Using feathers to map continental‐scale movements of waterbirds and wetland importance

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 conserva...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors:	Kate J. Brandis, Debashish Mazumder, Patricia Gadd, Boyu Ji, Richard T. Kingsford, Daniel Ramp
Format:	Article
Language:	English
Published:	Wiley 2021-07-01
Series:	Conservation Letters
Subjects:	citizen science elemental signatures noninvasive water policy X‐ray fluorescence
Online Access:	https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12798

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spelling	doaj-325009b0a8a344f1ab0ff975241a64782021-08-23T21:21:41ZengWileyConservation Letters1755-263X2021-07-01144n/an/a10.1111/conl.12798Using feathers to map continental‐scale movements of waterbirds and wetland importanceKate J. Brandis0Debashish Mazumder1Patricia Gadd2Boyu Ji3Richard T. Kingsford4Daniel Ramp5Centre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales AustraliaAustralian Nuclear Science Technology Organisation Lucas Heights New South Wales AustraliaAustralian Nuclear Science Technology Organisation Lucas Heights New South Wales AustraliaCentre for Compassionate Conservation, School of Life Sciences University of Technology Sydney Ultimo New South Wales AustraliaCentre for Ecosystem Science, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences University of New South Wales Sydney New South Wales AustraliaCentre for Compassionate Conservation, School of Life Sciences University of Technology Sydney Ultimo New South Wales AustraliaAbstract 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.https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12798citizen scienceelemental signaturesnoninvasivewater policyX‐ray fluorescence
collection	DOAJ
language	English
format	Article
sources	DOAJ
author	Kate J. Brandis Debashish Mazumder Patricia Gadd Boyu Ji Richard T. Kingsford Daniel Ramp
spellingShingle	Kate J. Brandis Debashish Mazumder Patricia Gadd Boyu Ji Richard T. Kingsford Daniel Ramp Using feathers to map continental‐scale movements of waterbirds and wetland importance Conservation Letters citizen science elemental signatures noninvasive water policy X‐ray fluorescence
author_facet	Kate J. Brandis Debashish Mazumder Patricia Gadd Boyu Ji Richard T. Kingsford Daniel Ramp
author_sort	Kate J. Brandis
title	Using feathers to map continental‐scale movements of waterbirds and wetland importance
title_short	Using feathers to map continental‐scale movements of waterbirds and wetland importance
title_full	Using feathers to map continental‐scale movements of waterbirds and wetland importance
title_fullStr	Using feathers to map continental‐scale movements of waterbirds and wetland importance
title_full_unstemmed	Using feathers to map continental‐scale movements of waterbirds and wetland importance
title_sort	using feathers to map continental‐scale movements of waterbirds and wetland importance
publisher	Wiley
series	Conservation Letters
issn	1755-263X
publishDate	2021-07-01
description	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.
topic	citizen science elemental signatures noninvasive water policy X‐ray fluorescence
url	https://doi.org/10.1111/conl.12798
work_keys_str_mv	AT katejbrandis usingfeatherstomapcontinentalscalemovementsofwaterbirdsandwetlandimportance AT debashishmazumder usingfeatherstomapcontinentalscalemovementsofwaterbirdsandwetlandimportance AT patriciagadd usingfeatherstomapcontinentalscalemovementsofwaterbirdsandwetlandimportance AT boyuji usingfeatherstomapcontinentalscalemovementsofwaterbirdsandwetlandimportance AT richardtkingsford usingfeatherstomapcontinentalscalemovementsofwaterbirdsandwetlandimportance AT danielramp usingfeatherstomapcontinentalscalemovementsofwaterbirdsandwetlandimportance
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Using feathers to map continental‐scale movements of waterbirds and wetland importance

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