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Shorebirds of the Western Great Basin of North America: Overview and Importanceto Continental Populations

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Shorebirds of the Western Great Basin of North America: Overview and Importanceto Continental Populations International Wader Studses 9:6-12 Shorebirds of the western Great Basin of North America: overview and importanceto continental populations Lewis W. Oring & J. Michael Reed Oring, L. W., and J.M. Reed. 1996. Shorebirdsof the WesternGreat Basin of North America: Overview and importanceto continentalpopulations. International Wader Studies 9: 6-12. Large-scalestudies of North Americanshorebirds have, for the mostpart, emphasizedcoastal regions.Nevertheless, interior regions also are critical to shorebirdpopulations. Our aim herewas to reviewthe status of shorebirdsin oneimportant inland region, the western Great Basin of North America. We identifiedspecies on whichmanagement efforts should be concentrated,identified importantwetlands, and estimatedthe globalimportance of westernGreat Basin shorebird populations.Nine speciesof shorebirdsregularly breed in thewestern Great Basin and 24 species occuras migrants. The western Great Basin is an importantbreeding area for SnowyPlovers (Charadrius alexandrinus), Long-billed Curlews (Numenius americanus), American Avocets (Recurvirostraamericana), Black-necked Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus), Wilson's Phalaropes (Phalaropustricolor), Killdeer ( C. vociferus),and Willets ( Catoptrophorus semipalmatus). Among migratingbirds, the western Great Basin supports large numbers, and significant proportions of the world'spopulations of Wilson'sand Red-neckedphalaropes (P. lobatus), Long-billed Dowitchers, WesternSandpipers (Calidris mauri) and American Avocets. Finally, we suggestpriorities for conservation efforts for shorebirds in the western Great Basin. LewisW. Oring,Ecology, Evolution, and Conservation Biology Program, and Department of Environmental andResource Sciences, University of Nevada, 1000 Valley Rd., Reno, NV 89512USA J.Michael Reed, Biological Resources Research Center and Department of Environmental and Resource Sciences,University of Nevada, 1000 Valley Rd., Reno, NV 89512USA •Currentaddress: Department of Biology, Tufts University, Medford, MA 02155USA Introduction Lake, Utah [Shuford et al. 1994], over 60,000 Wilson's Phalaropes[Phalaropus tricolor] at Mono Lake, California[Jeh11988]; and 100,000Long-billed Shorebirdsare amongthe world's mostmobile Dowitchers[Limnodromus scolopaceus] in Lahontan organisms.In many cases,individuals spend parts Valley,Nevada [Neel & Henr)• thisvolume]). of their livesin differentnations and ecotypes. Perhapseven more important, however, is that the Hence,shorebird conservation is a complex vastmajority of individualsof certainspecies rely on international issue. In order to conserve these inlandwetlands, particularly during migration importantaspects of our fauna, it is essentialto (Senner& Howe 1984;Morrison & Myers 1989). understandthe dynamicsof shorebirdmovements acrossthe landscape.The mobilityof shorebirds If shorebirdmanagement and conservationin North yieldsan addedelement of complexitywhen it Americaare to be efficient,a thorough comesto determiningpopulation size, i.e, changes in understandingof thebiogeographic regions of the numbersmay resulteither from populationchanges interiorof the continentis needed.In thispaper we or from shiftsin spaceuse. Althoughestimates have addressshorebirds in oneof theseimportant regions, beenmade of numbersof someshorebird species in the westernGreat Basin. Our goalsare to review the regionsof the westernhemisphere (e.g., western statusof shorebirdsof thisregion, to identifythose USA, Page& Gill 1994;South America, Morrison & specieson whichmanagement efforts should Ross1989a, b), for most speciesthere are no accurate concentrate,and to estimatethe globalimportance of estimatesof globalpopulation sizes. westernGreat Basin shorebird populations. Large-scaleshorebird studies in North Americahave, The westernGreat Basin region (Figure 1), bordered for the mostpart, emphasizedcoastal regions (e.g., to the westby the SierraNevada and Cascade Morrison & Ross 1989a, b; Helmers 1992). This is ranges,is amongthe driestregions in North due in part to the largenumber of individualsof America. The mountains to the west form a rain someshorebird species that congregatein coastal shadow,and throughoutthe basin evaporation stagingor overwinteringsites. Nevertheless,interior exceedsprecipitation, sometimes by an order of regionsalso are critical to North Americanshorebird magnitude.As a consequence,water is in short populations(Eldridge 1992; Skagen & Knopf 1993). supplyand biodiversityis concentrated In some cases, numbers of shorebirds at interior sites disproportionatelyin wetlands(Brussard et al. in are similarto thoseat majorstaging areas on the press).Ironically, and perhaps because of the extreme coast(e.g., 200,000+ recurvirostrids at Great Salt premiumon surfacewater, wetlands of the region Oring & Reed:Great Basinshorebirds overview L, Summ• L. & L.Abert Nat'lo ! IlifeRefuge Alkalai Lakes =yramidL. H•jmboldtWildlife Mgmt. Area Salt Lake • CarsonSink •'tillw3terWildlife IVIgrnt. Area "Carson L WalkerL. Owens An'zona Figure 1. Major wetlandsof the westernGreat Basin and the GreatSalt Lake of the easternGreat Basin. are of greatimportance to populationsof a number interyearvariability in existence(e.g., Engilis & Reid, of waterbird species. thisvolume). Types 2, 3, and 4 areespecially importantto shorebirds. Wetlandsof the westernGreat Basinregion include sixgeneral types: (1) ribbon-likeriparian areas, (2) Although important to North Americanwaterbirds, largedeep lakes, such as Pyramid and WalkerLakes, wetlandsin the westernGreat Basin are increasingly Nevada and Mono Lake, California, (3) shallow threatened.Formerly extensiveand diverseareas salinelakes of varyingsizes, including large lakes suchas Stillwater/CarsonLake (Nevada), and Mono suchas Lake Abert, Oregonand GooseLake, Lake (California),are recognizedas Hemispheric Oregon/California,and numeroussmall saline (former)or International(latter) sites by the Western playasand pans,(4) complexnatural and managed HemisphereShorebird Reserve Network (1993). Still, wetlands(marshes), e.g., Warner Wetlands, Oregon, theseareas are of greatconcern due to increased (5) upland bogsand wet meadows,and (6) artificial salinityand chemicalloading caused by urban and reservoirs.These wetlands are characterizedby agriculturaluses (Jehl 1988; Rubega & Robinson,this springrecharge from snowmeltand enormous volume). Otherwetlands of comparableimportance, International Wader Studies 9:6-12 but not as well understood, also are threatened. For 1994). In fact,birds disappeared from many of the example,while LakeAbert is undergoing sitesin which they had beenpresent: breeders at 20/ consideration as an Area of Critical Environmental 53 Californiasites, 6/29 in Oregon,and 2/6 in Concernby the Bureauof Land Management(Kerma Washington.Counts in northwesternNevada have et al. 1990),there are proposalsto mineminerals, paralleledthis decline. Herman et al. (1988) harvestbrine shrimp(Artemia monica), as well as a estimatedthat therewere probably2000 breeders in requestfor licensefrom the FederalEnergy southeasternOregon and westernNevada in 1980, RegulatoryCommission license to alterwater and Bradleyet al. (1991)reported numbers had managementof the lake (Devaurs1990; Keister 1992; droppedfrom 878 in 1980to 139in 1991. The 1991 M. Stern,pers. comm.). countmissed one historically important breeding site, but even if the 1991 estimate were doubled, it showed a severe decline. Shorebird Populationsof the Althoughthere are only moderatenumbers of Long- Western Great Basin and their billed Curlews in the western Great Basin, because of Relative Importance to Continental their range-widedecline (Page & Gill 1994)this area Populations mightbe importantto continentalpopulations. Locallydense populations of breedershave been recorded:4-5,000 pairs of AmericanAvocets and Nine speciesof shorebirdsregularly breed in the 1,000pairs of Black-neckedstilts (Table 2). westernGreat Basinand 24 speciesoccur as migrants (Table1). Sevenof the 24 occurin small to very small The westernGreat Basinis alsoimportant as numbers.At leastsix additionalspecies have been breedingand migratinggrounds for American reportedone or moretimes as accidentals (Ryser Avocetsand Black-neckedStilts. Thesespecies occur 1985;Alcorn 1988;LWO and N. Warnockper. obs.). commonlyand widely throughoutwetlands of the With severalnotable exceptions, the majorityof region,and in someyears large numbers of young which comefrom Mono Lake, California(e.g., Jehl are produced(Neel & Henry,this volume). Similarl}4 1986,1988; Herman et al. 1988;Rubega & Inouye Killdeerand Willetsbreed in largenumbers across 1994;Page et al. 1995;Shuford et al. 1995),there are the region,sometimes achieving high densities.For few publishedstudies of shorebirdsin the western example,up to 80 pairsof Killdeersand 50 pairsof Great Basin. In addition to studies at Mono Lake, Willetsbred around100 ha of pondsin oneyear. Hainline (1974)surveyed shorebirds in this areain Theselocally dense populations imply thatnumbers the early 1970s,and variousgovernment agencies in the westernGreat Basin as a wholecould be quite have conductedsurveys (e.g., Neel & Henry,this high. volume). Migration Breeding Birds The westernGreat Basinis probablyeven more The westernGreat Basinis an importantbreeding importantto shorebirdsduring migration (Table 3). areafor Long-billedCurlews, American Avocets, Thisarea is extremelyimportant to Wilson'sand Black-neckedStilts, Wilson's Phalaropes, Killdeer, Red-neckedphalaropes, Long-billed Dowitchers, and Willets,and westernSnowy Plovers (Charadrius
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