Sanderling Plan - Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network

However, the use of energetics in shorebird conservation planning carries a word of
caution. Because conservation takes place within a limited framework (limited funds, time, and
effort), conservationists are often asked to define a certain minimal goal, such as to identify the
minimum number of important sites needed to meet an objective (i.e., that a species of interest
may complete its migration). Although this approach has conceptual appeal for its simplicity, it
is an inappropriate guiding framework for Sanderling (or shorebird) conservation for several
important reasons: 1) stopover sites host a mix of individuals that originate from different
locations and that are headed to different destinations (and therefore, only the furthest potential
destination should be considered the ‘minimum’ distance); 2) many Sanderling habitats are
experiencing increased levels of disturbance or dangers, and hence Sanderling will likely expend
additional effort and energy in order to build up fat reserves (even if an ‘adequate’ food supply is
present); and 3) any biggest-bang-for-the-buck approach invariably selects sites that host large
numbers of birds; while this appears most efficient from a conservationist’s standpoint, it does
not take into consideration the potential importance of maintaining ‘smaller’ sites (to enable
spatial segregation among and within species), given that some species (e.g., aggregated) may
fare better than others (e.g., dispersed) if crowded into a small set of sites. Finally, despite
uncertainties as to effects on specific locations, in the age of climate change we may no longer
have much room for error. We may find ourselves in the coming decades engaging in some
serious hands-on actions to save this and other species. Hence, it is prudent to target a
conservation approach that, while ambitious, is most likely to support their ecology and spread
out the risk due to stochastic events.
MONITORING
In North America, Sanderling (along with other shorebird species) populations have been
monitored by the International Shorebird Survey since the mid 1970s. Regional monitoring
efforts that record Sanderlings also include the Canadian Maritime Shorebird Survey, the Pacific
Flyways Project (active during the 1980s along the Pacific U.S. Coast), the Western Shorebird
Survey (initiated in 2000), the Western Atlantic Shorebird Association (currently active along
the U.S. Atlantic), and the South Atlantic Migratory Bird Initiative (SAMBI), among others. In
addition, individual researchers have gathered multiple years of data on the Sanderling in
specific parts of its range, for example in Arcata and Bodega Bay, California; Delaware Bay,
WHSRN – Sanderling Conservation Plan, February 2010, v1.1 65