Foraging microhabitat selection of Spoon-billed Sandpiper in the Upper Gulf of Mottama, Myanmar

Aung, Pyae Phyo; Buchanan, Graeme M.; Round, Philip D.; Zöckler, Christoph; Kelly, Chris; Tantipisanuh, Naruemon; Gale, George

doi:10.1016/j.gecco.2022.e02077

Cited by 3 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 29 publications

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“…The mixed sand and mud substrates of the Leizhou mudflats are consistent with those in the preferred foraging sites of Spoonbilled Sandpipers in other overwintering areas (Burton, 1971;Bird et al, 2010;Chowdhury et al, 2017;Kelly et al, 2017;Aung et al, 2022). More than half of the mudflat surface in the study area was covered by shallow pools at low tide and the rest of the area was also very wet.…”

Section: Food Resourcessupporting

confidence: 80%

“…Small arthropods were widely and abundantly distributed in the Tujiao mudflats in winter. Interestingly, one small crab species (2-7 mm in length) is abundantly and evenly distributed in the mixed sand and mud substrates of the Gulf of Mottama, the world's most important wintering site for Spoonbilled Sandpipers (Aung et al, 2022). As the second most important wintering site for Spoon-billed Sandpipers in the world at present, the mudflat shallow pools of Leizhou Bay in winter contained 13 arthropod species (1-19 mm in length) with an average density of 105 ind/m 2 , which was less dense than the small crabs in the Mottama mudflats in winter (approximately 181 ind/m 2 ), but relatively more dense than the winter benthos of coastal mudflats in four other overwintering areas of southern China (Huang et al, 2002;Lin, 2003;Huang, 2010;Xia, 2015;State Oceanic Administration, 2016;Tang et al, 2019).…”

Section: Food Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…; SBS Conservation Alliance, 2022). Due to the rarity of Spoon-billed Sandpipers and difficulty in monitoring individual prey catches, few studies have reported their diet and the status of food resources in their critical habitats (Dixon, 1918;Portenko, 1957;Portenko, 1968;Voronov, 1980;Portenko, 1981;Cha and Young, 1990;Kelly et al, 2017;Aung et al, 2022;Yang, 2022). Diet descriptions mention crustaceans, small fish, polychaetes, mollusks, and insects (Dixon, 1918;Portenko, 1957;Portenko, 1968;Voronov, 1980;Portenko, 1981;Cha and Young, 1990;Kelly et al, 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Diet descriptions mention crustaceans, small fish, polychaetes, mollusks, and insects (Dixon, 1918;Portenko, 1957;Portenko, 1968;Voronov, 1980;Portenko, 1981;Cha and Young, 1990;Kelly et al, 2017). Although Spoon-billed Sandpipers forage in a variety of substrate types, they prefer mixed sand and mud substrates and often forage in small shallow pools remaining after the ebbing tide, which contain crabs, shrimp, amphipods, and polychaetes (Burton, 1971;Piersma, 1986;Bird et al, 2010;Chowdhury et al, 2017;Kelly et al, 2017;Aung et al, 2022). Previous studies investigating feeding behavior reported that foraging Spoonbilled Sandpipers do not deeply probed the sediment (Piersma, 1986;Swennen and Marteijn, 1988;Kelly et al, 2017;Aung et al, 2022;L Cheng 2022, personal observation;DM Li 2022, personal communication), implying that their main food is not mollusks or sandworms buried within the sediment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although Spoon-billed Sandpipers forage in a variety of substrate types, they prefer mixed sand and mud substrates and often forage in small shallow pools remaining after the ebbing tide, which contain crabs, shrimp, amphipods, and polychaetes (Burton, 1971;Piersma, 1986;Bird et al, 2010;Chowdhury et al, 2017;Kelly et al, 2017;Aung et al, 2022). Previous studies investigating feeding behavior reported that foraging Spoonbilled Sandpipers do not deeply probed the sediment (Piersma, 1986;Swennen and Marteijn, 1988;Kelly et al, 2017;Aung et al, 2022;L Cheng 2022, personal observation;DM Li 2022, personal communication), implying that their main food is not mollusks or sandworms buried within the sediment. In southern Jiangsu, China, which is the globally most important staging site for Spoon-billed Sandpipers, reported that foraging birds show a significant preference for areas with high amphipod densities in areas with abundant tide pools in which amphipods congregate at low tide (Shepherd, 1995;Drolet and Barbeau, 2009;Yang, 2022).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Food resources for Spoon-billed Sandpipers (Calidris pygmaea) in the mudflats of Leizhou Bay, southern China

Yang

Piersma

et al. 2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Leizhou Bay in Guangdong Province is the most important wintering site in China for the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpipers (Calidris pygmaea). As food is usually a strong predictor of presence, in the winters of 2019-2022 we studied arthropod food resources and diet on the intertidal mudflats at the Tujiao and Hebei mudflats in Leizhou Bay. In December 2020, using a sampling device that encloses mobile epibenthic prey before the human sampler would disturb them in shallow pools, we visited 34 stations in their core foraging area at Tujiao. A total of 15 mobile benthic species were identified, including 13 arthropod and 2 fish species, with a total density of 106 animals/m 2 (range= 0.2-48 animals/m 2 ), with the lengths of the animals ranging from 1-19 mm. Two amphipod and one cumacean species contributed 85%. On the basis of photographs of foraging during low tide in 2019-2022, the visibly ingested prey items appeared to mainly consist of small shrimp, but also included crabs and fish. At 27 mm (compared with the 22 mm long bill of Spoon-billed Sandpipers) the average visibly ingested prey showed a strong size bias. Among the measured environmental covarying factors (sediment pH, salinity, TOC content, median particle size and distance from the seawall etc.) potentiually affecting the mobile epibenthic prey in shallow pools, only distance from the seawall was significantly and negatively correlated. Densities were higher within 1 km of the seawall (126 animals/m 2 ) than further offshore (69 animals/m 2 ). This may relate to the mangrove forests growing in abundance near the seawall providing released minerals, nutrients, bacterial production and diatoms for the benthic community in the adjacent mudflats. However, the potential negative impact of artificial mangrove expansion in Leizhou mudflats need to be carefully monitored and assessed to balance both mangrove and Spoon-billed Sandpipers conservation.

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Section: Food Resourcessupporting

confidence: 80%

Section: Food Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Food resources for Spoon-billed Sandpipers (Calidris pygmaea) in the mudflats of Leizhou Bay, southern China

Yang

Piersma

et al. 2022

Front. Mar. Sci.

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Coping with unpredictable environments: fine-tune foraging microhabitat use in relation to prey availability in an alpine species

Scridel,

Anderle,

Capelli

et al. 2024

Oecologia

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Microhabitat utilisation holds a pivotal role in shaping a species’ ecological dynamics and stands as a crucial concern for effective conservation strategies. Despite its critical importance, microhabitat use has frequently been addressed as static, centering on microhabitat preference. Yet, a dynamic microhabitat use that allows individuals to adjust to fine-scale spatio-temporal prey fluctuations, becomes imperative for species thriving in challenging environments. High-elevation ecosystems, marked by brief growing seasons and distinct abiotic processes like snowmelt, winds, and solar radiation, feature an ephemeral distribution of key resources. To better understand species’ strategies in coping with these rapidly changing environments, we delved into the foraging behaviour of the white-winged snowfinch Montifringilla nivalis, an emblematic high-elevation passerine. Through studying microhabitat preferences during breeding while assessing invertebrate prey availability, we unveiled a highly flexible microhabitat use process. Notably, snowfinches exhibited specific microhabitat preferences, favoring grass and melting snow margins, while also responding to local invertebrate availability. This behaviour was particularly evident in snow-associated microhabitats and less pronounced amid tall grass. Moreover, our investigation underscored snowfinches’ fidelity to foraging sites, with over half located within 10 m of previous spots. This consistent use prevailed in snow-associated microhabitats and high-prey-density zones. These findings provide the first evidence of dynamic microhabitat use in high-elevation ecosystems and offer further insights into the crucial role of microhabitats for climate-sensitive species. They call for multi-faceted conservation strategies that go beyond identifying and protecting optimal thermal buffering areas in the face of global warming to also encompass locations hosting high invertebrate densities.

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Sediment processing by two estuarine crabs in Bangladesh: small efficient consumers alongside big inefficient ones

Kumari

Phillott

Cruz‐Rivera

2022

Journal of Crustacean Biology

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Due to their foraging and burrowing behaviors, many crabs in the brachyuran superfamily Ocypodoidea are considered important bioturbators that enhance sediment turnover, energy and matter flow, and nutrient cycling in sandy beaches, mangrove forests, and estuaries. There is surprisingly little comparative work assessing the relative effects of sympatric species, even though many co-occur over broad ranges. We compared uptake of sediment water, organic matter, and carbonate by two sympatric deposit-feeding crabs from Chittagong, Bangladesh, the small sand-bubbler Dotilla intermedia De Man, 1888 and the much larger ghost crab Ocypode macrocera H. Milne Edwards, 1837. Comparisons between feeding pellets and surrounding surface sediments showed that D. intermedia reduced sediment water content by 66% and organic matter content by 67%. In contrast, feeding by O. macrocera had no significant effects on these two parameters. Although sediments excavated by O. macrocera were twice as rich in organic matter compared to surface sediments, variance was high, rendering the difference not statistically significant. Inorganic carbonate distribution was affected by both crabs in different ways. Dotilla feeding pellets had significantly less carbonate than unprocessed surface sediments. In contrast, Ocypode feeding pellets had similar carbonate concentrations to surface sediments, but sediments excavated by those crabs were significantly lower in carbonates (~28%) than those at the surface. While both crab species have the potential to affect sediment properties, they do so through different mechanisms.

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Foraging microhabitat selection of Spoon-billed Sandpiper in the Upper Gulf of Mottama, Myanmar

Cited by 3 publications

References 29 publications

Food resources for Spoon-billed Sandpipers (Calidris pygmaea) in the mudflats of Leizhou Bay, southern China

Food resources for Spoon-billed Sandpipers (Calidris pygmaea) in the mudflats of Leizhou Bay, southern China

Coping with unpredictable environments: fine-tune foraging microhabitat use in relation to prey availability in an alpine species

Sediment processing by two estuarine crabs in Bangladesh: small efficient consumers alongside big inefficient ones

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