When enough is not enough: shorebirds and shellfishing

In a number of extensive coastal areas in northwest Europe, large numbers of long-lived migrant birds eat shellfish that are also commercially harvested. Competition between birds and people for this resource often leads to conflicts between commercial and conservation interests. One policy to preve...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Biological sciences, 2004-02, Vol.271 (1536), p.233-237
Main Authors: Goss-Custard, J. D., Stillman, R. A., West, A. D., Caldow, R. W. G., Triplet, P., le V. dit Durell, S. E. A., McGrorty, S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Autumn
Aves
Behavior modeling
Behaviour-Based Modelling
Biomass
Birds
Birds - physiology
Brackish
Cockles
Computer Simulation
Conservation of Natural Resources
Density-Dependent Survival
Eating - physiology
Europe
Food Preferences - physiology
Interference Competition
Marine
Modeling
Models, Biological
Mollusca
Mortality
Mussels
Oystercatchers
Prey Depletion
Sea birds
Seasons
Shellfish
Shellfish Harvesting
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Summary:In a number of extensive coastal areas in northwest Europe, large numbers of long-lived migrant birds eat shellfish that are also commercially harvested. Competition between birds and people for this resource often leads to conflicts between commercial and conservation interests. One policy to prevent shellfishing from harming birds is to ensure that enough food remains after harvesting to meet most or all of their energy demands. Using simulations with behaviour-based models of five areas, we show here that even leaving enough shellfish to meet 100% of the birds' demands may fail to ensure that birds survive in good condition. Up to almost eight times this amount is needed to protect them from being harmed by the shellfishery, even when the birds can consume other kinds of non-harvested prey.
ISSN:0962-8452
1471-2954
DOI:10.1098/rspb.2003.2602