the island.
    [Show full text]
  • Checklist of the Birds of Micronesia Peter Pyle and John Engbring for Ornithologists Visiting Micronesia, R.P
    ./ /- 'Elepaio, VoL 46, No.6, December 1985. 57 Checklist of the Birds of Micronesia Peter Pyle and John Engbring For ornithologists visiting Micronesia, R.P. Owen's Checklist of the Birds of Micronesia (1977a) has proven a valuable reference for species occurrence among the widely scattered island groups. Since its publication, however, our knowledge of species distribution in Micronesia has been substantially augmented. Numerous species not recorded by Owen in Micronesia or within specific Micronesian island groups have since been reported, and the status of many other species has changed or become better known. This checklist is essentially an updated version of Owen (1977a), listing common and scientific names, and occurrence status and references for all species found in Micronesia as recorded from the island groups. Unlike Owen, who gives the status for each species only for Micronesia as a whole, we give it for -each island group. The checklist is stored on a data base program on file with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) in Honolulu, and we encourage comments and new or additional information concerning its contents. A total of 224 species are included, of which 85 currently breed in Micronesia, 3 have become extinct, and 12 have been introduced. Our criteria for-species inclusion is either specimen, photograph, or adequately documented sight record by one or more observer. An additional 13 species (listed in brackets) are included as hypothetical (see below under status symbols). These are potentially occurring species for which reports exist that, in our opinion, fail to meet the above mentioned criteria.
    [Show full text]
  • Wetland Aliens Cause Bird Extinction
    PRESS RELEASE Embargoed until 00:01 GMT on 26 May 2010 Wetland aliens cause bird extinction Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK, 26 May, 2010 (IUCN/BirdLife) - BirdLife International announces today, in an update to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ for birds, the extinction of Alaotra Grebe Tachybaptus rufolavatus. Restricted to a tiny area of east Madagascar, this species declined rapidly after carnivorous fish were introduced to the lakes in which it lived. This, along with the use of nylon gill-nets by fisherman which caught and drowned birds, has driven this species into the abyss. “No hope now remains for this species. It is another example of how human actions can have unforeseen consequences”, says Dr Leon Bennun, BirdLife International’s Director of Science, Policy and Information. “Invasive alien species have caused extinctions around the globe and remain one of the major threats to birds and other biodiversity.” Another wetland species suffering from the impacts of introduced aliens is Zapata Rail Cyanolimnas cerverai from Cuba. It has been uplisted to Critically Endangered and is under threat from introduced mongooses and exotic catfish. An extremely secretive marsh-dwelling species, the only nest ever found of this species was described by James Bond, a Caribbean ornithologist and the source for Ian Fleming’s famous spy’s name. And it’s not just aliens. Wetlands the world over, and the species found in them, are under increasing pressures. In Asia and Australia, numbers of once common wader species such as Great Knot Calidris tenuirostris and Far Eastern Curlew Numenius madagascariensis are dropping rapidly as a result of drainage and pollution of coastal wetlands.
    [Show full text]
  • (Mop9) REPORTS and WORK PLANS Contents Part 2. Work P
    EAST ASIAN – AUSTRALASIAN FLYWAY PARTNERSHIP NINTH MEETING OF PARTNERS (MoP9) REPORTS AND WORK PLANS 11-15 January 2017 Singapore Contents *Partners are listed in joining order. Part 2. Work Plans NATIONAL GOVERNMENTS (17) Australia Indonesia Japan The Philippines Republic of Korea Russia Singapore United States of America Cambodia People’s Republic of China Bangladesh Thailand Mongolia New Zealand Malaysia Myanmar Page 1 Vietnam INTERNATIONAL NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATION (11) Australasian Wader Studies Group – BirdLife Australia International Crane Foundation Wetlands International World Wildlife Fund International Union for Conservation of Nature BirdLife International Wild Bird Society of Japan Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust Pukorokoro Miranda Naturalists Trust Wildlife Conservation Society Hanns Seidel Foundation INTER-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS (6) Convention on Migratory Species Ramsar Convention Food & Agriculture Organisation UN Conservation of Arctic Flora and Fauna Convention on Biological Diversity ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity INTERNATIONAL PRIVATE ENTERPRISE (1) Rio Tinto SPECIAL PARTNER (1) Incheon City Government Page 2 WORKING GROUPS (7) Anatidae Working Group Avian Influenza Working Group Black-faced Spoonbill Working Group Crane Working Group Seabird Working Group Shorebird Working Group CEPA Working Group TASK FORCES (7) Amur-heilong Basin Task Force Baer’s Pochard Task Force Far Eastern Curlew Task Force Monitoring of Waterbird Populations and Sites Task Force Scaly-sided Merganser Task Force Spoon-billed Sandpiper Task Force Yellow Sea Ecoregion Task Force South East Asia Network Page 3 Australia Australian Government Work Plan (2017-18) (Prepared by Mark Carey, Department of the Environment and Energy, Australian Government) Objective 1: Develop Flyway Network Sites (FNS) 1.1 Nominate new FNS with Site Information Sheets In conjunction with state and territory governments, support the nomination of new Flyway Network Sites.
    [Show full text]
  • Conserving Shorebirds in Human-Dominated Landscapes Micha Victoria Jackson Bachelor of Arts, Environmental Studies
    Conserving shorebirds in human-dominated landscapes Micha Victoria Jackson Bachelor of Arts, Environmental Studies ORCID: 0000-0002-5150-2962 A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Queensland in 2020 School of Biological Sciences i Abstract Wetlands support biodiversity and provide critical ecosystem services but have been severely impacted by human activity. Shorebirds are a diverse group of waterbirds that usually forage in shallow water, making them highly dependent on wetlands. Coastal shorebirds are increasingly threatened in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway where coastlines are heavily developed and wetlands have been extensively modified and degraded. In this human-dominated landscape, shorebirds sometimes aggregate in artificial wetlands associated with human production activities including agriculture, aquaculture and salt production. However, it is unknown whether artificial habitat use is widespread by shorebirds across the flyway, if such habitats could help to offset negative population trends, or how artificial habitats should be managed alongside natural habitats to achieve conservation outcomes. This thesis investigates the use of artificial and natural habitats by shorebirds in heavily developed coastal regions of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, and suggests conservation and management actions in this setting. Chapter 2 presents the first large-scale review of coastal artificial habitat use by shorebirds in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Analysing data from multiple monitoring programs and the literature, it shows that 83 shorebird species have occurred on more than 170 artificial sites of eight different land uses throughout the flyway, including 36 species in internationally important numbers. However, occurrence and foraging on artificial habitats is uneven among species, and different land uses support varying abundances and species diversity.
    [Show full text]