Shorebird Science in the Western Hemisphere Meeting 15 Shorebird Science in the Western Hemisphere Meeting, 27 February–2 March 2006, Boulder, Colorado, USA Introduction by Richard Lanctot Through their prodigious long-distance scheduled first in the meeting because we wanted participants migration, shorebirds provide biological to consider the possibility of forming a hemisphere-wide group linkages between countries where they throughout the meeting. stop to breed, stage, and winter. While On Tuesday morning we shifted hemispheres and heard from the benefits associated with sharing Phil Battley whose plenary To beg, borrow and steal: the art of information across countries and continents seem obvious, doing research on the East Asian–Australasian Flyway pro- efforts to connect researchers studying shorebirds in different vided an overview of how shorebird conservation and research parts of the Western Hemisphere have seldom taken place. Two is conducted in another, shorebird-rich corner of the world. He notable exceptions come to mind. The first was a meeting held described a system that consists of primarily volunteers and few in Quito, Ecuador, in conjunction with the IV Neotropical government or university research projects. Though short on Ornithology Congress in 1991. There, biologists shared their funds, biologists along the flyway have initiated extensive band- latest research in shorebird migration, ecology and conservation. ing programs and used species such as the Great Knot, Bar- This meeting also provided a rare opportunity for researchers to tailed Godwit, Spoon-billed Sandpiper and others to galvanize forge scientific partnerships, many of which continue through support and enthusiasm for shorebird conservation. today. On day three of the meeting we returned to the Western The exception was the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Hemisphere and South America in particular and heard from Reserve Network (WHSRN) Workshop held in Ottawa in 1995. Luis Germán Naranjo. His plenary entitled Shorebird biology This workshop, while focused primarily on promoting and and the development of Colombian ornithology described the conserving WHSRN sites, called for greater coordination at all contributions of shorebird biology t o the development of mod- geographic scales and the need for a hemispheric shorebird con- ern ornithology in Colombia and Northern South America. Luis servation strategy. Of course these meetings were not being held discussed several milestones, including the formation of orni- in a vacuum. Many smaller, region-wide, and generally more thology schools and the initiation of annual ornithological meet- informal meetings were taking place, such as the Western Sand- ings in Columbia that led to substantial increases in waterbird piper Research Network, the American Oystercatcher Working studies in that country. Group and others. Nevertheless, a full 11 years transpired before On Thursday, Lew Oring gave a stimulating and well- a hemisphere-wide meeting, entitled Shorebird Science in the received talk (‘Our’ shorebirds: Gondwana northward and Western Hemisphere, was held in Boulder, Colorado, between back again) during which he discussed how shorebirds as a 27 February and 2 March 2006. It is interesting to ponder why group emerged temporally and spatially on the world scene and such a long break between meetings occurred? I believe the how such actions as glaciation and historic and contemporary timing was right given the recent realization that shorebirds are human influences have shaped the shorebird fauna as we know declining worldwide. This knowledge provided the impetus to it. He clearly showed how anthropogenic and natural alteration form a variety of species-specific working groups that began the of the environment has affected shorebird abundance, distribu- difficult process of determining what factors are limiting tion, and behavior. shorebird numbers. I also think 11 years elapsed because there This meeting also served as the inaugural meeting of the was no mechanism to ensure another meeting occurred. Below, Shorebird Research Group of the Americas (SRGA) – a group I discuss one way to remedy this situation, but first describe the designed to bring shorebird researchers together to increase our Boulder meeting in more detail. knowledge of shorebirds in the Americas and ensure that infor- The Shorebird Science in the Western Hemisphere meeting mation is available for conservation purposes. As their first took place over four days, and consisted of 4 plenary lectures, project, SRGA is promoting a cooperative approach to deter- 9 symposia (6 species-based and 3 on broader issues consisting mining the causes of shorebird population declines. I would of 61 papers), 43 general papers among 10 subject themes, and advise all to read Robert Butler et al.’s summary describing the 34 posters. Representatives from at least 10 Western Hemi- formation and function of this important group. sphere countries and three other continents were present. Much In addition to a SRGA symposium, eight other symposia of the Latin American presence was possible because of finan- were held. Two of these were on broader issues and six were cial support from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the species based. The Shorebird Movements symposium focused Canadian Wildlife Service, and I thank the different regional on factors that affect how shorebirds navigate through their non-game coordinators for their assistance. environment. The Neotropical Priorities symposium sought to Each day of the meeting began with a plenary lecture. Bob put a world and South American perspective on the conserva- Gill’s talk on Monday morning, Are we a flock and do we know tion status of North American shorebird species, and to initiate where we are going? set the stage for the meeting by exploring an assessment of the conservation status of Neotropical- past attempts to unite shorebird efforts in the Western Hemi- breeding shorebird taxa. Species-based symposia covered the sphere and looking at how other shorebird groups throughout Black Oystercatcher, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Long-billed the world have addressed this issue. He offered ideas for a West- Curlew, Marbled Godwit, Snowy Plover, and Western Sand- ern Hemisphere model that could function without adding piper. Although the Western Sandpiper Research Network was undue structure and administrative burden. Bob’s talk was meeting for an unprecedented 9th time, many of the other 15 Bulletin 109 April 2006 16 Wader Study Group Bulletin groups had never met before and consequently this was the first At this point, we do not advocate creating a formal govern- opportunity for researchers to finally meet people they had ing body but rather relying on a small group of people, com- corresponded with for years. I think most people would agree posed of regional representatives from different parts of the that such personal exchanges lay the groundwork for the estab- Western Hemisphere, to accomplish the tasks mentioned above. lishment of other collaborative efforts. This certainly has been I think it is important for all to recognize that the establishment the case for the Western Sandpiper group, whose members have of such a group would not replace existing or prevent the for- published a record number of articles on many aspects of this mation of new entities dealing with shorebirds in the Western species breeding, staging and winter ecology. Only the future Hemisphere. A letter and questionnaire will be sent through will reveal the success of these initial meetings. Representatives various channels in the near future inviting people to participate from three other species-based working groups also gave short in determining the shape of the new Western Hemisphere presentations, although these groups did not formally meet. Shorebird Group. These included Red-necked Phalarope, Semipalmated Sand- As the overall coordinator of the Shorebird Science in the piper and American Oystercatcher. Western Hemisphere meeting, I would like to end by acknow- Stimulated by the enthusiasm generated by the meeting, ledging some of the key people who made major contributions especially Bob Gill’s plenary talk, a number of those present to the meeting’s success. First, I thank Brad Andres, who served suggested that there was sufficient momentum to form a West- as local organizer. He not only made all of the logistical arrange- ern Hemisphere Shorebird Group. This group would be the ments but together with his wife, Heather Johnson, provided “glue” that binds the many other shorebird initiatives together, lovely background music for us to enjoy during the poster including the Shorebird Research Group of the Americas session. Second, I thank Stephen Brown who chaired the (research branch), the Program for Regional and International Science Committee and ensured the programs ran seamlessly Shorebird Monitoring (and ISS, the monitoring branch), the together. Many other people contributed to the success of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (site-based meeting, including the many presenters, and I am grateful to conservation branch), Shorebird Sister Schools Program them all. (outreach/education branch), the U.S. and Canadian Shorebird Finally, I would like to encourage everyone to keep alive the Conservation plans and councils (national implementation enthusiasm experienced by all of us at the meeting (remember framework branches), and the many other state and regional Brian McCaffery and Dov Lank singing