Extensive Tracking of Nomadic Waterbird Movements Reveals an Inland Flyway

ABSTRACT Waterbirds are highly mobile and have the ability to respond to environmental conditions opportunistically at multiple scales. Mobility is particularly crucial for aggregate‐nesting species dependent on breeding habitat in arid and semi‐arid wetlands, which can be ephemeral and unpredictabl...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Ecology and evolution 2024-12, Vol.14 (12), p.e70668-n/a
Main Authors: McGinness, Heather M., Jackson, Micha V., Lloyd‐Jones, Luke, Robinson, Freya, Langston, Art, O'Neill, Louis G., Rapley, Shoshana, Piper, Melissa, Davies, Micah, Hodgson, Jessica, Martin, John M., Kingsford, Richard, Brandis, Kate, Doerr, Veronica, Mac Nally, Ralph
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Aquatic birds
Aridity
Birds
Breeding
Breeding sites
Conservation
Context
Environmental conditions
Environmental management
environmental water
Floods
Geographical distribution
Global positioning systems
GPS
Movement
movement ecology
Murray–Darling basin
Nesting
Nomads
Population viability
Rainfall
royal spoonbill
Satellite navigation systems
satellite telemetry
Satellite tracking
Species
straw‐necked ibis
Telemetry
Transmitters
Water shortages
Waterfowl
Wetland management
Wetlands
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:ABSTRACT Waterbirds are highly mobile and have the ability to respond to environmental conditions opportunistically at multiple scales. Mobility is particularly crucial for aggregate‐nesting species dependent on breeding habitat in arid and semi‐arid wetlands, which can be ephemeral and unpredictable. We aimed to address knowledge gaps about movement routes for aggregate‐nesting nomadic waterbird species by tracking them in numbers sufficient to make robust assessment of their movement patterns. We hypothesised that analysis of long‐distance movements would identify common routes with consistent environmental features that would be useful as context for conservation management. We used GPS satellite telemetry to track the movements of 73 straw‐necked ibis (Threskiornis spinicollis) and 42 royal spoonbills (Platalea regia) over 7 years (2016‐2023). We used these data to identify long‐distance movements and to demarcate and characterise movement routes. We identified common routes used by both species, including a ‘flyway’ over 2000 km long, spanning Australia's Murray–Darling Basin from the south‐west to the north‐east. This flyway connects important breeding sites and is characterised by flat, open/unforested areas with low elevations of
ISSN:2045-7758
2045-7758
DOI:10.1002/ece3.70668