Change in Numbers of Resident and Migratory Shorebirds at the Cabo Rojo Salt Flats, Puerto Rico, USA (1985–2014)

Parks, Morgan A.; Collazo, Jaime A.; Colon, J.A.; Álvarez, Katsí R. Ramos; Díaz, Óscar Díaz

doi:10.1675/063.039.0213

Cited by 4 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Second, the unique geography of hundreds of islands combined with dozens of different political institutions poses a challenge to coordinated monitoring and reporting efforts. Third, few studies investigate shorebird use of Caribbean islands, and those that do tend to focus mainly on southern Puerto Rico (e.g., Parks, Collazo & Ramos-Alvarez, 2016a ; Parks, Collazo & Ramos-Alvarez, 2016b ; Wunderle, Waide & Fernandez, 2009 ) and Cuba (e.g., Nol et al, 2014 ), or specifically on Piping Plover (e.g., Johnson et al, 2018 ; Gratto-Trevor et al, 2016 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of priority shorebird conservation areas in the Caribbean

Cañizares

Reed

2020

PeerJ

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Despite being geographically central to the Atlantic Americas Flyway for migratory birds, the Caribbean is often overlooked or underappreciated when addressing the conservation of North American shorebirds. To our knowledge, this is the first Caribbean-wide assessment of shorebird use in the region. We analyzed 211,013 shorebird species observations in the insular Caribbean from 2010–2019, representing 78,794 eBird checklists and cumulative total of 2.1 million shorebirds of 45 species. We conclude that priority areas for shorebird conservation include Humedal Sur de Pinar del Río (Humedal Sur de Los Palacios) in Cuba, and Monte Cristi in the Dominican Republic as they each likely support more than 20,000 shorebirds annually, and they host large abundances of geographic populations for particular taxa. Specifically, the former site hosts >10% of Short-billed Dowitchers (Limnodromus griseus griseus/hendersoni), and >1% of Black-bellied Plovers (Pluvialis squatarola cynosurae) and Wilson’s Plovers (Charadrius wilsonia wilsonia), while the latter site supports large numbers of Black-necked Stilts (Himantopus mexicanus). We also identified at least 15 additional sites that likely cross the 1% population threshold for one or more shorebird taxa. These sites may qualify for special international designations such as Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas or as part of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network; 11 of the 17 sites we identified do not hold either of these titles. Data on subspecific or geographic distributions of three species, Snowy Plover (C. nivosus), Black-necked Stilt, and Killdeer (C. vociferous), are insufficient to reveal if the sites with the highest abundances were mostly comprised of Caribbean populations or migrants, but the limited information suggests that they also likely exceed 1% thresholds on several islands. Based on our results, we recommend more extensive systematic surveys of shorebirds in the Caribbean, including research on turnover rates and movements between islands, as well as assimilation of shorebird survey data not yet included in the eBird portal.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Identification of priority shorebird conservation areas in the Caribbean

Cañizares

Reed

2020

PeerJ

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“… Prey animal biomass (Atiénzar et al, 2012 ; Deboelpaep et al, 2020 ; Herring & Gawlik, 2013 ; Holopainen et al, 2014 ; Hunt et al, 2017 ; Parks et al, 2016 ; Schultz et al, 2020 ) Plant‐derived food density or abundance (Arzel et al, 2015 ; Atiénzar et al, 2012 ; Dugger & Feddersen, 2009 ) …”

Section: Synthesis Of Reviewed Studiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Prey animal biomass (Atiénzar et al, 2012 ; Deboelpaep et al, 2020 ; Herring & Gawlik, 2013 ; Holopainen et al, 2014 ; Hunt et al, 2017 ; Parks et al, 2016 ; Schultz et al, 2020 )…”

Section: Synthesis Of Reviewed Studiesunclassified

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Measuring habitat quality for waterbirds: A review

Mott

Prowse

Jackson

et al. 2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Quantifying habitat quality is dependent on measuring a site's relative contribution to population growth rate. This is challenging for studies of waterbirds, whose high mobility can decouple demographic rates from local habitat conditions and make sustained monitoring of individuals near‐impossible. To overcome these challenges, biologists have used many direct and indirect proxies of waterbird habitat quality. However, consensus on what methods are most appropriate for a given scenario is lacking. We undertook a structured literature review of the methods used to quantify waterbird habitat quality, and provide a synthesis of the context‐dependent strengths and limitations of those methods. Our search of the Web of Science and Scopus databases returned a sample of 666 studies, upon which our review was based. The reviewed studies assessed habitat quality by either measuring habitat attributes (e.g., food abundance, water quality, vegetation structure), or measuring attributes of the waterbirds themselves (e.g., demographic parameters, body condition, behavior, distribution). Measuring habitat attributes, although they are only indirectly related to demographic rates, has the advantage of being unaffected by waterbird behavioral stochasticity. Conversely, waterbird‐derived measures (e.g., body condition, peck rates) may be more directly related to demographic rates than habitat variables, but may be subject to greater stochastic variation (e.g., behavioral change due to presence of conspecifics). Therefore, caution is needed to ensure that the measured variable does influence waterbird demographic rates. This assumption was usually based on ecological theory rather than empirical evidence. Our review highlighted that there is no single best, universally applicable method to quantify waterbird habitat quality. Individual project specifics (e.g., time frame, spatial scale, funding) will influence the choice of variables measured. Where possible, practitioners should measure variables most directly related to demographic rates. Generally, measuring multiple variables yields a better chance of accurately capturing the relationship between habitat characteristics and demographic rates.

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“…Direct habitat measures Food availability Prey animal biomass (Atiénzar et al, 2012, Deboelpaep et al, 2020, Herring and Gawlik, 2013, Holopainen et al, 2014, Hunt et al, 2017, Parks et al, 2016, Schultz et al, 2020 Plant-derived food density or abundance (Arzel et al, 2015, Atiénzar et al, 2012, Dugger and Feddersen, 2009 Birds and Gawlik, 2013, Townsend et al, 2006; Water level variability (Collazo et al, 2002) Availability of shallow water (Collazo et al, 2002, Gawlik and Crozier, 2007, Lantz et al, 2011 Landscape depth heterogeneity (Beerens et al, 2015) Wading birds preferentially selected ponds that had been experimentally manipulated to have shallow rather than deep water (Gawlik and Crozier, 2007) and waterbird species richness and density correlates with the availability of shallow water habitats (Wang and So, 2003) Water level recession rate was a key influence on physiological condition of two species of waterbirds (Herring and Gawlik, 2013) Water level variability did not influence habitat selection of wading birds (Gawlik and Crozier, 2007) Site/region -Instantaneous/within season/annual…”

Section: Relevant Spatial and Temporal Scalesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Measuring habitat quality for waterbirds: a review

Mott

Prowse

Jackson

et al. 2021

Preprint

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Quantifying habitat quality is dependent on measuring a site’s relative contribution to population growth rate. This is challenging for studies of waterbirds, whose high mobility can decouple demographic rates from local habitat conditions and make sustained monitoring of individuals near-impossible. To overcome these challenges, biologists have used many direct and indirect proxies of waterbird habitat quality. However, consensus on what methods are most appropriate for a given scenario is lacking. We undertook a structured literature review of the methods used to quantify waterbird habitat quality, and provide a synthesis of the context-dependent strengths and limitations of those methods. Our structured search of the Web of Science database returned a sample of 398 studies, upon which our review was based. The reviewed studies assessed habitat quality by either measuring habitat attributes (e.g., food abundance, water quality, vegetation structure), or measuring attributes of the waterbirds themselves (e.g., demographic parameters, body condition, behaviour, distribution). Measuring habitat attributes, although they are only indirectly related to demographic rates, has the advantage of being unaffected by waterbird behavioural stochasticity. Conversely, waterbird-derived measures (e.g., body condition, peck rates) may be more directly related to demographic rates than habitat variables, but may be subject to greater stochastic variation (e.g., behavioural change due to presence of conspecifics). Therefore, caution is needed to ensure that the measured variable does influence waterbird demographic rates. This assumption was usually based on ecological theory rather than empirical evidence. Our review highlighted that there is no single best, universally applicable method to quantify waterbird habitat quality. Individual project specifics (e.g., time frame, spatial scale, funding) will influence the choice of variables measured. Where possible, practitioners should measure variables most directly related to demographic rates. Generally, measuring multiple variables yields a better chance of accurately capturing the relationship between habitat characteristics and demographic rates.

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Change in Numbers of Resident and Migratory Shorebirds at the Cabo Rojo Salt Flats, Puerto Rico, USA (1985–2014)

Cited by 4 publications

References 7 publications

Identification of priority shorebird conservation areas in the Caribbean

Identification of priority shorebird conservation areas in the Caribbean

Measuring habitat quality for waterbirds: A review

Measuring habitat quality for waterbirds: a review

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