Identification of priority shorebird conservation areas in the Caribbean

Cañizares, Jessica Rozek; Reed, J. Michael

doi:10.7717/peerj.9831

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 46 publications

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“…The eBird database serves as a repository for many official bird surveys (e.g., International Shorebird Survey, Caribbean Waterbird Census) and observations from individuals (eBird Basic Dataset, 2022 ). While the dataset is an important and robust tool for exploring bird presence and phenology across regions (e.g., Hurlbert & Liang, 2012 ; Mayor et al, 2017 ), not all observations or local survey efforts are entered into eBird (Cañizares & Reed, 2020 ). A surprising outcome from this study was how few shorebird species in Cuba met our criteria for the southbound migration analysis.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying phenological landmarks of migration shows nonuniform use of the Caribbean by shorebirds

Cañizares

Edwards

Reed

2023

Ecology and Evolution

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Of the boreal-and Arctic-breeding North American shorebirds that migrate south through the Caribbean, most individuals continue farther south. However, for many species, some individuals remain beyond the southbound migration period (i.e., throughout the temperate winter and/or summer). This variation among individuals adds complexity to observation data, obscures migration patterns, and could prevent the examination of the use of different Caribbean regions by various shorebird species during migration and in the nonmigratory seasons. Here, we present a novel method that leverages a well-established statistical approach (generalized additive models) to systematically identify migration phenology even for complex passage migrant species with individuals that remain beyond migration. Our method identifies the active migration period using derivatives of a fitted GAM and then calculates phenology metrics based on quantiles of that migration period. We also developed indices to quantify oversummering and overwintering patterns with respect to migration. We analyzed eBird data for 16 North American shorebird species as they traveled South through the insular Caribbean, identifying separate migratory patterns for Cuba,

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantifying phenological landmarks of migration shows nonuniform use of the Caribbean by shorebirds

Cañizares

Edwards

Reed

2023

Ecology and Evolution

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“…However, data from eBird present an opportunity to address broadscale issues at a low cost, which is beneficial as directed funding can be limited and large‐scale, long‐term datasets are needed to answer some of the most pressing large‐scale conservation issues. In addition to monitoring shifting migrations and breeding population centroids, eBird can identify high priority areas for designation and protection (Cañizares & Reed, 2020) or retroactively determine the effectiveness of conservation efforts (Cazalis et al, 2020).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rapid shifts in migration routes and breeding latitude in North American bluebirds

et al. 2022

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Spatial and temporal shifts in the migratory patterns of birds have become more frequent as climate change and habitat alteration continue to impact ecosystems and the species dependent on them. In this study, we used eBird community science data collected over ten years to examine potential changes in the migratory patterns of three North American bluebird species: eastern (Sialia sialis), western (Sialia mexicana), and mountain (Sialia currucoides) bluebirds. Community science datasets such as those provided through eBird are a valuable tool for examining population‐level processes, as such data are often costly and time‐consuming to collect through other approaches (e.g., directly tracking individuals). Using generalized additive models, we produced smoothed migration paths for all three species over each season from 2009 to 2018. We asked whether there were changes over this 10‐year period in the timing of spring and fall migration and migration speed, and the population centroids during breeding and migration. In contrast to many species that are experiencing poleward shifts in their distributions, the population centroids during the breeding period of all three bluebird species appear to have shifted southward over the past decade. Perhaps most surprisingly, we also detected strong longitudinal shifts in the population centroids during migration in eastern and western bluebirds, with both species shifting toward the center of the continent. Despite these changes in migratory routes and breeding distributions, we detected no change in the migratory timing or speed of any of the species. Our analysis indicates that bluebirds are rapidly altering the pattern of their migration, likely in response to changing environmental conditions, but not always in the direction predicted.

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“…This species winters in the southern US and the Caribbean, including The Bahamas, spending most of the year on the wintering grounds. However, despite various efforts to assess the populations of the Piping Plover and other shorebirds across the Caribbean, their movements, abundance and distribution patterns in this region remain poorly understood ( Cañizares and Reed 2020 ). For this reason, the National Audubon Society, Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a multi-year shorebird census in The Bahamas.…”

Section: Data Resourcesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The Bahamas and Caribbean are widely recognised as important migratory and wintering areas for shorebirds within the Atlantic Flyway, as they may spend half the year or more in these territories ( Donaldson et al 2001 , Atlantic Flyway Shorebird Initiative 2015 , Cañizares and Reed 2020 ). Both regions are home to diverse and significant shorebird habitats, including coastal wetlands, mangroves, tidal flats, mudflats, sandy beaches and lagoons.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Both regions are home to diverse and significant shorebird habitats, including coastal wetlands, mangroves, tidal flats, mudflats, sandy beaches and lagoons. Historical bird surveys in these regions have started to highlight The Bahamas as a potentially critical area for migrating and wintering shorebirds ( Cañizares and Reed 2020 ). In particular, Piping Plovers that breed on the Atlantic coast of North America ( Charadrius melodus melodus ) are found by the thousands on beaches, sandy islands, cays and intertidal flats of The Bahamas ( Elliott-Smith et al 2009 , Elliott-Smith et al 2015 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Multi-year monitoring of Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) and other shorebirds in The Bahamas

Jeffery¹,

Golder²,

Rock³

et al. 2023

BDJ

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The Bahamas provides a wide range of crucial coastal habitats to many declining resident and migratory birds. Amongst these species is the Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), whose breeding populations are all listed as federally threatened or endangered in the United States and Canada. This species winters in the southern U.S. and the Caribbean, including The Bahamas, spending most of the year on the wintering grounds. Nonetheless, prior to the census data presented here, reports of Piping Plovers from The Bahamas were few and incidental. Therefore, repeated surveys are essential to increase understanding of the distribution, abundance and movement patterns of Piping Plovers and other shorebirds in the Bahamian territory. This dataset provides information on the abundance and distribution of the Piping Plover across multiple islands and much of the suitable habitat that exists in The Bahamas. It also provides some information on the variability of Piping Plover count data and presence of other shorebird species. Furthermore, these data may serve as baseline information on Piping Plover abundance and shorebird site occupancy by which to assess key candidate sites for protection and also future impacts of climate change, such as sea level rise and hurricanes. The National Audubon Society (NAS), Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) and the United States Geological Survey (USGS) conducted a multi-year shorebird census in The Bahamas. Surveys initiated by ECCC and many other collaborators were also part of a multi-year survival study. Censuses were conducted across 16 different islands between the years 2006 and 2020. These surveys were performed with the cooperation of the Bahamas National Trust (BNT), volunteer biologists and scientists from the United States and Canada. Biologists working with NAS, ECCC and USGS used satellite imagery, historical records and local knowledge from Bahamian residents to identify sites with suitable habitat for Piping Plovers. Experienced researchers visited each site during winter (November-February), identified and counted Piping Plovers and, when possible, other bird species in each of the sampled locations. In total, the resulting database holds 2,684 observations of 62 bird species, of which 77% belong to 24 shorebird species. Approximately 30% of all presence records belong to the Piping Plover. It is important to emphasise that the counts reported in this dataset represent minimum estimates of local shorebird assemblages. Since abundance and distribution of birds vary with changing conditions, representative estimates are best achieved via repeated surveys that reflect a range of conditions including timing (day, year, month), weather (wind direction and speed, precipitation), tide state etc.

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Identification of priority shorebird conservation areas in the Caribbean

Cited by 5 publications

References 46 publications

Quantifying phenological landmarks of migration shows nonuniform use of the Caribbean by shorebirds

Quantifying phenological landmarks of migration shows nonuniform use of the Caribbean by shorebirds

Rapid shifts in migration routes and breeding latitude in North American bluebirds

Multi-year monitoring of Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) and other shorebirds in The Bahamas

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