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The Habitat Use and Home Range Analysis of Dunlin (Calidris alpina) in Chongming Dongtan, China and their Conservation Implications

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Abstract

Natural coastal wetlands are important habitats for shorebirds while flooded agricultural croplands, may also be useful habitats. Shorebirds in East Asia utilize an often highly developed coastal landscape, which may be dissected by seawalls with intertidal flats on the seaward side, and aquaculture ponds and agricultural croplands on the landward side. Little is known about the value of aquaculture ponds to shorebirds. We investigated the habitat use, preference and home range of wintering Dunlin (Calidris alpina) in Chongming Dongtan, east China, through radio tracking and field observations in 2006–2007. Our results indicated that Dunlins preferred tidal flats, avoided agricultural croplands, and used aquaculture ponds in proportion to their availability. The probability of Dunlin usage of aquacultural ponds decreased with increasing size of unflooded area in the aquaculture ponds. Dunlins foraging in aquaculture ponds had lower feeding success rate than those in tidal flats. Thus, tidal flats may provide important foraging habitats for wintering Dunlins, while aquaculture ponds may provide alternative roosting and supplemental foraging habitat. Conserving the natural wetlands on tidal flats is vital for shorebird conservation in East Asia but at the same time, the aquaculture ponds also could play an important role if managed properly.

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Acknowledgements

This study was financially supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (Grant no. 2013CB430404), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (31071939) and the Science and Technology Department of Shanghai (Grant no. 12231204702). We thank the Chongming Dongtan National Nature reserve for facilitating our fieldwork. We are indebted to Judit Mateos, Alan Grenon, Yan Zhang, Xin Hui, Si Zheng, Qiang Ma, Hongxi Zang, Zhongquan Zhang and Weiguo Jin for field assistance. We would also like to thank Nils Warnock and Audrey Taylor for technical advice, Zutao Ouyang and Wenliang Liu for technical support, Otte Marinus, Beth Middleton, Falk Huettmann, Phil Battley, the editors and two anonymous referees for their comments on earlier versions of the manuscript.

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Choi, C., Gan, X., Hua, N. et al. The Habitat Use and Home Range Analysis of Dunlin (Calidris alpina) in Chongming Dongtan, China and their Conservation Implications. Wetlands 34, 255–266 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-013-0450-9

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