Using feathers to map continental-scale movements of waterbirds and wetland importance
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Date
2021-03-03
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
John Wiley & Sons, Inc
Abstract
Waterbirds are highly mobile, moving over large distances to access resources. Although consistent migration routes are observed in highly seasonal and predictable environments, movement patterns to utilize ephemeral resources in dryland environments are largely unknown. This makes conservation planning and water policy challenging as the relative importance of widely dispersed wetlands is difficult to rank. We addressed this challenge by combining a citizen science project with the novel application of X-ray fluorescence of feathers to detect continental scale movement of waterbirds using elemental signatures. By doing so, we gained important insight into the movements of 24 waterbird species, including the significance of the Murray–Darling basin as a key source of waterbirds across the continent. Our approach highlights the benefits of elemental signatures to identify key areas of habitat use and priorities for wetland management. © 2021 The Society for Conservation Biology (Open Access)
Description
Keywords
X-ray fluorescence analysis, Resource conservation, Water policy, Birds, Feathers, Wetlands, Habitat
Citation
Brandis, K. J., Mazumder, D., Gadd, P., Ji, B., Kingsford, R. T., & Ramp, D. (2021). Using feathers to map continental‐scale movements of waterbirds and wetland importance. Conservation Letters, 14(4), e12798. doi:10.1111/conl.12798