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RESEARCH ARTICLE
Contents Vol 107(1)

Differential migration of shorebirds in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway

Silke Nebel
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School of Biological, Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. Email: silke.nebel@unsw.edu.au

Emu 107(1) 14-18 https://doi.org/10.1071/MU06006
Submitted: 30 January 2006  Accepted: 10 January 2007   Published: 26 February 2007

Abstract

Differential migration involving intraspecific segregation of ages or sexes on the non-breeding grounds is common among migratory birds. Most of the existing data have, however, been collected in Europe and the Americas and very little is known about such migration patterns in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway, which links eastern Siberia with Australia and New Zealand. Spatial segregation of males and females during migration and at non-breeding grounds has clear implications for conservation management, as the loss of habitat predominantly used by members of one sex will disproportionately reduce effective population size. Here, I review the published data on differential migration in shorebirds in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway and discuss these data in the context of alternative hypotheses for differential migration and their relevance to existing conservation programs.


Acknowledgements

D. Rogers is thanked for an insightful discussion. D. Rogers, G. Thompson, D. Watkins and two anonymous referees improved the manuscript with their comments. Thanks to D. Watkins for the shorebird population estimates and to W. Lee Long for the map of shorebird sites in the East Asian–Australasian Flyway.


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