Estuary management for migratory birds and sustainable development

河口为候鸟提供了丰富的资源，也是广泛的经济活动场所。本研究探讨了在持续的城市发展和港口基础设施的背景下，弗雷泽河三角洲潮间带泥滩对候鸟的重要性。该项目的第一部分记录了大约50,000只滨鸟对潮间带微栖息地的使用，这些滨鸟一年中大部分时间都生活在这里，只有在夏天才离开这里繁殖。我们将利用微生境信息来模拟如何管理潮间带面积和结构的变化，以维持这些鸟类的适宜环境。该项目的第二部分使用各种新技术来确定数十万候鸟的起源和目的地，这些候鸟在每个迁徙季节都会短暂地使用河口。个体在其组织中携带着丰富的关于其迁徙路线和地理起源的分子信息，包括氢、碳和氮的稳定同位素，羽毛中的微量金属成分，体型和形状，以及遗传标记。我们将开发一套新颖的工具，使我们能够从一次捕获中读取个体的地理历史。我们将整合多个来源的数据（遗传学、同位素、微量元素和形态学），将单个鸟类分配到特定的繁殖区和越冬区。这类信息对于确定禽流感等疾病可能传播的迁徙路线和建议管理行动具有重要价值。除了我们对河口滨鸟的特别关注之外，我们更广泛的目标是开发一套技术和程序，这些技术和程序可以被负责监测和管理候鸟的人应用于许多候鸟物种。

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.