Rapid population decline in migratory shorebirds relying on Yellow Sea tidal mudflats as stopover sites

Colin E. Studds (), Bruce E. Kendall, Nicholas J. Murray, Howard B. Wilson, Danny I. Rogers, Robert S. Clemens, Ken Gosbell, Chris J. Hassell, Rosalind Jessop, David S. Melville, David A. Milton, Clive D. T. Minton, Hugh P. Possingham, Adrian C. Riegen, Phil Straw, Eric J. Woehler and Richard A. Fuller
Additional contact information
Colin E. Studds: School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland
Bruce E. Kendall: Bren School of Environmental Science & Management, University of California
Nicholas J. Murray: School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland
Howard B. Wilson: School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland
Danny I. Rogers: Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research
Robert S. Clemens: School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland
Ken Gosbell: Victorian Wader Study Group
Chris J. Hassell: Global Flyway Network
Rosalind Jessop: Phillip Island Nature Park
David S. Melville: Ornithological Society of New Zealand
David A. Milton: Queensland Wader Study Group, c/o CSIRO Oceans and Atmosphere
Clive D. T. Minton: Victorian Wader Study Group
Hugh P. Possingham: School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland
Adrian C. Riegen: Ornithological Society of New Zealand
Phil Straw: Avifauna Research and Services Pty Ltd
Eric J. Woehler: Institute for Marine and Antarctic Studies, University of Tasmania
Richard A. Fuller: School of Biological Sciences, University of Queensland

Nature Communications, 2017, vol. 8, issue 1, 1-7

Abstract: Abstract Migratory animals are threatened by human-induced global change. However, little is known about how stopover habitat, essential for refuelling during migration, affects the population dynamics of migratory species. Using 20 years of continent-wide citizen science data, we assess population trends of ten shorebird taxa that refuel on Yellow Sea tidal mudflats, a threatened ecosystem that has shrunk by >65% in recent decades. Seven of the taxa declined at rates of up to 8% per year. Taxa with the greatest reliance on the Yellow Sea as a stopover site showed the greatest declines, whereas those that stop primarily in other regions had slowly declining or stable populations. Decline rate was unaffected by shared evolutionary history among taxa and was not predicted by migration distance, breeding range size, non-breeding location, generation time or body size. These results suggest that changes in stopover habitat can severely limit migratory populations.

Date: 2017
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DOI: 10.1038/ncomms14895

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