caa a22 4500 463175263 CHVBK 20180406164824.0 cr unu---uuuuu 170326e20071201xx s 000 0 eng 10.1007/s10336-007-0240-3 doi (NATIONALLICENCE)springer-10.1007/s10336-007-0240-3 Piersma Theunis Animal Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 14, 9750 AA, Haren, The Netherlands aut Using the power of comparison to explain habitat use and migration strategies of shorebirds worldwide [Elektronische Daten] [Theunis Piersma] Shorebirds, or waders, form an ecologically (but not phylogenetically) homogenous group of birds that, despite this homogeneity, exhibits clear correlated contrasts in habitat use and migration distance between closely related species pairs. In addition, within species there is distinct variation in breeding and wintering latitudes, i.e. migration distance. I examine here such contrasts at different taxonomic levels and evaluate what we can learn about selective forces on habitat selection and the evolution of migration strategies in birds. My primary example is the worldwide migration system of the Red Knot Calidris canutus. These sandpipers breed only on high arctic tundra (65-83°N), but they move south from their disjunct, circumpolar breeding areas to nonbreeding sites on the coasts of all continents (except Antarctica), between latitudes 58°N and 53°S. Due to their specialized sensory capabilities, Red Knots generally eat hard-shelled prey found on intertidal, mostly soft, substrates. As a consequence, ecologically suitable coastal sites are few and far between, so they must routinely undertake flights of many thousands of kilometres. In contrast to prediction, Red Knots at tropical intertidal sites have lower fuelling rates than birds at more southern or northern latitudes. This leads to greater time-stress in the southernmost wintering populations that not only have to cover over 14,000km in single migrations, but also cannot rely on tropical regions to make refuelling stops. Rapid human-caused losses of the food-base in staging areas during both north- and southward migrations have been demonstrated to have caused rapid declines in several Red Knot populations. Detailed worldwide eco-demographic research on these extreme long-distance migrants, as embodied in, for example, the recently established Global Flyway Network, yields a two-pronged benefit: (1) on the basis of the unintended large-scale experiments carried out by humans, we rapidly come to grips with the selection pressures moulding the migration strategies of migrant birds, and (2) in applied contexts, the work gives instantaneous feedbacks on the conservation consequences of man-made alterations to wetland environments at the relevant global spatial scales. Dt. Ornithologen-Gesellschaft e.V., 2007 Annual cycle nationallicence Conservation nationallicence Flyways nationallicence Foraging nationallicence Migration nationallicence Seasonal schedules nationallicence Waders nationallicence Journal of Ornithology Springer-Verlag 148(2007-12-01), 45-59 0021-8375 148<45 2007 148 10336 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-007-0240-3 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI 1 research-article jats NATIONALLICENCE 856 40 https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-007-0240-3 text/html Onlinezugriff via DOI NATIONALLICENCE 100 1- Piersma Theunis Animal Ecology Group, Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, University of Groningen, P.O. Box 14, 9750 AA, Haren, The Netherlands aut NATIONALLICENCE 773 0- Journal of Ornithology Springer-Verlag 148(2007-12-01), 45-59 0021-8375 148<45 2007 148 10336 Metadata rights reserved Springer special CC-BY-NC licence nationallicence BK010053 XK010053 XK010000 NATIONALLICENCE NATIONALLICENCE NL-springer