Identification of coastal wetlands of international importance for waterbirds: a review of China Coastal Waterbird Surveys 2005–2013

Bai, Qingquan; Chen, Jianzhong; Chen, Zhihong; Dong, Guotai; Dong, Jiang-Tian; Dong, Wang; Fu, Vivian Wing Kan; Han, Yongxiang; Lu, Gang; Li, Jing; Liu, Yang; Lin, Zhi Wei; Deng, Meng; Martinez, Jonathan; Ni, Guanghui; Kai, Shan; Sun, Rong; Tian, Suixing; Feng-qin, Wang; Xu, Zhiwei; Yu, Yat-tung; Yang, Jinqiu; Yang, Zhidong; Zhang, Lin; Zhang, Ming; Zeng, Xiangwu

doi:10.1186/s40657-015-0021-2

Cited by 110 publications

(112 citation statements)

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“…The Yalujiang Estuary Wetlands (hereafter YLE), located in the northern Yellow Sea, support over 150,000 shorebirds in the pre-breeding stopover period annually (Barter et al 2000;Riegen et al 2014;Bai et al 2015). Those birds, especially large-to mediumsized shorebirds, such as Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata), Bar-tailed Godwit, Great Knot, and Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) use this tidal flat as an important refueling site (Bai et al 2015;Choi et al 2015Choi et al , 2017. Satellite-tracking records show that YLE is also the final pre-breeding stopover site for Bar-tailed Godwits (of both races menzbieri and baueri) (Battley et al 2012) and Great Knots (Lisovski et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migration departure strategies of shorebirds at a final pre-breeding stopover site

Tan

Choi

et al. 2018

Avian Res

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Background: Departure decisions and behaviors of migratory birds at stopover sites are expected to maximize fitness by trade-offs among avoiding predators, optimizing refueling (energy) capacity, and matching other life-history events. We predict that species with different body sizes and migratory destinations will exhibit different behaviors when departing from the same stopover site. We also predict that with strong time constraint at the final pre-breeding stopover site, departure decisions may be less sensitive to exogenous factors, such as wind condition, compared to other stopover or nonbreeding sites. Methods:We recorded migratory departures of four shorebird species, i.e. Eurasian Curlew (Numenius arquata), Bar-tailed Godwit (Limosa lapponica), Great Knot (Calidris tenuirostris), and Grey Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), at Yalujiang Estuary Wetlands in China, a final pre-breeding stopover site in the northern Yellow Sea, from 2011 to 2014. We compared flock sizes, departure time and departure directions between species, and investigated the effects of tide and weather conditions (rain and ground wind speed and direction) on the departure decision of shorebirds. Results:We found that larger species departed in smaller flocks and were more variable in daily departure time. Departure trajectory of all four species appeared to be influenced by coastal topography. With the east-west coastline and intertidal mudflat on the south, birds exhibited westward or eastward deflection from the shortest migratory routes. Bar-tailed Godwit was the only species that deviated to the southeast and did not climb over the land. Birds avoided departure during precipitation, while their departure was not related to ground wind benefit or tidal condition.Conclusions: Body size among species, which influences their vulnerability to predators, might be important in shaping shorebird departure strategies. Diverse departure directions could be the result of different wind use tactics in climbing stage. Narrow optimal time window of breeding might lead to reduced flexibility in departure date at a final pre-breeding site. Both endogenous and exogenous are important in shaping departure behaviors and decisions.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Migration departure strategies of shorebirds at a final pre-breeding stopover site

Tan

Choi

et al. 2018

Avian Res

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“…1D). Populations of more than 50% of bird species are falling, and at least 27 are endangered (6). The plight of the red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) is clearly due to habitat loss.…”

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confidence: 99%

Protect coastal wetlands in China to save endangered migratory birds

Yang

Thompson

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…There are already very large windfarms along parts of the Jiangsu and Liaoning coasts and the world's first intertidal windfarm, with 58 turbines and a generating capacity of 150 MW (Anon. 2015b), has been developed at Rudong, Jiangsu Province, in the area that supports much of the global population of Spoon-billed Sandpiper during both northward and southward migration, as well as internationally important populations of another 14 species of wader (Bai et al 2015;Fig. S17 in Supplementary material).…”

Section: Windmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite major changes to many coastal areas surveyed by Mark Barter (Yang et al 2011), and reported declines in many shorebird populations within the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (Amano et al 2010;Rogers et al 2011;Wilson et al 2011;MacKinnon et al 2012;Australian Government 2015aChoi et al 2015;Hansen et al 2015), current surveys by Fudan University (Y. Chen, unpublished data) and the China Coastal Waterbird Census team (Bai et al 2015;Hua et al 2015) show that almost the entire soft shore of China's Yellow Sea coast meets Ramsar listing criteria as either staging sites, wintering grounds or breeding grounds, this being reflected in current proposals for designating 'red lines' (L. Zhang et al, unpubl. data).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Shorebirds along the Yellow Sea coast of China face an uncertain future—a review of threats

Melville

Chen

2016

Emu - Austral Ornithology

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Abstract. Wetlands along the Yellow Sea coast of China, which are a major staging area for shorebirds in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway, are in a state of crisis that threatens the future of this migration system. Populations of many shorebirds in the Flyway have declined in recent decades at a time when there has been widespread loss of habitat and degradation of coastal wetlands around the Yellow Sea. Here we examine current threats to coastal wetlands along China's Yellow Sea coast based on field surveys in 2013 and 2014 and a review of the literature. Intertidal habitats have been lost to land claim or degraded through aquaculture and harvesting, as well as gross pollution and invasion of exotic Spartina, all of which have negatively affected shorebird foraging, roosting and breeding sites. Planned further development, if unchecked, will result in the loss of most of the remaining intertidal area, which is likely to result in calamitous declines in populations of many shorebirds. There is a need for immediate action to curb future land claim and to develop an integrated coastal management strategy. Further research on applied aspects of shorebird ecology is urgently needed to inform future policy development and decision making.

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Identification of coastal wetlands of international importance for waterbirds: a review of China Coastal Waterbird Surveys 2005–2013

Abstract: Background: China's coastal wetlands belong to some of the most threatened ecosystems worldwide. The loss and degradation of these wetlands seriously threaten waterbirds that depend on wetlands.

Cited by 110 publications

References 11 publications

Migration departure strategies of shorebirds at a final pre-breeding stopover site

Migration departure strategies of shorebirds at a final pre-breeding stopover site

Protect coastal wetlands in China to save endangered migratory birds

Shorebirds along the Yellow Sea coast of China face an uncertain future—a review of threats

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