Effects of intertidal habitat availability on the use of anthropogenic habitats as foraging grounds by shorebirds: a case study on semi-intensive shrimp farms

Basso, Enzo; Fonseca, Juanita; Drever, Mark C.; Navedo, Juan G.

doi:10.1007/s10750-017-3394-x

Cited by 15 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 61 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…In the Yellow Sea and elsewhere in the EAAF, supratidal habitats are also used by some shorebirds for foraging (e.g., Masero et al, 2000;Green, Sripanomyom, Giam, & Wilcove, 2015;Lei et al, 2018). The same coastal development that has contributed to intertidal flats loss in the Yellow Sea has also caused most natural supratidal wetlands to be replaced by artificial "working wetlands" including aquaculture, agriculture, and salt production (Cai, van Vliet, Verburg, & Pu, 2017;Xu, Gao, & Ning, 2016), and shorebirds are known to utilize such artificial habitats as they do natural supratidal wetlands (Basso, Fonseca, Drever, & Navedo, 2017;Masero & Pérez-Hurtado, 2001). Yet relatively little attention has been given in the EAAF to how coastal development affects the complementarity between intertidal and supratidal habitats for shorebirds at a site level, or the management that artificial supratidal wetlands created or modified by the land claim process may require to prevent further shorebird population declines.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple habitat use by declining migratory birds necessitates joined‐up conservation

Jackson

Carrasco

Choi

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Many species depend on multiple habitats at different points in space and time. Their effective conservation requires an understanding of how and when each habitat is used, coupled with adequate protection. Migratory shorebirds use intertidal and supratidal wetlands, both of which are affected by coastal landscape change. Yet the extent to which shorebirds use artificial supratidal habitats, particularly at highly developed stopover sites, remains poorly understood leading to potential deficiencies in habitat management. We surveyed shorebirds on their southward migration in southern Jiangsu, a critical stopover region in the East Asian Australasian Flyway (EAAF), to measure their use of artificial supratidal habitats and assess linkages between intertidal and supratidal habitat use. To inform management, we examined how biophysical features influenced occupancy of supratidal habitats, and whether these habitats were used for roosting or foraging. We found that shorebirds at four of five sites were limited to artificial supratidal habitats at high tide for ~11–25 days per month because natural intertidal flats were completely covered by seawater. Within the supratidal landscape, at least 37 shorebird species aggregated on artificial wetlands, and shorebirds were more abundant on larger ponds with less water cover, less vegetation, at least one unvegetated bund, and fewer built structures nearby. Artificial supratidal habitats were rarely used for foraging and rarely occupied when intertidal flats were available, underscoring the complementarity between supratidal roosting habitat and intertidal foraging habitat. Joined‐up artificial supratidal management and natural intertidal habitat conservation are clearly required at our study site given the simultaneous dependence by over 35,000 migrating shorebirds on both habitats. Guided by observed patterns of habitat use, there is a clear opportunity to improve habitat condition by working with local land custodians to consider shorebird habitat requirements when managing supratidal ponds. This approach is likely applicable to shorebird sites throughout the EAAF.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiple habitat use by declining migratory birds necessitates joined‐up conservation

Jackson

Carrasco

Choi

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Also, some studies suggest that waterbirds, especially shorebirds, may use artificial wetlands only when natural wetlands are unavailable or of poor quality (Ma et al 2004). Therefore, although shorebirds consistently forage at a shrimp-farm associated to a small coastal wetland (Navedo et al 2015a), the link between natural intertidal wetland availability and the use of shrimp farms as foraging or roosting grounds by non-breeding shorebirds is unclear (but see Basso et al 2018). Evaluating the use of shrimp farms associated with critical natural coastal wetlands during the non-breeding season could be useful to integrate these modified areas within conservation planning and management of wetlands for shorebirds, particularly at tropical non-breeding sites where the information about their ecology is scarce (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Use of semi-intensive shrimp farms as alternative foraging areas by migratory shorebird populations in tropical areas

Navedo

Fernández

2018

Bird Conservation International

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

SummaryEvaluating the ability of anthropogenic habitats to serve as surrogates for natural habitats is an increasingly relevant issue in conservation biology. This issue is especially urgent in tropical coastal wetlands that support large concentrations of migratory shorebird populations and are under pressure from development. Here we evaluated the species composition, abundance, and habitat use of Nearctic migratory shorebirds using recently harvested aquaculture ponds during two non-breeding seasons at shrimp farms surrounding Bahía Santa María (BSM), northwestern Mexico. We also estimated shorebird densities at intertidal units in BSM during and after the harvesting season to explore the connectivity with shrimp farms. Over 25,000 individuals of 25 shorebird species used the surveyed farms (∼13% of shrimp-farm development in BSM; 2014–2015: 10 farms, 994 ha; 2015–2016: 8 farms, 924 ha) during the harvest season. The most abundant species were: Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri, Willet Tringa semipalmata, Marbled Godwit Limosa fedoa, dowitchers Limnodromus spp., Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus and American Avocet Recurvirostra americana. Numbers of birds decreased as the harvest cycle progressed. Most birds (> 70%) were foraging on the ponds, regardless of tidal stage, while numbers increased during high tide for the most abundant species. At surveyed intertidal areas, shorebird densities were overall similar within and between non-breeding seasons. These results indicate that shrimp farms offer ephemeral but consistent foraging habitats used by non-breeding shorebirds, even in vast coastal wetlands offering a high availability of natural intertidal mudflats. Assuming a similar shorebird use in other shrimp ponds not surveyed within BSM, a significant proportion (> 1% of the biogeographic population) of Willet, Marbled Godwit, and Western Sandpiper, as well as imperilled Red Knot Calidris canutus, might use shrimp farms throughout the harvesting season. Before including current semi-intensive shrimp farms within management plans of BSM, further research is mandatory to assess their utility as alternative foraging habitats for shorebird conservation at tropical areas.

show abstract

“…Elphick & Taft, 2010), aquaculture (e.g. Navedo et al, 2014;Basso et al, 2017) and salt production (e.g. Masero, 2003;Athearn et al, 2012).…”

Section: Conserving Shorebirds In Human-dominated Landscapesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Many waterbird species around the world regularly occur on artificial (i.e. human-made or human-modified) wetlands such as those associated with agriculture (Elphick & Taft, 2010), aquaculture (Navedo et al, 2014;Basso et al, 2017) and salt production (Masero, 2003;Athearn et al, 2012). Use of "working coastal wetland" habitats (e.g.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The same coastal development that has contributed to intertidal flat loss in the Yellow Sea has also caused most natural supratidal wetlands to be replaced by artificial "working wetlands" including aquaculture, agriculture, and salt production (Xu et al, 2016;Cai et al, 2017), and shorebirds are known to utilize such artificial habitats as they do natural supratidal wetlands (e.g. Masero & Pérez-Hurtado, 2001;Basso et al, 2017). Yet relatively little attention has been given in the EAAF to how coastal development affects the complementarity between intertidal and supratidal habitats for shorebirds at a site level, or the management that artificial supratidal wetlands created or modified by the land claim process may require to prevent further shorebird population declines.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Conserving shorebirds in human-dominated landscapes

Jackson¹

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Wetlands support biodiversity and provide critical ecosystem services but have been severely impacted by human activity. Shorebirds are a diverse group of waterbirds that usually forage in shallow water, making them highly dependent on wetlands. Coastal shorebirds are increasingly threatened in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway where coastlines are heavily developed and wetlands have been extensively modified and degraded. In this human-dominated landscape, shorebirds sometimes aggregate in artificial wetlands associated with human production activities including agriculture, aquaculture and salt production. However, it is unknown whether artificial habitat use is widespread by shorebirds across the flyway, if such habitats could help to offset negative population trends, or how artificial habitats should be managed alongside natural habitats to achieve conservation outcomes. This thesis investigates the use of artificial and natural habitats by shorebirds in heavily developed coastal regions of the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, and suggests conservation and management actions in this setting. Chapter 2 presents the first large-scale review of coastal artificial habitat use by shorebirds in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway. Analysing data from multiple monitoring programs and the literature, it shows that 83 shorebird species have occurred on more than 170 artificial sites of eight different land uses throughout the flyway, including 36 species in internationally important numbers. However, occurrence and foraging on artificial habitats is uneven among species, and different land uses support varying abundances and species diversity. Saltworks host a larger and more diverse shorebird assemblage than other artificial habitats, but are threatened by conversion to land uses of lesser habitat value. Chapter 3 presents a detailed case study of artificial habitat use in a critical stopover area comprising ~150 km of coastline in Jiangsu province, China. It shows that most shorebirds are completely limited to artificial habitats during high tide because natural intertidal wetlands are covered by seawater and no natural habitat remains in the supratidal zone. Further, most shorebirds were observed using artificial habitats almost exclusively for roosting (rather than foraging), and selected larger ponds with less water and vegetation cover and fewer built structures nearby, characteristics that can be cultivated through management. These results suggest that jointly managing artificial supratidal and natural iii intertidal habitats would benefit shorebirds in this region, and this approach is likely applicable to sites throughout heavily developed regions of the flyway. Chapter 4 uses long-term monitoring data from five highly developed coastal regions of Australia to show that a high proportion of all shorebirds (more than one-third in four regions and more than two-thirds in two regions) use artificial habitats at high tide. It indicates that a relatively low proportion of migratory and coastal habitat specialist ...

show abstract

Effects of intertidal habitat availability on the use of anthropogenic habitats as foraging grounds by shorebirds: a case study on semi-intensive shrimp farms

Cited by 15 publications

References 61 publications

Multiple habitat use by declining migratory birds necessitates joined‐up conservation

Multiple habitat use by declining migratory birds necessitates joined‐up conservation

Use of semi-intensive shrimp farms as alternative foraging areas by migratory shorebird populations in tropical areas

Conserving shorebirds in human-dominated landscapes

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About