Corella,1994, 18i5li 148-154 THE DISTRIBUTIONAND ABUNDANCEOF PALEARCTICAND AUSTRALASTANWADERS (Charadrii) IN COASTALVICTORIA

PETERDANN

Dcpannl:nt of Zoologr. tlnivcrsit] of Mcll)ournc. Purkvittc. Viclori . l05l l']rt\enl l(ldr(t\: Pcn{uin Rc\clvc a(JnrInittccol MrnrgcrrrcIl(. I) O. Bori 91. ('owcs. Phillip Isllnd. Victorir. l()22

IU[it ul 2.1Au{ur! 1r)90

A surveyof the dislr bulionand numbersof wadersin coastalVictoria was carriedout in December, 1979 Ol the 88 246waders recorded, 97 percent were ol Palearcticorigin and 3 percent Australasian. The surveyconcenlrated on bays,mudf als and estuarieswhere mosl Palearclicmigrants are Iound. Re atively few Auslralasianwaders were encounteredas mosl were d spersed lor breeding al this I me.Three spec es of calidridinewader made up 85 percenl ol lhe totalnumber. The mostnumerous specieswas the Red-neckedStnt which comprised52 per cent of the total.The malorityol lhe Paearctic (84%) and Auslralasan (70%) waderswere found in Port Phi ip Bay, CornerInet and WesternPort. Generally lhe areaswith the higheslnLrmbers also had h gher speciesdivers ty. The tola abundanceof Palearcticwaders was positivey correlaledwith lhe eslimaledarea of interlida and shallowlreshwater weiland in eachregion if onehighly-eulroph c area (Werribee Sewerage Farm, Westernside ol Porl PhillipBay) was excludedfrom the dala.The numbersoi onlyone species,the EasternCurlew. were correlated wilh wellandarea.

INTRODUCTION rcgions havc l)ecn conductcd as part of theRAOU WadcrStudies Progranr (Martintlalc l9lll; Lanc Although thc Victorian Corst conprises onl)' 191t7)but tlrcrcsults ol thislirst count havc not i pcr ccnt ol the coastlincol Australiu.it contains bccnpublishccl in full. \\'adcrhubitat of nirlionill lnd intcrrationitl signifi- cance (Lanc. 1987). Increasinuindustrial and rccrcillionaluscs of coastalllreas are causingthc METHODS nroclilicationancl clcstluctionof thcsc habitats. [-algc-scltlcsurvcYs ol wa(lcrs rrc ncccssarvto Mosl ol thc vi\itcd on thc wccktnd ol I l cstablishthc rcllrtivcirnpottillce ol eachilrelt so Dcccnrbcr. 1979.As rhc *1rLllhcrcordilions lvrfc rnsuital)lc thirt priorilics li)f thcir rcsclYatiorrnd appropriatc lor trir!cllilr! in \rrrirll boi(\ o I Dcccnrbcr. lhc \'a(lcrs irt nrrnilltcrllcntpolicies can bc cstablishcd.Regular \cveral silc\ ha(l lo bc counlcd up to thrce wccks |rtcr. Thc counts ol rvirclcrshlivc l-tccn carriccl out in a nincty olrscrrcrs ussisliIgirr thc coLrnl\\'crc coDlPclenlin lhc rrrrnrbcloi lrcas in coastalVictoria (Whcclcr identilication ol u'r(lcr \pljcrts irr(l nriinv hirLlc\l)cricncf of cslimitlinllthc nunl)er ol $irdcrs rt high tidc roo\ls in Wc\lcrn 195.5:Lo!'n 1975:Corrick and Norman1980; I'}(Jrr C'orrickl98l; .lones l9lJ-l:t-ane I9li7).Althrugh 'l'hc thc\c \rlrvc!s providc much inlirrmation al-xrut l)ifrlslvcrr countod ut roostingsjti.s whcn conccrrlrrtcd rrrr,ltr IrrrIrrr|.rtiorr.,rl pirlrLulirr .ite.. il i. rr,'t thcrc 1rlhigh tidc Prclinrinirr\suncys ilr (irrncr Inlct (inclLrd to asscsstlrc rclativcimpoltancc of cach ing Shoul Inlcr). (lifp\Lrnd t-rkrs Lrnd Shallo$ Inler wcfc Possiblc (nJsring irrcll iD Viclorirr $,ithr)utcomplctc surveysof rrlrdc 1o dctrrnrinc rhlr locrtions of rhc sircsus rrosl $crc nnkn()sr. ll lhc roostsirr ( (Jlncrlrrlcl and Andcrslnr'\ wir(lcrIlallilats al()ng thc coilst. Inlcl u,crc courlc(l ffonr horrs. Ihc ilrclcmclrlx'cllhcr dLrring In this pupcr. lllc rcsultsarc prcscntcdol thc lhc counl pcriod rcsulrcd in r poor covc gc ol Shallow lolcr rnd lclv *rdcr\ \rcrc sccn rhcrc. Ho*rvcr. r lloek ol onc lirst sur'\,evof thc clistribrrtionilnd numtlers ol thousiirrdunidcnlilled wirLlcfswa\ recordcd rnd those l)ifds wadcrs along thc coast of Victoria conductcd in \rcrc i cluded in thr t(xrh. Small arcaswcrc counlcd b! s'lall Deccrntrcr1979. Subscqucnt surveys of the same gl1)upsof observersduring the \ame high'tidc. December,'1994 P. Darni Dislribulionand abundance of Palearcticand Auslralasian Waders 149

I:igurel.r,.ba]lionso|!h(DuIinarus&f|'|(|li|tIhi!!u|'\'(\'.l.hcnutttlr'rsn,pn,tcntthc|lt|ltll'in fr.{&,rrr l- .f.nrrr'xa,.i/.ht(oust.2. Il?lldrin( I\' instllu hn Phillip Bu\.3. W(slott Sil( Pon I'ltillip B \'.4 Lu\i,rn Silt I\rt I'hillip Bttr.5. Wc!k\n Pa,!,6. Anlrt\ot1\ Inld,1. ShalkN lnl4, 8. (t,tkt lnl(t intludittg Shoul lnltr,9. Gippslund Luk.], 10. Edlt (;it)plll d. Th( ip.(ili( \it?\ |'|)u|?l|i|lu|h(ruu|L'gi||'lli1)!h(k'\I'I.ht(|liDk1tuluruso| \ut\t:\ dt? !trt,t i litbl( -1.

Mo\l (rt lcri\t 90"") of the signilicrnt wctlilnds in colslrl 7. Shallow Inlet. Srnd! I']oin1. (i)tlcrs Bcach rnd lwo Victolia rvcre includcd in lhc ccnsus.Shallo* Inlct rvis lhc unnamcd silcs irl(Dg lhc norlhcrn rnd weslcrn shorcs. (r,rl\ \ignilicrnt rrcu nor well .olcrc(1. Ihc nrjor lrcl\ - sur\'erc(i iirc shoNn in I;igufc I ii d co tirincd lhc toll()!ving 8. Corner Inlet including Shoal Inlet. Mrngn)vc Island. Duck Point. Iianklin Islund.Tooru Bcach. BLrllockIsland. vrrious parts ol Sn:,ke rd I.ilrle S tlkc lslands. Sunday l. South-weslernCoast. I\).tllnd lJit\r. l-rttle Rivcr lo Port Island. Clonncl Island. Box Bank. Dru r Island. Clonnlcl Irajr! (inclrding Criflilhs Island.Porl Fitirv lo l o\\cr Hill Banks rrnd St Margarcl lsland. In addit(}n. 1l unnamcd srlcs\!crc co!cr cd. l. BcllarinePeninsula. Port Phillip Bay. PoinrHcnry (Ceclong Srll\rork\). Poir\l Richards. St l-co nrds- Ld\\'rrds l,oint i). Gippsland Lakes. Lrkc Rccvc. (;oldc,r Ucrch. Sc,i\pray. t() Ouccn\clitl. iIrcluding Srvan Ishnd: Point Lo sLlalc. Poinl Wilson. Lakcs Q)lcmrn rnd (julhridrc. Lrke Trers l.ukes Nfurtnagurt rnd Conncwrrrc. Frcshwatcr. Rccdv Ileach. Ewinqs l\'1a$h. Lirkcs Entrrncc. Crcscc l and iro(l Vrcrorir Lrkcs rnd Mud Islands BilnoI I\lan(ls.

.1 WesternSide, Port Phillip Bay. Avalon Srlllvork\. Wcrribcc l{) East Gippsland.Tlmboo . Win{irI an(lS!dc hanr Inlets. 'Ihuril Scs,cr'luc I:arn and Thc Spit Sliitc Nirlurc Rcsclre. Ri!er. (;ood!vinSands. Devclings Inlct (Mrllacoota l-r\ rft()n Sirhwo.ls. Inlet)and Lakc War War. L EastcrnSide, Port Phillip Ray. t:rlithralc. (arrun anLlSca 'l'hc di\'!'fsil! ol wirdcl\ irt crch \ilc \rir\ cxprc\\cd ir\ thc lord S\\'rnrp\ Sh,rnnon-Wcrvcr Indcx (H') which is :(p I p) \\hcrc I is 5. Wcslcrn Porl. Siindr Poinl. Yaringr. Tooritdin. Ylll{)ck thc ffofortion oI thc tolrl po|uLrti(nr contril)utccihy circh (\.tt. Ilun\rp Ri\er. Srttl{r cnl Road. Slockv.rrdI'oirjt. spccicsin lurn (Shannon rncl Werrcr 19.19). C.M.H. Drrin. ajllntvillc.Rccf lsland.Rhyll lnl(r r (Phillip -lhc I\llod). Iintoisc lluad. Blucgum Poinl and Rams rrnd arcrs oi inlcrlidal arrd shallow lrcshwr(cr wclhnds i Brffrllilr I\lrnd\ (l:rcnch l\llnd). eacb sccti()nol th€ corsl werc cslinralrd lrom l()pogrlphical Drafs anLl acrirl phorogmphr. if tublished csrimareswcrc 6. Andersons Inlet. NIahef\ I-rtnding. Town\cnrl Ululf. uriivirilithlc Ob\crvrtions bv countcrs ot rvrtcr lcvcls wcre N{rsons Roird. PoLrn(lCrcck. lslands:rt thc nlouth of thc also uscd in LlcrcrftininS thc approxi rirtc rrcls of shallow 'I ar$in Rivcr .rnd Point Smvlhe. frcshwirlcrwellirnds .rt the time of thc survcy. 150 P. Danrr Distributionand abundance palearctic of and AuslralasianWaders Corella18(5) .I'ABI,E I ollhf|cli()n\arc|\i()l|o\rs:|.southN|stcrn(i)as1.2.Bc||l||icPe;insul|I,()rtPhi||ipI]"".:,ri':"";'lliij t]tt\..{,I:lI\l(msidcI1]ltI,hil]lPBa}'.5'wcstcrnPon'6'n1r(|cls()n:' Inlcl. 9. Cippslrrd Lirkcs.I0_ Elsl cippsl.rnd.

lLl Tol:rl Pltlcarctic* utlcrs q5.l 1l 16{) lii 355 3 t.l0 9 897 5 191 I 25.1 l0 165 I 070 15 il5 :tl r r ll.l -r3.fi l. ti .6 6.1 1.5 tl.N 1.6 ALrslraLrsillnwirdcrs l|rl 6ti0 5U6 119 .161 21 l1 lti I r55 sl 30tl 6 :t.6 19.5 1"12 15.i 0.8 r.l t).1 5.1 2.1 T(rtaI I Ir.l ll f.i0 t9 ll l l{Jl5it 5 .118 I 1J3 l0 616 I ll5 1)1 l{t 2t6 t.l 1.1.7 33.1 1.2 l t.7 6.1 t.5 11..1 t.7 {,.I

TABLE 2 I hc nunrbeisoi wl(le (i)irst.2. iollo!\s: L Sotrlh \\cslcrn Ucllarinc Pcnin\ulir- Por1Phillip Blv.3. \\lcstcrn Siclc- Pon philtip Biry.4. Easrcrn Sirlc I)oftPhillilBal.5.WcstcrnPof1.6.Andersonslnlcl.7.ShullowInlct.8.CorncrInlct-inctudingShorlI;lcl 9. Cippsland I-irkcs.10. Easr (iipp\lilod. 'Iixitl sfccic|i l0

I)iedO\slcrcatchljr ll -r.1 20 3ll ll 29 501 S(!)ly Oystcrcrtchcr i7 2 2IJ +ll N{rskcd I-rf\ring 16 19.1 t0l{ 170 33ll 15 ll ll 915 (ircv ['lo\cr l1l ll l5 I19 l-cs\cr (iol(lcfi I'lo\cr 11 t2 t!) 28 50 25 5l 3 26',7 Rcd'knccd Dolt( rel 9 5t l.l 15 lloodcd Illovcf -l t1 62 Mongolrrn Plovcr 29 I iJ0 It0 Doublc t):rndedI'l(^ cr .+ ltt 2.1 Lrrgc SL'nLlPlovrr ll Rcd cappedPlovcr 31 152 130 15 11 23 tl 72 lr 590 Black lrontc(l Pl{Ncr -t -'l 1 '1 I'l Black-$'i gcd Stilr 6 196 l3.l 210 5.{8 UundcdStilt I l-5 26 Rcd-nerkcd Avoccl ito llu I9it Ru(ld! Turnst()nf 196 85 10 12 8l 40,1 EastcrnCurlc$ ]0 26 652 ll l6 I 170 I I t00 5 3 IJ Wood Silndpipcr 2 2 Gre)-lrilcd Trttlcr 1.135 22 21 lJ8 Common Sandpipcr 521 Crccnshank 3 196 l0rJ lE(l 12 531 Mar\h Sandpipcr l3 ll Tcrek Srndpipcr I Llthaln \ Snipc t0 l1 l16 I t7l Black tLiilcdGod*'it 92 l{l 2l Ua11itilcdCorlwit I 352 t2 229 5 500 5 6 099 Rcd Knot t24 it5 l4 I 560 30 I I 834 (lrcrt Knot l8 30 4d Sharp'tailcdSandpiper l.l0 1255 6 364 3 000 293 l0 llr ,101 13594 Rcd-ncckedStint 463 6 808 13 1E8 t06 .+800 5 000 202 10 250 2 620 36 43 473 Curlcw Srndpipcr 9 999 tt 97tt 15 3 srJo 300 I I 102 10 I1 994 S ndcrling t'7 300 317 U idcntificd 1 000 I 000 'I oral l 134 129,10 29,1'1i 3 669 l0357 54tu i 288 20 646 3 225 l2'7 rJ82,16 December,1994 P. DarnrDistribution and abundance of Paearct c andAustralasian Wadefs

RESULTS t200 3 Thc totirlnLlnlbcr of wirdcrscountcd in coxstal qJ t000 Victoriu uas lili 2.1(r.consisting ol tl5 133 (96.6'X,) J Pirlcrrlcticnri!tnnts iln(1i 013 (3.1'1,)Australasian warlcrs.The numbers and percentrgesol the two () E00 catcg()ficsof waclcrsin eaclrof the l(l rcgionsof IL coastalVictolia urc !{ivcn ir'rTablc L Thc majolity 600 of thc I'alcarctic $.acicrs(li-l'X,) ancl Australasian waclcrs(70')r,) uelc hrundin foul ol the l0 regions ul 400 srrrvcvcd. Thcsc r.vcrc: Ilcllarinc Pt-'nirrsula, o Westcrn Sidc ol Port Phillip []oy. Wcstcrn Port E 200 and ('()fncf Inlct (Table l). z Ol the l-.1spccics recorcled in this survcl. 22 0 u,e'rcof Palcarcticorigin uncl wclc .O0 'l'hc ll AUstralltsiaD. 0 l0O 2oO J00 nurnbcr of cach s1-lccicsof Palearctic ancl AREA (sq Km) Austriilasianwildcr coLrrtcdin cach lcgion isshowtr WETLAND in'l'ablc f. The nost nuncrous spccicsobscrved was thc Rcd-ncckccl Stint ( ttlidris nr.ficollis Firufc.l lrr n'lutirnship bttun tltc nntbus ol lLt:rL,nt (52.{)')1,of thc Palerrctic u,aclcrs)follorved by the ( uth,tr dtul tltr uttu! t)l i,tu,flid(l a rl dlf)ning \htllotr (t : 1)6. Crrrlcu, Santlpipcr Culidris .fcrrttgirtct (17.6"/,,) ltrslr\tlLt \'r |d ut t:t(lt ngkrt 0 d.l 6, t) 0.{)5;Fig. 2). il all rcgionswere u, G inclutlcil. Ikrwcvcr'. whcn thc data frorn thc t! Wcstcrn sidc of Port Phillip Bay (an cxtrcmc o point) wcrc cxcludcd. thc rclittionslripol wct- 3 20000 liind arca to number of wrders was significant (y = -l I13.7 + .l-5.7x);whcrc y was thc numbcr l! rvadcrs was wctland : 0.81. o of lnd x thc -l'hc itrcir;r tl.l. 9. p < 0.05: Fig. 3). rcasonswhy thc tr Wcstcrn sidc of Port Phillip Buv cor.rldbc UJ(o t0000 considcredunusual ilnd exchldedtronl thc data E sct arc givcn in thc discussion. z Tlrc rclationslripbet\\,een the nunrbcrof caclr spccicsin a rcgion ard the estimlted arca of wct- land in that rellion was investigateclfor cach 0 100 200 500 400 Palcarcticspccics. and only onc. thc F.astcrn Narricrlrrs t/tedagascfi"iet$r.s.showctl a WETLAND AREA (sq km) Curlcw si€inificantcorrelation (r :0.96. d.f. 6. p < 0.05; Figurc L fr( ftlutonship harxtt'tt tltc bktl fluntbo:t ol Fig.3). l\tlturcrir rLultr'; u!11 lc dtus ol intrnidal uKl trdjoinntt Palcarctic species varicd \hullo\ uttlunl in uth 't'!:krt lt = 0.El, d.1. 6. The diversitl' of 1ftlh^ro thc four nrorc iInportlnt arcas t) < 0.05). ,.1- rtnutr sil? ol l'ot I'hilltp lluy rLltult x,us between ilreasand ot intltxltd it th( ^'t:fu,\siott(\k t,rults lir'(\phndion). in terms of numbcrs of birds also had highcr 152 P. Darr-- Dislributionand abundance palearctic of and AustralastanWaders Corella18(5) TABLE 3 Subscqucntcounts havc l)ecn shiftcd to Fcbruirry 1hr, spccics diver\ir! (Shrnnon-Wclvrr In(tc)i)ot l,ittcafcric and extcndcd to covcr sitcs in inland Victor.ia tvadcrr and thf cslinrirlcrtrrr.a ol inlcniditl r d \hLt or fre\h- (Martinclalel98l: I-ane l9lt7). \\rrlcr \\ctkrnd rn clch secrr0n()l thc Virl()rirn C()l\t irt lhc lrnrc | \\irs covcfe(i h\ thr \uf\r\ irr Dcrcrrbcf 1979. Il ur. tr'rrlizcrlIhlrt lll( (lirlil!irlltcf(rj l)\ c,runl\ ,,f thiskin,l u,rrrlrl Ir< inr1r1,'1..11'r rcpr rjrlprr F,rr cxlmple. a tnid winter collltt on a similar scalc Di\ crir\ Rcgion wotlld ptovi(ledatit on noD brceclingpopulations In(lr\ (vi knr) of Palearctictvaclcrs antl populatton cstrnlirtcsol S()Lrlh\c\tcr n (irirsL s thosc Australasiilnwaclcrs which flock alongthc I'orrI'hrllip Il ur coaslrn \!ln1cr.e.g. ovstcrclttcltets.Such counts l].lluril. I,cnin\Lrlil l..lt) tl h:rr, l',.,.n C,'|l(lu\'t((l C()t]\((l Ul l) il\ .,t il \\'csttr n sitie nirrr l.1l lo njrlr',r)illst Ll\ (MlrrtirrJlrlcl,,sl: I lrn( l(/x-) Ilit\trr Jr\id. 0.rl -l Il5 t5r, Locirlknowlcdge ol rvudcrsitcs is ol paramount 0tl importancc trnrl thc Shirll(r\\In lct 0.7| trccuracv ancl crtvcragc itf I1 countscan bc ( ir nerInLct I ..19 l00l enhanccclif obsclvctsarc cncoulagccl (;rf|\[ ]d I rrkc\ r)il to bccorncfarriliar with pirrticulariucas. Sub- Iirrst( irppslrrnLl r) 7.1 scqucntrcgulilr counts of ShallorvInlcl in l9U3-S4 (.loncs 19ii,1)lbunil bctwccn 5 (X)0 and (XX) r\'ftlltindirlc l6 Soufcc\ol c\tinrrrc\: Sh:rpir(i(l!)75)i (lgsl)i $lt,.let.Ihcrc in Sprrn;:lrIltl Srrnrnr,.r\lr-!.tr(\lin! othfr\ lronr\]\tirrrlrlc\lronr rrraprand phorographs. acrial that thc covcragccluring this sulvcv wasincomplcte ull(loubtedlyduc to inclcntcntweathcr and thc spccicsdiVcrsir\'('l'rrble -i).'fhc exccptionrvas thc ovcrlookingol importantfoosts not knou,nat tllc Soulh-$'cstcrnCoast uhich hrd lhc highcst Itntc. spccics clivcrsitr. tlespitc accounting li)r onlv l..l pcr ccnt ol the total nun]t)crof rvadcrs.Thc Alttttttlutttc clivcrsitvof Ptrlcarcticuadcls lor-caclrscctiOn ol' tllc coilst\!lls contpiirc(lto thc wctland itrca ol Thc totul cour)t fi)r coastal Victoria in the lhc pilfticullr scctionbrLt therc appcltrcdto bc no follo\\'irrgsuInmcr. in F'cbnrilrv l9fi0. tvits higlrcr Iclati()nhct\\'ccr) lllc 1w()palilnrctcls (r: {).-l-5. (120356) thirn li)r thissurvel l)Lrtthc pr()portions (1.1.9. n.s.). ol thc totalsin cach rcgionu'crc sinrilllr bctwcctl thc t$1) ycars (Martin(lalc.l9iil). Tlris sucgcsts thrrtthc dillcrcnccwiis duc 10a highcrprocluctivitl, DISCUSSION antl/ol survivll ol $llclcrsfrorn thc plcvious btccd- ing scason.anci pcrhaps a grcalcr conccntralion Sun rt illL'tltorls ol birclsir coirstlrlrrcls. r'rthcrthirn lnv clifftrcncc 'lhe ir coveragcol sitcs.Thc nrclurnurnbel ()l $lrdcrs tirDiDgol thi\ coulrtulis clcterrnineclinitialll' in coastalVictoria in sunrnrc-r-l)ctwccn l9Sl and 1()c()inci(le \\i1h thc coll!'ctioDol (lirtirl)v t\() l9u5 rvas ll:l 3.19(1hc sulrr ol rcgions I lJ lronr r(!rll:rr.,)rrrll. ,'l .rrt.rllr'l:rl,:':. ll,'rt.rtr. it Tirblc 7.1 in I-ane 19ii7).Again thc proportrons bccarncclcar rluring this count that thcfc wcrc rcnrxincdsirnilur f()r Palcalcticspecics blrt dis- s()nrcii(l\ irntrige s in chlnging the summcr coul'rt proportionrtcl)'highct nuntbersol Austlitlasian ironr Dcccrnbert() call\ Fet)rlLirrv$'hcn counting spccicswcrc rccolclcclin sonlc lrrets. p()ssil)lv ol \\'adcrsis lesslikclv io be inllricnceooy rnove inclicatinggrcatcr colccntrrtions ol birtlslatcr itr men1. Jllc conrnroDcrPalcarctic \\ dcrs lirc thc scasonor rcflcctirg dilfcrcnccs irr thc avail- conll)lctir)1Inroult ()f futting on [a1 irr Fctrtulllv abilitl'-ol shirllowfreshwatcr $ctlands bctrvccn (llrorras irntl Dartnall l97lr I'atoll at1(lW)'kcs ycars. l97S).Also. in Fctrruarv.thc amountol tcnrporaN hal)itatii)f \\l(lers is likclv to hlvc diminishcclas Wadcrsfrom tlrc Palcarcticcon]priscd the main shullou'r'ctlrrncls dt\ rLp. Ihe wadcrsol inland clcmcnt of thc sunrmcrcount in 1979in both an(lcoir\till rcgions woLlld bc morc aggrcgatccl,thtts specicsconrposition (67'7,,)ancl numbers (9770). allowing bettcf covcragc ol thc populatiotls l'hc abundanceof the tlrreespccics ol calidridinc as fcwcr wctllnds would have to bc counteLl. wader in thc survey indicatcsthat coastalVictoria DecemberI994 P.Ddrnr D stflbutronand abundance ol Palearclc andAusualasran Waders 153 is irn important non-breeclinghabitat lor these Kay ancl Blintlell 1977; Wolfl 1969). However spccicsbut this cannot tre quantifiedfully until Evans and Dugan (198'1) caution against the tllc sizcsof thcir uorld populationsare known. cxlrilpolation of such relationships to larger Thc numbers recorded lor somc of thc lcss scalcs. duc to gcographic diffcrcnccs in the commonspccics. which may havcrclativcly small influcnccsof tidc and wcathcron thc availability world populllions (c.9. Eastern Ciurleu,),suggest of prcy. that Victoria may be a non-brcedingarea of In valiittions. importancc. Evcn il substantialpart of tllc total addition to tide and weather a population of these less numcrous spccieswoulcl rclatively high degrce of habitat specificity or a great not contribute significantlyto the figurcs for thc diversity of intertidal habitats in each area ovcrall abunclanceof $'aders in Victoria. Thc may be responsiblealso for the lack of significant rclativcabundance oI thc threecalidridinc wadcrs correlationsbetween numbers of earchspccics and irnd tlrc coDcer'rtrationof 84 per ccnt of thc sizeof the wetlands.In each cascthc rclationship Pzrlcurcticwatlcrs in firur main regionswithin the betwccn numbers and area could be hiddcn by gcographical Statc (Table l) indicate prioritics lor future thc scale of the surucy and would rcscarch on thcsc commoner spccies and the require greatcr rcsolution through the measurc- declaratior of wildlife reservcsin these areas. rncnt of the sizeof actualfeeding arcas. for signili- cant corrclations to tre realized.There appearsto Therc wcrc significantcorrelations between thc be no information in support of greater habitat cstinatcd sizc ol rvetlanclsand the number of specilicity of wadcrs in Victoria. The greater Palearctic waders onlv if the arca where the diversity of intcrtidal habitats in the Victorian denscstconcentration Occurred(Wcstcrn side of survey itreas.as a causcof the lack of correlation, Port Phillip Bay) was rcmovecl front thc data. hits some credence through the wider range of Most of thc wadcr feeding arcas of the western intertidal habitats and much greater divcrsity of sicleof Port Phillip Bay are on or adjaccnt to the intcrtidal invertebrates found thcrc than in the Wcrribcc Sewage FaIm. The trcatcd cffluent English estuaries,whcrc significant correlations from thc farnr results in increased microalgirl have been for.rnd(pers. obs.). Whereas most of productivitv and vcry high densities of bcnthic the English surveys involved cstuarics (Prater macrofauna (Axclrad ct al. 1979 Dorsey l982). t98l), this surveyincludcd bays, inlets, estuarics (i)nscqucntly the dcnsitiesof feeding wadcrs are and shallow frcshwater marshes.The lalger bays many timcs greaterin intcrticialareas at Wcrribcc and inlcts in Victoria in this study may not have thln in WcstcrnPort (Dann. unpubl.data). Duc proportionally grcaltcr amounts of the feeding to thc eutrophiciltionof the Werribcc arca, it ilrcasfor particularspecies. In conlparisonsof total appcars valid to trcrt tlle Western sicieof Port numbcrs. thc cffcct of areashaving proportionally Phillip Bal, separately;and its removalfr.rn thc less of a pirrticular habitat and hcncc lcss of it data sct provicles a significant relationsltip particular specics is compcnsated by another betwecn wctland area and total number of specicsbcing nrorc abundantdue to the samearea waders. having proportionallymore ()1another habitat. Thc rcsult is a significant positivc correlation The rclationshipbctween the total number of between total number of waders and thc arca of Palearctic waders and thc sizc of the wetland 'fhc wctland. implicationof this explanationfor suggeststhat thc available food supply in each regionwas roughly proportional to the sizeof thc corrclation ol the numbersof EasternCurlews with the area ol u,etlandavailable is that their intcrtidal/shallowfreshwiltcr wctlands. IIowever, fccding arcas arc distributcd (and uscd by the with thc exception of Eastern Curlews. thc birds) in direct proportion to the size of the wet- numbcrs of individual speciesdid not occur in land. It was not possible to exnmine this further direct proportion to thc cstimatcd wetland arca in the study. in each region. By contrast. a similar comparison of counts from 23 estuariesin eastern England Species Diversity- showed highlv significant positive correlations with estuary sizc for all species except Black- The diversity of wader speciesin Victoria was tailed Godrvit (Pratcr 1981).Densities of waders generallyhigher in thoseareas where most waders on thcir non-breedinggrounds have been related werc found. Since some wader species have to preydensities in differentareas (Goss-Custard. different habirat requirementsin thc non-breeding 154 P.Darnr Dlstfibut on andabundance of palearcltcand Austra asian Waders Corella1B(5)

l\(fi,'\1. it irl\lrr'irr\ltIr'l\ thrrrlrr,.:ltt r rlrrer.irr i. rr (i)rrick.,\ I| (1()lll) \!ctlirn(lsotVictoriii IL Wcrtirnd\lnd I\ fiLLlr,'I ,'l :l( rl\'f rlirer.irr ,rt lt:rlritrrt.. \\rllcfbrds ol Sourh(;il)|\irrrrd. I'td. I )\ St\ l/itt 92 allhollgllrncasurentcDl ol this$its not attenrptcal. lirTl0r. (19s()) This u'orLltlscclD to bc so in thc South-wcstern Collick. A. H. i rd Nornrl|. Ir. l. \'ctlirnd\ ln(l \\irlcrl)nd\ol rhf Sn(x\\ Ri\r, (;ip|rLrn(l Coilstrcgion \\'hcrc grcatc\t l d t,llcs rrrrh thc spccicsdivcrsilv mcnt.lr1!.Iio\..t,r l/(/ 9l: I l5 u'asrecorclcd. ln this rcgion nrostof thc coaslill I)ol\c\. .1 II (l(lSl).Thc iIrtrri(1lr!conrnlrnil\ oll\horr lronr hltbitalslirLrnd in Victoriil ilrc rclrcsclrtcd(pcrs. thc Werrihcc \cqirgclrcllnrcnt lirrnr: An opportunirlic obs.). Anv consitlcrationsol thc liltLLfcconscrvil- rrrlilurrirll\\cIrblirsc. /\ r\t..1. \1(t /if\lrr. /i.!. 3l:.15 5.1. ti()n()l \\'ir(lcrs ir Vicloria shoulclgivc high pliority L,\rns.I). It. rnd DLrl]an.P. l. (19s.1).(orsrrl hlrds:orml)crs qudcr\ to thoscilrci!s \\'ith grciltcr divclsitv irr adrlitiun to ur rclirli(nrl(' 1()(xtrc\()LIcc\ In Ciiit\tirl tur(l \\11(ll(^\t \rirtrr'. ([ds (;os\ ( thoseirrcas \\'ith grcatci abrrncllnccof u'lrlcrs. in P. R. t:rans..].t). u\rlr(l rnd\\'. (i IIulc)(CrI)lridgc LiIi\cr\i(\ I'fc\\: Cunrbrklgc.) (loss( ustirrd.I D . Kir\. l). (; irn(lllli|l(lcll. lt. \4. (1917). lh( (icnsir\ ol lnrgrrrof\ rr)(1o\cNinr.fing Rrdshlnk 'I ACKNOWLEDCMENTS tiultt 1t)tdttu\(1..). rrnd ( urlcn. Nrt)tlnu!!ttltu(tu| ll..)n1 fclirli(Jnni thf drnsit\ ol thrir Irc! LI \oullr-cir\lt:nglirrrd. I shouldlikc to thlnk thc 90 obscrvcrsnurinlv Ln. ( t\tst.trltt. t./. 5: .1(17510 ll.onrtlrc Victorian Wadcr StucirGroup arrl the .l()nc\.ll 1..(l()s.1) Shrll(nv Inlfr. \'icrorir.irsl!\irdcrrcn . Birrl C)bsclvcr"sCIirb of Austmliu rvho participatctl I tt \(; ltkll4t 9:1 t). irr the cor.lnt.In pafticulaf thc assistanccol' l-ane. Il '\ { l9sl). Shorcbil1ls in Australir . (Nclslnr: Mlrrglrct ('unrcron. Pat 13inghanrancl Richarcl NIcll,oLrrnc.) (l()7r). UcrlcrIllorl Ilr!. Lovn in orqanizirrgthc coLlrt is acknowleclgctl. I-o!n. R IL ,\ \rr'\c] ol birdsin Virtorir. l{17.r7-1. l],,r/ 7lt: ll l(). The' idca of ckring thc c{)Llnlwas initilte(l in J. (l9Sl). Sornc fesultsrn(l inlfrprclirlrorrsot (irnsiclcrablc Nllflindllc. discussionsl ith Richurcll-oyn. hclp rount\ Sulllrref coLrnt198{l Nl. fr. .S/r, l; l5 2ar. wasrcccireci ll1)nr Anclrcw Corrick. BrLtcc Rigbv. !,rrtindrlc. J. l9sl) A sludvol \\ridinglrird\ in Corncf lnlel. { -lehlrrcill Miifgarct Considirrc.Sr.re' Bacqttic atrd Anclrcw Afthur Rrhh Inslitulc lor Iirvironnrcnlrl Rcscarch Chupnran. Hlzcl [)ann t!ped thc nanuscript. Rc|ort No L HirrrsVun Llnlpt assistcclwith thc cstimateof thc Palon-D. irrd Wykrs. 8. (1973).Re'rfpmi\rl ol rrroullof \()urhcrn Ausrrrlia. [rr. 78: 5f()0. Shullou Inlcl wctland. an(l RicharclLoyrr. Brett Re.l-nc.kcrl Stints irr Pfirtcr.A. i (1981). F\rrrrv Birds of Uriltlinrtnd IIcLrnd . Lanc. Angus Mirrtin. Durno Mttrray ancl an (1. lnd A. D. I)o!\cri ( rl1o|.) nronvn)ousrclcrcc con]Inentedon cllrlicrdrafis. 'I'hc Shannon.C. E rrr(lWcarcr. W (1919).Thc NlrrlhcInatlcitl survcl,rvoulcl not have been possiblcwithout Thcorv ol Ci)mlnunicrlion . (llnivcrsity (Jl Illi oi\ I'rcss: a grant lrorn thc Iiln Potter Founalirtionand thc LJ'hrrntL ) rusc of boats ln(l lircilities providcd bl tlre Shrfiro. N{. A. (1975). Wtsrcrntor( tll! F. vironmcnrtrl SlLrdt. l97l-71 . (lVinistr) for Conscr\'iition:Mclbournc.) Univcrsitl"of Mclbtlurnc. 'lhorrir\. l) (;. rnd Dunnall. A .,. rl97l). NIoult ol the Cuflc$ Srndpipcr irr rclation to ils rn uill c)clc. li,rr{ 7l: l5s. REFERENCES l5i Whcclcr. Il. (1955). Churtdtiifottnc\ al lhe l-l!erktl /\\el(rd. [). ]1 .llickrrriln. N. J. anr.l(libbs. C l' (1979). Srll\'r'orks.Victoril. 1950 1951.l.arri 55: 179 l()5 Nticrorl,rrl prorlu.ti!it\ r\ itllaclt(l h\ lrcated scwrgc Wolfi. W J. (1.)69) Disrfihrtion ()i non brccciingwrders in dischlrg. to Port Phrllip llLr\'. NliDislrr fof Cons{rrvlti{)n. in cstr.rufincurea in rcliltion to thcir irxxlo|grrnisms.,4rrlra \ icloriir.Enrir()n. S(Lrdics Scr. No. l+1. ll pp. 57: I 18.