Multiple habitat use by declining migratory birds necessitates joined-up conservation

Many species depend on multiple habitats at different points in space and time. Their effective conservation requires an understanding of how and when each habitat is used, coupled with adequate protection. Migratory shorebirds use intertidal and supratidal wetlands, both of which are affected by coastal landscape change. Yet the extent to which shorebirds use artificial supratidal habitats, particularly at highly developed stopover sites, remains poorly understood leading to potential deficiencies in habitat management. We surveyed shorebirds on their southward migration in southern Jiangsu, a critical stopover region in the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF), to measure their use of artificial supratidal habitats and assess linkages between intertidal and supratidal habitat use. To inform management, we examined how biophysical features influenced occupancy of supratidal habitats, and whether these habitats were used for roosting or foraging. We found that shorebirds at four of fiv...

众多物种在生命周期的不同时空节点上依赖多种栖息生境。对这些物种的有效保护，需要明晰各类生境的利用方式与利用时段，并辅以充足的保护举措。迁徙滨鸟会利用潮间带湿地（intertidal wetlands）与潮上带湿地（supratidal wetlands），而这两类生境均会受到海岸景观变化的影响。然而，滨鸟对人工潮上带生境的利用程度，尤其是在高度开发的中途停歇地，目前仍不甚明晰，这可能导致生境管理存在潜在缺陷。本研究针对江苏南部地区滨鸟的南迁迁徙过程开展调查——该区域是东亚-澳大利西亚迁飞区（East Asian-Australasian Flyway, EAAF）的关键中途停歇地——以测算其对人工潮上带生境的利用情况，并评估潮间带与潮上带生境利用之间的关联。为给生境管理提供参考依据，本研究分析了生物物理特征如何影响滨鸟对潮上带生境的占据情况，并探究了此类生境是被用于休憩还是觅食。我们发现，5处样点中的4处的滨鸟……