Achievements,challenges,and recommendations for waterbird conservation in China's coastal wetlands

China’s coastal wetlands provide breeding,migration stopover,and wintering habitats for about 230 waterbird species,which is more than a quarter of all waterbirds in the world.Large-scale and high intensity human activities have resulted in serious loss and degradation of coastal wetlands over the past half century,causing population declines in many waterbirds.Through a literature review and expert surveys,this article reviews conservation measures taken in recent decades to protect waterbirds in China’s coastal wetlands and provides recommendations for future conservation action from three aspects:policy and administration,habitat conservation and management,and multiparty participation.Over the past decades,many conservation legislation,regulations and action plans at the national level and more site-specific measures and interventions have been implemented,with notable improvement in the effectiveness in policy making and multi-stakeholder participation.Accordingly,some threats to waterbirds have been mitigated and many key sites for waterbirds have been designated as strictly protected nature reserves.However,some critical issues still remain,mostly related to habitat conservation and management,such as coastal wetland restoration,control of invasive Spartina alterniflora,control of environmental pollution,and improvement of artificial habitat quality.We highlight that protecting natural tidal wetlands and improving habitat quality are critical for the conservation of coastal waterbirds,especially those highly dependent on the intertidal wetlands.China has demonstrated strong commitment to ecological conservation and restoration for the future,in terms of both funding and policies for biodiversity and wetland ecosystems.It is important that this commitment to conserve coastal waterbirds is supported continuously by science-and evidence-based decisions and actions.

Corrigendum to“Achievements,challenges,and recommendations for waterbird conservation in China's coastal wetlands”[Avian Res.14(2023)100123]

The authors regret that Fig.1 and its caption should be replaced as below.

Coastal wetlands in Lianyungang,Jiangsu Province,China:probably the most important site globally for the Asian Dowitcher(Limnodromus semipalmatus)

Background:Despite an increasing number of surveys and a growing interest in birdwatching,the population and distribution of Asian Dowitcher(Limnodromus semipalmatus),a species endemic to the East Asian-Australasian and Central Asian Flyways,remains poorly understood,and published information about the species is largely outdated.In boreal spring 2019,over 22,432 Asian Dowitchers were recorded in a coastal wetland at Lianyungang,Jiangsu Prov-ince,China,constituting 97.5%of its estimated global population.Methods:In 2019 and 2020,we conducted field surveys at Lianyungang to determine the numbers of Asian Dow-itchers using the area during both southward and northward migrations.We also assessed the distribution and abun-dance of Asian Dowitchers elsewhere along the China coast by searching literature and consulting expert opinion.Results:The coastal wetlands of Lianyungang are the most important stopover site for Asian Dowitchers during both northward and southward migrations;they supported over 90%of the estimated global population during north-ward migration in two consecutive years(May 2019 and 2020).This area also supported at least 15.83%and 28.42%(or 30.74%and 53.51%using modelled estimates)of the global population during southward migration in 2019 and 2020 respectively.Coastal wetlands in the west and north of Bohai Bay also have been important stopover sites for the species since the 1990s.Although comprehensive,long-term monitoring data are lacking,available evidence sug-gests that the population of the species may have declined.Conclusions:The high concentration of Asian Dowitchers at Lianyungang during migration means the species is highly susceptible to human disturbances and natural stochastic events.The coastal wetlands of Lianyungang should be protected and potentially qualify for inclusion in China’s forthcoming nomination for World Heritage listing of Migratory Bird Sanctuaries along the Coast of Yellow Sea-Bohai Gulf of China(Phase II)in 2023.Additional research is needed to understand Asian Dowitchers’distribution and ecology,as well as why such a high proportion of their population rely on the Lianyungang coast.

Migration departure strategies of shorebirds at a final pre-breeding stopover site

Background: Departure decisions and behaviors of migratory birds at stopover sites are expected to maximize fit?ness by trade?offs among avoiding predators, optimizing refueling(energy) capacity, and matching other life?history events. We predict that species with different body sizes and migratory destinations will exhibit different behaviors when departing from the same stopover site. We also predict that with strong time constraint at the final pre?breed?ing stopover site, departure decisions may be less sensitive to exogenous factors, such as wind condition, compared to other stopover or nonbreeding sites.Methods: We recorded migratory departures of four shorebird species, i.e. Eurasian Curlew(Numenius arquata), Bar?tailed Godwit(Limosa lapponica), Great Knot(Calidris tenuirostris), and Grey Plover(Pluvialis squatarola), at Yaluji?ang Estuary Wetlands in China, a final pre?breeding stopover site in the northern Yellow Sea, from 2011 to 2014. We compared flock sizes, departure time and departure directions between species, and investigated the effects of tide and weather conditions(rain and ground wind speed and direction) on the departure decision of shorebirds.Results: We found that larger species departed in smaller flocks and were more variable in daily departure time. Departure trajectory of all four species appeared to be influenced by coastal topography. With the east–west coast?line and intertidal mudflat on the south, birds exhibited westward or eastward deflection from the shortest migra?tory routes. Bar?tailed Godwit was the only species that deviated to the southeast and did not climb over the land. Birds avoided departure during precipitation, while their departure was not related to ground wind benefit or tidal condition.Conclusions: Body size among species, which influences their vulnerability to predators, might be important in shaping shorebird departure strategies. Diverse departure directions could be the result of different wind use tac?tics in climbing stage. Narrow optimal time window of breeding might lead to reduced flexibility in departure date at a final pre?breeding site. Both endogenous and exogenous are important in shaping departure behaviors and decisions.