CONSERVATION PLAN FOR DUNLIN WITH BREEDING POPULATIONS IN NORTH AMERICA (CALIDRIS ALPINA ARCTICOLA, C. A. PACIFICA, AND C. A. HUDSONIA) Version 1.0 May 2008 1 2 3 4 Guillermo Fernández , Joseph B. Buchanan , Robert E. Gill, Jr. , Rick Lanctot , and 5 Nils Warnock Conservation Plan Authors: Authorship alphabetical after Fernández 1Unidad Académica Mazatlán, Instituto de Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónomo de México (UNAM). Av. Joel Montes Camarena, Apdo. Postal 811, Mazatlán, Sinaloa 82040, México; [email protected]. 2Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, 600 Capitol Way North, Olympia, Washington 98501, USA; [email protected]. 3 USGS-Alaska Science Center, 4210 University Drive, Anchorage, Alaska 99508, USA; [email protected]. 4U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Bird Management, 1011 E. Tudor Road MS 201, Anchorage, Alaska 99503, USA; [email protected]. 5PRBO Conservation Science, 3820 Cypress Drive #11, Petaluma, California 94954, USA; [email protected]. Conservation Plan Editor: Meredith Gutowski, WHSRN Executive Office, Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, P.O. Box 1770, Manomet, Massachusetts 02345, USA; [email protected]. For Further Information: Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN): www.whsrn.org Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences: www.manomet.org Financial Contributors: National Fish and Wildlife Foundation PRBO Conservation Science U.S. Geological Survey U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Washington Department of Fish and Game ii WHSRN – Dunlin Conservation Plan, May 2008 Acknowledgements: We are grateful to the many individuals who contributed to this conservation plan, especially A.R. Taylor, B.A. Harrington, G.W. Page, E. Palacios, B. Ortego, and L.E. Stenzel who supplied Dunlin count data, contact information, and/or provided other crucial information for identifying important sites, threats, research, and management needs. We thank PRBO Conservation Science (PRBO), the International Shorebird Survey (ISS), and the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) for generously allowing use of their Dunlin count data. We also thank our own organizations for supporting us as authors of this plan. Front Cover Photo: Dunlin (Calidris alpina pacifica) roosting at Port Susan Bay, Snohomish, Washington, USA. Photo by Steve Mlodinow. Recommended Citation: Fernández, G., J.B. Buchanan, R.E. Gill, Jr., R. Lanctot, and N. Warnock. 2008. Conservation Plan for Dunlin with Breeding Populations in North America (Calidris alpina arcticola, C. a. pacifica, and C. a. hudsonia), Version 1.0. Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, Manomet, Massachusetts. iii WHSRN – Dunlin Conservation Plan, May 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY........................................................................................................1 PURPOSE .................................................................................................................................4 NATURAL HISTORY AND STATUS ....................................................................................5 MORPHOLOGY..........................................................................................................................................................5 TAXONOMY ..............................................................................................................................................................6 POPULATION ESTIMATE AND TREND.....................................................................................................................6 DISTRIBUTION .......................................................................................................................................................12 MIGRATION ............................................................................................................................................................15 C. a. arcticola.........................................................................................................................................................16 C. a. pacifica..........................................................................................................................................................16 C. a. hudsonia........................................................................................................................................................18 MAJOR HABITATS ...................................................................................................................................................18 Breeding ................................................................................................................................................................18 Migration ..............................................................................................................................................................19 Nonbreeding...........................................................................................................................................................19 CONSERVATION STATUS ........................................................................................................................................20 POPULATION GOAL................................................................................................................................................21 CONSERVATION SITES...................................................................................................... 21 BREEDING RANGE .................................................................................................................................................21 C. a. arcticola.........................................................................................................................................................21 C. a. pacifica..........................................................................................................................................................22 C. a. hudsonia........................................................................................................................................................22 MIGRATION AND NONBREEDING RANGE ............................................................................................................22 C. a. arcticola.........................................................................................................................................................23 C. a. pacifica..........................................................................................................................................................28 C. a. hudsonia........................................................................................................................................................33 CONSERVATION THREATS ..............................................................................................36 HABITAT LOSS AND DEGRADATION......................................................................................................................36 Reclamation of Intertidal Areas for Economic Activities..................................................................................................36 Mariculture (Shrimp farms) ......................................................................................................................................37 Changes in Agricultural Practices ...............................................................................................................................38 Restoration of Salt Marshes (Salt ponds) .....................................................................................................................38 Exotic Species (Spartina spp.) ...................................................................................................................................38 ENVIRONMENTAL CONTAMINATION ...................................................................................................................39 HUMAN DISTURBANCE..........................................................................................................................................40 CLIMATE CHANGE .................................................................................................................................................42 DISEASE OUTBREAKS.............................................................................................................................................44 CONSERVATION STRATEGIES AND ACTIONS ............................................................44 CURRENT OR POTENTIAL COLLABORATORS........................................................................................................44 Asia/Russia..........................................................................................................................................................45 Canada.................................................................................................................................................................45 United States .........................................................................................................................................................45 Mexico..................................................................................................................................................................45 CONSERVATION ACTIONS......................................................................................................................................46