A vast array of data has been collected about most North-American breeding shorebirds, but for many species resident to Latin America and the Caribbean, there is still very little information available regarding conservation status and natural history. Perhaps the most crucial factor missing from our understanding of these species is estimates of population numbers.
Population estimates are the primary tool used to identify key sites for many conservation programs, such as the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN), the Ramsar Convention, and BirdLife International’s Important Bird Areas program. Beyond identifying critical sites, population estimates are the main metric for analyzing population trends over time and understanding and evaluating the status of a species. For all 35 species resident to Latin America, virtually no reliably accurate estimates exist. For example, the mainland population of Rufous-chested Dotterel (Charadrius modestus) is estimated to be between 100,000 and 1,000,000 individuals (Waterbird Population Estimates Fifth Edition), which is such a wide range it cannot be useful for identifying key sites or evaluating the status of the species. For many other species available estimates are either very outdated or not available at all.
Least Seedsnipe Thinocorus rumicivorus (left) and Two-banded Plover Charadrius falklandicus (right) in Patagonia. Photos: Arne Lesterhuis.
To respond to this important data gap, in 2018, the WHSRN Executive Office began working to generate population estimates for all 35 shorebird species resident to Latin America and the Caribbean. Six years ago, during a preliminary status assessment of South American breeding shorebirds presented at the 5th Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group (WHSG) meeting in Santa Marta, Colombia, workshop participants highlighted the lack of population estimates as a significant impediment to completing this status assessment. This year, at the 8th WHSG meeting held in Panama City, Panama, the WHSRN Executive Office led a Status Assessment symposium to share preliminary population estimates based on the last year of work.
Arne Lesterhuis presents the latest status assessment of shorebird species that breed in Latin America and the Caribbean. Photo: Lisa Schibley.
For setting new estimates for all species, data were collated from long-term monitoring initiatives including the Neotropical Waterbird Census, the Caribbean Waterbird Census, the Central American Waterbird Census and eBird. Only data from a 10-year period (2008-2017) were considered, in order to set a standard time-stamped baseline for all species. Estimates were first generated at a country level, and then for each biogeographic population of a species (79 in total). This process was conducted to re-evaluate the status of each species resident to Latin America and the Caribbean and generate preliminary population estimates. This review used the methodology to evaluate species status developed by Brown et al. (2000), which was slightly modified in Hope et al. (2019) for Canada birds. The draft status assessment presented at WHSG 8 revealed two species considered Highly Imperiled, six of High Concern and 17 of Moderate Concern. With 35 species resident to Latin America and the Caribbean, this means that more than half are of Moderate Concern or worse.
Before publishing this new list of population estimates and status assessments for Latin America and Caribbean breeding shorebirds, the data will be formatted to a national level and shared with experts in each region to call for comments. Participants in the WHSG 8 status assessment symposium were also urged to try and take advantage of upcoming national conferences to organize side-workshops to review estimates. If you would like to be part of this process, please contact Arne Lesterhuis, Conservation Specialist with the WHSRN Executive Office, and list the country or countries for which you could review estimates, and/or the species for which you could review the status assessment.
The collaborative effort to validate and complete these estimates will be a crucial step to better understand the population trends and conservation status of the 35 shorebird species that breed in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Cover Photo: Magellanic Oystercatcher (Haematopus leucopodus) in Patagonia. Photo: Arne Lesterhuis.
