Estuary management for migratory birds and sustainable development

点击翻译按钮获取中文摘要

Estuaries provide rich resources for migratory birds, and are also sites for extensive economic activity. This research explores the importance of intertidal mudflats of the Fraser River Delta for migratory shorebirds in the context of continuing urban development and port infrastructure. The first part of this project documents the use of intertidal microhabitats by ca. 50,000 shorebirds who live here for most of the year, leaving only to breed during the summer. We will use the microhabitat information to model how changes in the area and structure of the intertidal could be managed to maintain suitable conditions for these birds. The second part of this project uses a variety of new technologies to determine the origins and destinations of several hundred thousand migratory shorebirds that use the estuary briefly each migration season. Individuals carry within their tissues a wealth of molecular information about their migratory routes and geographical origins, including theratios of stable isotopes of Hydrogen, Carbon, and Nitrogen, and trace metal composition in feathers, their body size and shape, and genetic markers. We will develop a novel set of tools to enable us to read the geographic history of an individual from a single capture. We will integrate data from multiple sources (genetics, isotopes, trace elements, and morphology) to assign individual birds to specific breeding and wintering areas. Such information will be of great value for determining migration routes along which diseases such as avian influenza may spread, and recommending management actions. In addition to our specific focus on estuarine shorebirds, our broader goal is to develop a set of techniques and procedures that can be applied to many migrant species by those charged with monitoring and management of migratory birds.