Search

Since the 1970s, many populations of shorebirds, including those breeding in the Arctic region, have been declining. One factor that may contribute to some of these declines is exposure to contaminants throughout the annual cycle. Here, we compared contaminant exposure (organochlorines, toxic trace elements) of four Arctic-breeding shorebirds (semipalmated plover Charadrius semipalmatus, semipalmated sandpiper Calidris pusilla, lesser yellowlegs Tringa flavipes, and short-billed dowitcher Limnodromus griseus), collected during breeding, migration, and wintering to examine how and when contaminants might pose a threat to these species. In general, plovers and dowitchers had higher levels of most organochlorine pesticides, and renal cadmium (Cd) and selenium (Se) than the other species. Although we found seasonal differences, no clear patterns in contaminant concentrations among sampling locations were detected but the concentrations found at the breeding grounds were always the highest for chlorinated pesticides and mercury (Hg). Our results suggest that birds migrating south are slowly depurating contaminant burdens, and that spring-migrating birds were exposed to primarily North American rather than Latin American contaminant sources at the time of sampling. We present these data collected in the 1990s to better interpret current-day trends, and potential contaminant exposure impacts on shorebird populations.

Understanding spatial connectivity of long-distance migrants is important for effective management and conservation of both game and nongame species. Hunting of Nearctic-breeding shorebirds occurs in the Caribbean and northern South America; however, the origins of harvested individuals are generally unknown. We used stable hydrogen isotopes (δ2H) in feathers of juvenile shorebirds to infer the origins of birds harvested at 2 sites in Barbados using probabilistic assignments based on a terrestrial–freshwater δ2H isoscape. We used tissue δ13C and δ15N values to filter individuals that had derived nutrients from marine sources. Natal origins of juvenile American Golden-Plover (Pluvialis dominica), Stilt Sandpiper (Calidris himantopus), Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus), and Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) were predicted to be mainly from the eastern parts of their breeding ranges in eastern Canada, with American Golden-Plover, Stilt Sandpiper, and Short-billed Dowitcher also having h...

Animal groups have emergent properties that result from simple interactions among individuals. However, we know little about why animals adopt different interaction rules because of sparse sampling among species. Here, we identify an interaction rule that holds across single and mixed-species flocks of four migratory shorebird species spanning a seven-fold range of body masses. The rule, aligning with a one-wingspan lateral distance to nearest neighbors in the same horizontal plane, scales linearly with wingspan but is independent of nearest neighbor distance and neighbor species. This rule propagates outward to create a global flock structure that we term the compound-V formation. We propose that this formation represents an intermediary between the cluster flocks of starlings and the simple-V formations of geese and other large migratory birds. We explore multiple hypotheses regarding the benefit of this flock structure and how it differs from structures observed in other flocking species., eLife digest Birds often fly in flocks ranging from very structured V-formations to unstructured clusters. Many studies have tried to prove what causes birds to flock and how it benefits them. Flocks, for example, may help birds to avoid predators and to navigate. Flying in a V-shaped formation likely also gives aerodynamic benefits that can make it easier to fly long distances. Few studies, however, have measured how the positions of birds in a flock relate to things like flying speed or the frequency of wing flaps. This is because it was difficult to take such measurements in large flocks of moving birds. Advances in cameras and computers are now making it easier to track individual birds flying in large flocks. The technology allows scientists to measure how birds position themselves in relation to other birds, or how flock-positioning varies by bird size, species, ecology, and behaviors. Such measurements may help scientists better understand why and how birds flock. Corcoran and Hedrick now show that four different types of shorebirds position themselves in the same way when flying in a flock. In the experiments, digital cameras recorded video of 18 cluster-like flocks of four different species of birds flying over a bird sanctuary or agricultural fields. The flocks ranged in size from a hundred to a thousand birds. Some flocks had two types of bird. The four types of birds – dunlin, short-billed dowitcher, American avocet, and marbled godwit – live in similar environments but greatly vary in size and fly at different speeds. Corcoran and Hedrick measured individual bird positions using three-dimensional computer reconstructions of the flocks. Each bird – regardless of size or species – most commonly flew about one wingspan to the side and between a half to one-and-a-half wingspans back from the bird in front of it. Birds flying in simple V-shaped formations follow similar rules. This suggests that birds flying in clusters may also gain aerodynamic benefits.

The Tofino Wah-nah-jus Hilth-hoo-is Mudflats on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, include both pristine areas and sites with residential and resort development. Shorebird counts were conducted at six sites around these mudflats in 2011 and compared with historical counts from 1988, 1989, and 1995. Temporal trends of counts did not vary among sites with different levels of disturbance. Over the entire mudflats, counts of Dunlin (Calidris alpina) moving northward had a negative trend over time (βyr = -0.04), as did counts of Western Sandpiper (Calidris mauri; βyr = -0.04), Least Sandpiper (Calidris minutilla; βyr = -0.03) and Short-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus griseus; βyr = -0.04) moving southward. In contrast, counts of Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola; βyr = 0.03) and Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus; βyr = 0.02) moving northward increased over time. Counts of Dunlin and Short-billed Dowitcher were lower at disturbed sites relative to non-disturbed sites, indica...

Field studies were carried out at two stations of the Ornithological Unit, Institute of Biological Problems of the North, Far East Branch, Russian Academy of Sciences, located in Nizhnekolymsk District, Yakutia, from May 15–20 in 1984, 1985, 1987, 1988, and 1990; on the northern coast of Pukhovoy Bay, the southern island of Novaya Zemlya, from June 1st in 1994; at Cape Beliy Nos, the Yugorsky Peninsula, from June 1st in 1995–1997. Classic associations are detected in interspecies flocks of sandpipers between the following species: the Pacific golden plover and the curlew sandpiper, the pectoral sandpiper and the long-billed dowitcher, the pectoral sandpiper and the dunlin, and the grey plover and the dunlin. However, the total amount of birds forming associations is not large. In species of group “A” (the grey plover, the Pacific golden plover, and the pectoral sandpiper), no difference has been observed in migratory birds’ behavior within interspecies or conspecific flocks. Species of group “B” (the dunlin, the curlew sandpiper, and the long-billed dowitcher), on the contrary, change their behavior sharply depending on whether they belong to an association or not. Species of group “A” do not get any advantages when forming an association. Unlike them, species of group “B” profit from associating: the time spent on foraging substantially increases; more time is spent on rest, and less time is spent on reconnaissance and vigilance (readiness for actions); the safety of the birds is enhanced. On the other hand, in species of group “B” there are also disadvantages related with associating: i.e., interspecies competition for food; foraging in suboptimal habitats which may in turn lead to a notable increase in the time spent by birds on foraging. It is proposed that the advantages and limitations of associating for the species of group “B” cancel each other out to a certain extent, and this explains rather small number of birds forming associations.