Stephanie Jones

Waterbirds is an international journal, publishing new information on shorebirds and promoting new data on waterbirds from around the world. In the December 2014 issue, this study examined the timing of breeding on counts of five shorebird species during transect surveys at East Bay, Nunavut, Canada, from 2000 to 2010. The species were: Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), Semipalmated Plover (Charadrius semipalmatus), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres), White-rumped Sandpiper (Calidris fuscicollis) and Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius). Transect counts varied widely among species and years, and transect counts were most strongly predicted by the density of nests found during more intensive surveys. However, after accounting for this variation, survey counts were influenced substantially by survey timing. Surveys carried out shortly after the median date of nest initiation (∼2 days after) corresponded most closely to the densities of found nests, and if surveys were not within several days of the median date, the discrepancy between the two estimates was large. Although neither nest densities nor transect surveys are believed to be a perfect indication of local population status, these results suggest that the nearly inevitable variation in survey timing could introduce substantial bias into density estimates. The Importance of Survey Timing on Shorebird Density Estimates at East Bay, Nunavut, Canada. Melanie Dickie, Paul A. Smith and H. Grant Gilchrist. Waterbirds 37(4): 394-401. http://www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.1675/063.037.0406 Full text of the article is provided courtesy of the Waterbird Society.

Idiosyncratic Migrations of Black Terns (Chlidonias niger): Diversity in Routes and Stopovers. Jan van der Winden, Ruben C. Fijn, Peter W. van Horssen, Debby Gerritsen-Davidse and Theunis Piersma. Waterbirds 37(2), June 2014. http://www.bioone.org/doi/full/10.1675/063.037.0205 By 2013, six of 27 Black Terns (Chlidonias niger) from four Dutch colonies that had received light level geolocators in 2010–2011 had been recaptured. All six recovered individuals migrated to West Africa, but whereas one individual flew there nonstop, the others made stops of varying length en route. These included flights of 2,000–6,000 km between major stopovers, achieving travel speeds over 1,000 km/day. This paper showed that Black Terns are long-distance migrants with substantial individual variation in migration patterns, including differences in the use of staging sites, stopover times and travel distances. The variation in itineraries may imply that the distribution of the marine resources they rely on are relatively unpredictable. It remains to be seen whether the variability seen here reflects differences in otherwise fixed individual strategies or whether Black Terns are truly highly flexible.

Spatial and Temporal Patterns of Waterbird Assemblages in the Wilderness Lakes complex, South Africa. Ian A. Russell, Rodney M. Randall and Nicholas Hanekom. Waterbirds 37(1): 1-18. Waterbirds is an international journal, publishing new information on little known species and promoting new information from around the world. In the March 2014 issue, this study examined the distribution and abundance of 54 waterbird species from 1992 to 2010 in six intensively used and managed estuarine waterbodies, in South Africa. Ducks and grebes were more abundant in low salinity deeper waterbodies, while waders, cormorants and gulls were more abundant in high salinity shallow waterbodies. Higher quantity and quality of food sources attract herbivorous waterbirds to saline lakes rather than estuaries. Water depth variability influences accessibility of feeding areas, with decreased variability in water levels increasing habitat suitability for herbivores, and reduced open periods in the estuaries decreasing habitat suitability for waders. Turbidity did not significantly influence the distribution of waterbirds, whereas disturbance from human activities and vegetation of sandbanks were considered to be important factors. Learn more about the Waterbird Society! If you'd like to join and get the journal and many other benefits as well as the companionship of your peers, click here.

Movement Patterns and Habitat Selection of Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus pacificus) Breeding at Aride Island, Seychelles. Jacopo G. Cecere, Licia Calabrese, Gerard Rocamora and Carlo Catoni. 2013. Waterbirds 36(4): 432-437. http://www.bioone.or...75/063.036.0414 Waterbirds is an international journal, in part publishing new information on little known species and promoting new technologies and methods to study waterbirds. The December 2013 issue focused on seabird movements during foraging trips and their preference for particular areas. During the last decade, the use of new devices, such as Global Positioning System (GPS) devices and geo-locator loggers, has allowed researchers to perform more investigations of this type. GPS devices were used on Wedge-tailed Shearwaters (Puffinus pacificus) breeding on Aride Island, Seychelles, to identify the main foraging areas used. Thirteen foraging trips were recorded, 61.5% of which lasted one day. The identification of key marine conservation areas, like those identified in this study, is a priority for designating marine Important Bird Areas and identifying habitat management measures. Full text of the article is provided courtesy of the Waterbird Society.

Influence of Wind Turbines on Presence of Willet, Marbled Godwit, Wilson’s Phalarope and Black Tern, on Wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region of North Dakota and South Dakota Neal D. Niemuth, Johann A. Walker, Jeffrey S. Gleason, Charles R. Loesch, Ronald E. Reynolds, Scott E. Stephens and Michael A. Erickson The desire to find “clean” sources of energy has stimulated widespread development of wind farms to produce electricity. Unfortunately, past studies have shown that wind farms can negatively affect local bird populations. Niemuth et al. evaluated avoidance of wind turbines by waterbirds on two wind energy development sites and two reference sites in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR), an area that is famous for both waterbirds and wind. Occurrence of three species of shorebirds varied with wetland characteristics, among sites and years, and was not substantially reduced on either wind energy site, but was slightly and consistently lower on one of the wind energy sites. Their findings illustrate some of the difficulties of assessing the effects of wind development on widely dispersed species in a highly variable environment. Even though results are not conclusive, they provide direction for future evaluations of the effects of wind energy and waterbirds in the PPR and provide assurance that extensive conservation programs in the PPR can still provide benefits for waterbirds even with the presence of wind turbines.

Despite its importance to birds, molting patterns have been neglected in comparison to other life-history events such as breeding, wintering, and migration strategies. This neglect has resulted in several historical molt and plumage terminologies that were based on proximal factors, were incongruent with each other, and obscured a clear evaluation of molting strategies. In 1959, Humphrey and Parkes ("H-P") proposed a system that named molts based on a tracing of their evolutionary history and development (Humphrey, P. S. and K. C. Parkes. 1959. An approach to the study of molts and plumages. Auk 76: 1-31.) In 2005, Pyle traced homologous molts from Anserinae (which lack additional inserted molts) to Anatidae and concluded that the bright fall and winter plumage in male ducks of many species resulted from a complete prebasic molt and that it thus should be considered the basic rather than the alternate plumage. This was contrary to the traditional thinking, where the bright male plumages of ducks were considered alternate, as they are in other groups such as sandpipers and warblers (Pyle, P. 2005. Molts and plumages of ducks. Waterbirds 28: 208-219). In a 2011 rebuttal to Pyle, Hawkins defended traditional terminology while continuing to promote ensuing plumage color as an important factor driving the evolution of molts in birds (Hawkins, G. L. 2011. Molts and plumages of ducks (Anatinae): an evaluation of Pyle (2005). Waterbirds 34: 481-494). In the March 2013 issue of Waterbirds, Pyle responded to Hawkins by suggesting that the prebasic molts in geese, ducks, and other birds likely evolved from wholescale restorative events common to all vertebrates, whereas distinguishable and less-comprehensive endocrinological and metabolic processes may accompany later-evolved inserted molts. Pyle defended his 2005 interpretation by applying this ancestral definition of the prebasic molt through geese to ducks. Pyle also proposed an alternative interpretation for the initial evolution of two (rather than one) inserted molts in the definitive cycles of female and male ducks (Pyle, P. 2013. Molt homologies in ducks and other birds: a response to Hawkins (2011) and further thoughts on molt terminology in ducks. Waterbirds 36: 75-79). There is still much to learn about molt in birds; e.g., we don’t know where the prebasic molt occurs in many birds. It also may be very difficult to trace the evolution of molts, since it is possible that inserted molts may have regressed as well as arisen evolutionarily. However, the assumption that the prebasic molt is an ancestral restorative process that evolved from reptiles to prehistoric birds to modern-day birds, and that subsequently inserted molts may show identifiable metabolic signatures, provides a foundation that paves the way for a better nomenclature and thus a better overall understanding of molt in birds. Pyle 2005.pdf Hawkins 2011.pdf Pyle 2013.pdf