Mapping foraging habitat for migratory shorebirds in their Australian non-breeding grounds and prioritising sites for conservation and management
Amanda Lisson A D , Kathryn H. Taffs B and Leslie Christidis C
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations
A School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia.
B Southern Cross Geoscience and School of Environment, Science and Engineering, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia.
C National Marine Science Centre, Southern Cross University, PO Box 4321, Coffs Harbour, NSW 2450, Australia.
D Corresponding author. Email: lacebark66@gmail.com
Pacific Conservation Biology 23(1) 32-42 https://doi.org/10.1071/PC16011
Submitted: 2 March 2016 Accepted: 31 July 2016 Published: 26 September 2016
Abstract
Shorebird populations are declining worldwide as a result of the loss of the intertidal habitats upon which they depend. Conservation status is particularly dire for shorebirds on the East Asian–Australasian Flyway. While the flyway transects many international boundaries and involves numerous bilateral conservation agreements, management of remaining habitat at a local scale is imperative to conserving these species. Coastal habitat is affected by multiple anthropogenic stressors, including loss and degradation due to increasing demand for coastal land. In Australia, migration coincides with the summer holiday season when shorebirds are significantly impacted by human disturbance. Managers are frequently required to make trade-offs between wildlife conservation and anthropogenic land uses and when specific quantitative shorebird habitat data and mapping are absent, human interests will naturally take precedence. This paper demonstrates a method for mapping and prioritising management of shorebird non-breeding habitat using an Australian coastal site, the Richmond River estuary. Foraging habitat was surveyed and mapped using GIS with a range of attributes including habitat types, foraging values, disturbance levels and specific foraging distribution of each species. The results highlighted several important foraging areas that were impacted by disturbance and would require intervening management actions to reduce impacts on shorebirds. The GIS data created provide local managers with an effective tool to consider shorebird habitat in the decision-making process. This method could be replicated at other important shorebird habitat sites, leading to enhanced conservation of these declining species.
Additional keywords: East Asian–Australasian Flyway.
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