出版社：San Francisco Bay-Delta Science Consortium and the John Muir Institute of the Environment
摘要：http://escholarship.org/uc/item/2836q0qg The Central Valley of California provides important breeding habitat to numerous species of wetland-dependent birds, despite the loss of over 90% of naturally occurring wetlands. A majority of shorebirds breeding in this region rely on shallow-flooded habitat adjacent to sparsely vegetated uplands as provided by rice ( Oryza sativa ), managed wetlands, and other habitats. We estimated the current extent of potential breeding shorebird habitat provided by rice and managed permanent and semi-permanent wetlands in each of four major planning regions of the Central Valley, and estimated the average breeding densities and current population sizes of two species of shorebirds: the Black-Necked Stilt ( Himantopus mexicanus ) and American Avocet ( Recurvirostra americana ). Using a population status framework based on principles of conservation biology, we estimated that stilt populations are small (<10,000 individuals) or very small (<1,000 individuals) in three of the four planning regions, and avocet populations are small or very small in all four planning regions. We then used the framework to define long-term (100-year) population objectives for stilts, avocets, and a third species, Killdeer ( Charadrius vociferous ), designed to meet our long-term conservation goal of supporting self-sustaining, genetically robust, and resilient populations of breeding shorebirds in the Central Valley. We also estimated the long-term species’ density and wetland habitat objectives necessary to achieve the population objectives for all three species. The corresponding short-term (10-year) conservation objectives are to restore semi-permanent wetlands to provide an additional 11,537 ha (28,508 ac) of habitat for breeding shorebirds (by planning region: 2,842 ha in Sacramento, 2,897 ha in Yolo–Delta, 2,943 ha in San Joaquin, and 2,855 ha in Tulare), and to enhance existing habitat to support density objectives. Our approach provides a transparent, repeatable process for defining science-based conservation objectives for breeding shorebirds and their habitats in the Central Valley, which can help unite stakeholders around common goals and motivate conservation actions.
