Annual survival of Red Knots (Calidris canutus rufa) using the San Antonio Oeste stopover site is reduced by domino effects involving late arrival and food depletion in Delaware Bay

Patricia M. González; Allan J. Baker; María Eugenia Echave

doi:10.56178/eh.v21i2.792

Articles Published 01 December 2006 https://doi.org/10.56178/eh.v21i2.792

Annual survival of Red Knots (Calidris canutus rufa) using the San Antonio Oeste stopover site is reduced by domino effects involving late arrival and food depletion in Delaware Bay

Calidris canutus domino effects migration population decline Red Knot stopover ecology

Patricia M. González Fundación Inalafquen. Roca 135, 8520 San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro, Argentina

Allan J. Baker Royal Ontario Museum. 100 Queen’s Park, Toronto, ON M5S 2C6, Canada | Department of Zoology, University of Toronto. Toronto, Canada

María Eugenia Echave Fundación Inalafquen. Roca 135, 8520 San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro, Argentina

Abstract

Ecological conditions in breeding and non-breeding areas of migrant birds have been linked to their annual survival and production of young, but the role of stopover sites is under-appreciated. Through banding studies and censuses along the flyway from Tierra del Fuego to the Canadian Arctic, the drastic decline in 2000–2001 of Red Knots (Calidris canutus rufa) population summering in southern South America in the northern winter was shown to be related to the overharvesting of horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) in Delaware Bay, USA, their last stopover site before reaching their breeding grounds, and to the late arrival of the birds at this site. In San Antonio Oeste, Argentina, where 25–50% of the Tierra del Fuego Red Knots population congregates every northward migration season, annual survival of the cohort of experienced birds banded in March 1998 was impacted a year later than the general decline. Knots marked at San Antonio Oeste earlier in March arrived in Delaware Bay on average before those marked 15 days later. Additionally, early migrating knots with active body moult in San Antonio Oeste exhibited a higher return rate in the following years than late and non-moulting birds. Since the decline, birds arriving late in Delaware Bay have been at increased risk of not being able to refuel properly or on time because food is no longer superabundant at that stopover site. These domino effects indicate that there are fitness consequences to individual migration strategies adopted by birds at austral summering and stopover sites, which can be amplified by compressed timing in Delaware Bay when food is depleted at this final stopover site.

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References

ALERSTAM T AND HEDENSTRÖM A (1998) The develop-ment of bird migration theory. Journal of AvianBiology 29:343–369
ANDRES BA (2003) Delaware Bay shorebird-horseshoecrab assessment report – Biological Assessment Shore-bird Technical Committee. Division of MigratoryBird Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service,Arlington
ATKINSON P, BAKER AJ, BEVAN RM, CLARK NA, COLEKB, GONZÁLEZ PM, NEWTON J, NILES LJ ANDROBINSON RA (2005) Unravelling the migratorystrategies of a long-distance migrant using stableisotopes: Red Knot Calidris canutus movements inthe Americas. Ibis 147:738–749
BAKER AJ, GONZÁLEZ PM, MINTON CDT, CARTER DB,NILES LJ, DO NASCIMENTO I AND PIERSMA T (2001)Hemispheric problems in the conservation of RedKnots (Calidris canutus rufa). Pp. 21–28 in: Proceed-ings of the VI Neotropical Ornithological Congress ,International Shorebird Symposium, Monterrey, México.Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network,Manomet
BAKER AJ, GONZÁLEZ PM, PIERSMA T, NILES LJ, DONASCIMENTO ILS, ATKINSON PW, CLARK NA, MINTONCDT, PECK MK AND AARTS G (2004) Rapid popula-tion decline in Red Knots: fitness consequences ofdecreased refuelling rates and late arrival in Dela-ware Bay. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B271:875–882
BAKER AJ, GONZÁLEZ PM, SERRANO I, JÚNIOR WRT, EFEMA, RICE S, D’AMICO VL, ROCHA MC AND ECHAVEME (2005) Assessment of the wintering area of RedKnots in Maranhão, northern Brazil, in February2005. Wader Study Group Bulletin 107:10–18
BAKER AJ, PIERSMA T AND GREENSLADE A (1999)Molecular versus phenotypic sexing in Red Knots.Condor 101:887–893BOY D H (1992) Arctic summer conditions and BritishKnot numbers: an exploratory analysis. Wader StudyGroup Bulletin 64(Supp.):144–152
CASTRO G AND MYERS JP (1993) Shorebird predationon eggs of horseshoe crabs during spring stopoveron Delaware Bay. Auk 110:927–930
CHOQUET R, REBOULET AM, PRADEL R AND LEBRETONJM (2001) U-care (Utilities-CApture-REcapture) user’sguide. CEFE, CNRS, Montpellier
DRENT R, BOTH C, GREEN M, MADSEN J AND PIERSMA T(2003) Pay-offs and penalties of competing migra-tory schedules. Oikos 103:274–292
EVANS PR, GOSS-CUSTARD JD AND HALE WG (1984)Coastal waders and wildfowl in winter. CambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge
EVANS PR AND PIENKOWSKI MW (1984) Populationdynamics of shorebirds. Pp. 83–123 in: BURGER J ANDOLLA BL (eds) Behavior of Marine Animals 5. PlenumPress, New York
GONZÁLEZ PM, CARBAJAL M, MORRISON RIG AND BAKERAJ (2004) Tendencias poblacionales del PlayeroRojizo (Calidris canutus rufa) en el sur de Sudamérica.Ornitología Neotropical 15(Suppl.):357–365
GONZÁLEZ PM, PIERSMA T AND VERKUIL Y (1996) Food,feeding and refuelling of Red Knots during north-ward migration at San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro,Argentina. Journal of Field Ornithology 67:575–591
GOSS-CUSTARD JD, CLARKE RT, BRIGGS KB, ENS BJ, EXOK-M, SMIT C, BEINTEMA AJ, CALDOW RWG, CATT DC,CLARK NA, LE VDIT DURELL SEA, HARRIS MP,HULSCHER JB, MEININGER PL, PICOZZI N, PRY S-JONESR, SAFRIEL UN AND WEST AD (1995) Population con-sequences of winter habitat loss in a migratoryshorebird. 1. Estimating model parameters. Journalof Applied Ecology 32:320–336
GUDMUNDSSON GA, LINDSTROM A AND ALERSTAM T(1991) Optimal fat loads and long-distance flightsby migrating Knots Calidris canutus, SanderlingsC. alba and Turnstones Arenaria interpres. Ibis133:140–152
HARRINGTON BA (2001) Red Knots (Calidris canutus).Pp. 1–32 in: POOLE A AND GILL F (eds) The birds ofNorth America. Academy of Natural Sciences andAmerican Ornithologists’ Union, Philadelphia andWashington DC
MADSEN J (2001) Spring migration strategies in pink-footed goose Anser brachyrhynchus and conse-quences for spring fattening and fecundity. Ardea89:43–55
MARRA PP, HOBSON KA AND HOLMES RT (1998) Linkingwinter and summer events in a migratory bird byusing stable-carbon isotopes. Science 282:1884–1886
MORRISON RIG (1975) Migration and morphometricsof European Knot and Turnstone on EllesmereIsland, Canada. Bird-Banding 46:290–301
MORRISON RIG (2006) Body transformations, condi-tion, and survival in Red Knots Calidris canutustravelling to breed at Alert, Ellesmere Island,Canada. Ardea 94:607–618
MORRISON RIG, DAVIDSON NC AND PIERSMA T (2005)Transformations at high latitudes: why do RedKnots bring body stores to the breeding grounds?Condor 107:449–457
MORRISON RIG AND HARRINGTON BA (1992) Themigration system of the Red Knots Calidris canutusrufa in the New World. Wader Study Group Bulletin64(Suppl.):71–84
MORRISON RIG, ROSS RK AND NILES LJ (2004) Declinesin wintering populations of Red Knots in southernSouth America. Condor 106:60–70
NEWTON I (2004) Population limitation in migrants.Ibis 146:197–226
PIENKOWSKI MW AND EVANS PR (1985) The role of mi-gration in the population dynamics of birds. Pp.331–352 in: SIBLY RM AND SMITH RH (eds) Behaviouralecology. Ecological consequences of adaptive behaviour.Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford
PIERSMA T (1987) Production by intertidal benthicanimals and the limits to their predation by shore-birds — a heuristic model. Marine Ecology ProgressSeries 38:187–196
PIERSMA T AND DAVIDSON NC (1992) The migrationsand annual cycles of five subspecies of Knotsin perspective. Wader Study Group Bulletin64(Suppl.):187–197
PIERSMA T, ROGERS DI, GONZÁLEZ PM, ZWA RTS L, NILESLJ, NASCIMENTO I, MINTON CDT AND BAKER AJ (2005)Fuel storage rates before northward flights in RedKnots worldwide. Pp. 262–273 in: GREENBERG R ANDMARRA PP (eds) Birds of two worlds: ecology and evo-lution of migration. John Hopkins University Press,Baltimore
SITTERS H, GONZÁLEZ PM, PIERSMA T, BAKER AJ ANDPRICE D (2001) Day and night feeding habitat of RedKnots in Patagonia: profitability versus safety?Journal of Field Ornithology 72:86–95
STROUD DA, BAKER A, BLANCO DE, DAVIDSON NC,DELANY S, GANTER B, GILL R, GONZÁLEZ P, HAANSTRAL, MORRISON RIG, PIERSMA T, SCOTT DA, THORUP O,WEST R, WILSON J AND ZÖCKLER C (2006) Theconservation and population status of the world’swaders at the turn of the millennium. Pp. 643–648in: BOERE GC, GALBRAITH CA AND STROUD DA (eds)Waterbirds around the world. A global overview of theconservation, management and research of the world’swaterbird flyways. The Stationery Office, Edinburgh
TOMKOVICH PS (2001) A new subspecies of Red KnotsCalidris canutus from the New Siberian islands.Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 121:257–263
TSIPOURA N AND BURGER J (1999) Shorebird diet dur-ing spring migration stopover on Delaware Bay.Condor 101:635–644
WALLS EA, BERKSON J AND SMITH SA (2002) The horse-shoe crab, Limulus polyphemus: 200 million years ofexistence, 100 years of study. Reviews in FisheriesScience 10:39–73
WHITE GC AND BURNHAM KP (1999) Program MARK:survival estimation from populations of markedanimals. Bird Study 46(Suppl.):120–139

How to cite

Patricia M. González, Allan J. Baker, María Eugenia Echave (2006). Annual survival of Red Knots (Calidris canutus rufa) using the San Antonio Oeste stopover site is reduced by domino effects involving late arrival and food depletion in Delaware Bay. El Hornero, Vol. 21 No. 2 (2006), 109-117. https://doi.org/10.56178/eh.v21i2.792

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[1] ALERSTAM T AND HEDENSTRÖM A (1998) The develop-ment of bird migration theory. Journal of AvianBiology 29:343–369

[2] ANDRES BA (2003) Delaware Bay shorebird-horseshoecrab assessment report – Biological Assessment Shore-bird Technical Committee. Division of MigratoryBird Management, US Fish and Wildlife Service,Arlington

[3] ATKINSON P, BAKER AJ, BEVAN RM, CLARK NA, COLEKB, GONZÁLEZ PM, NEWTON J, NILES LJ ANDROBINSON RA (2005) Unravelling the migratorystrategies of a long-distance migrant using stableisotopes: Red Knot Calidris canutus movements inthe Americas. Ibis 147:738–749

[4] BAKER AJ, GONZÁLEZ PM, MINTON CDT, CARTER DB,NILES LJ, DO NASCIMENTO I AND PIERSMA T (2001)Hemispheric problems in the conservation of RedKnots (Calidris canutus rufa). Pp. 21–28 in: Proceed-ings of the VI Neotropical Ornithological Congress ,International Shorebird Symposium, Monterrey, México.Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network,Manomet

[5] BAKER AJ, GONZÁLEZ PM, PIERSMA T, NILES LJ, DONASCIMENTO ILS, ATKINSON PW, CLARK NA, MINTONCDT, PECK MK AND AARTS G (2004) Rapid popula-tion decline in Red Knots: fitness consequences ofdecreased refuelling rates and late arrival in Dela-ware Bay. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B271:875–882

[6] BAKER AJ, GONZÁLEZ PM, SERRANO I, JÚNIOR WRT, EFEMA, RICE S, D’AMICO VL, ROCHA MC AND ECHAVEME (2005) Assessment of the wintering area of RedKnots in Maranhão, northern Brazil, in February2005. Wader Study Group Bulletin 107:10–18

[7] BAKER AJ, PIERSMA T AND GREENSLADE A (1999)Molecular versus phenotypic sexing in Red Knots.Condor 101:887–893BOY D H (1992) Arctic summer conditions and BritishKnot numbers: an exploratory analysis. Wader StudyGroup Bulletin 64(Supp.):144–152

[8] CASTRO G AND MYERS JP (1993) Shorebird predationon eggs of horseshoe crabs during spring stopoveron Delaware Bay. Auk 110:927–930

[9] CHOQUET R, REBOULET AM, PRADEL R AND LEBRETONJM (2001) U-care (Utilities-CApture-REcapture) user’sguide. CEFE, CNRS, Montpellier

[10] DRENT R, BOTH C, GREEN M, MADSEN J AND PIERSMA T(2003) Pay-offs and penalties of competing migra-tory schedules. Oikos 103:274–292

[11] EVANS PR, GOSS-CUSTARD JD AND HALE WG (1984)Coastal waders and wildfowl in winter. CambridgeUniversity Press, Cambridge

[12] EVANS PR AND PIENKOWSKI MW (1984) Populationdynamics of shorebirds. Pp. 83–123 in: BURGER J ANDOLLA BL (eds) Behavior of Marine Animals 5. PlenumPress, New York

[13] GONZÁLEZ PM, CARBAJAL M, MORRISON RIG AND BAKERAJ (2004) Tendencias poblacionales del PlayeroRojizo (Calidris canutus rufa) en el sur de Sudamérica.Ornitología Neotropical 15(Suppl.):357–365

[14] GONZÁLEZ PM, PIERSMA T AND VERKUIL Y (1996) Food,feeding and refuelling of Red Knots during north-ward migration at San Antonio Oeste, Río Negro,Argentina. Journal of Field Ornithology 67:575–591

[15] GOSS-CUSTARD JD, CLARKE RT, BRIGGS KB, ENS BJ, EXOK-M, SMIT C, BEINTEMA AJ, CALDOW RWG, CATT DC,CLARK NA, LE VDIT DURELL SEA, HARRIS MP,HULSCHER JB, MEININGER PL, PICOZZI N, PRY S-JONESR, SAFRIEL UN AND WEST AD (1995) Population con-sequences of winter habitat loss in a migratoryshorebird. 1. Estimating model parameters. Journalof Applied Ecology 32:320–336

[16] GUDMUNDSSON GA, LINDSTROM A AND ALERSTAM T(1991) Optimal fat loads and long-distance flightsby migrating Knots Calidris canutus, SanderlingsC. alba and Turnstones Arenaria interpres. Ibis133:140–152

[17] HARRINGTON BA (2001) Red Knots (Calidris canutus).Pp. 1–32 in: POOLE A AND GILL F (eds) The birds ofNorth America. Academy of Natural Sciences andAmerican Ornithologists’ Union, Philadelphia andWashington DC

[18] MADSEN J (2001) Spring migration strategies in pink-footed goose Anser brachyrhynchus and conse-quences for spring fattening and fecundity. Ardea89:43–55

[19] MARRA PP, HOBSON KA AND HOLMES RT (1998) Linkingwinter and summer events in a migratory bird byusing stable-carbon isotopes. Science 282:1884–1886

[20] MORRISON RIG (1975) Migration and morphometricsof European Knot and Turnstone on EllesmereIsland, Canada. Bird-Banding 46:290–301

[21] MORRISON RIG (2006) Body transformations, condi-tion, and survival in Red Knots Calidris canutustravelling to breed at Alert, Ellesmere Island,Canada. Ardea 94:607–618

[22] MORRISON RIG, DAVIDSON NC AND PIERSMA T (2005)Transformations at high latitudes: why do RedKnots bring body stores to the breeding grounds?Condor 107:449–457

[23] MORRISON RIG AND HARRINGTON BA (1992) Themigration system of the Red Knots Calidris canutusrufa in the New World. Wader Study Group Bulletin64(Suppl.):71–84

[24] MORRISON RIG, ROSS RK AND NILES LJ (2004) Declinesin wintering populations of Red Knots in southernSouth America. Condor 106:60–70

[25] NEWTON I (2004) Population limitation in migrants.Ibis 146:197–226

[26] PIENKOWSKI MW AND EVANS PR (1985) The role of mi-gration in the population dynamics of birds. Pp.331–352 in: SIBLY RM AND SMITH RH (eds) Behaviouralecology. Ecological consequences of adaptive behaviour.Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford

[27] PIERSMA T (1987) Production by intertidal benthicanimals and the limits to their predation by shore-birds — a heuristic model. Marine Ecology ProgressSeries 38:187–196

[28] PIERSMA T AND DAVIDSON NC (1992) The migrationsand annual cycles of five subspecies of Knotsin perspective. Wader Study Group Bulletin64(Suppl.):187–197

[29] PIERSMA T, ROGERS DI, GONZÁLEZ PM, ZWA RTS L, NILESLJ, NASCIMENTO I, MINTON CDT AND BAKER AJ (2005)Fuel storage rates before northward flights in RedKnots worldwide. Pp. 262–273 in: GREENBERG R ANDMARRA PP (eds) Birds of two worlds: ecology and evo-lution of migration. John Hopkins University Press,Baltimore

[30] SITTERS H, GONZÁLEZ PM, PIERSMA T, BAKER AJ ANDPRICE D (2001) Day and night feeding habitat of RedKnots in Patagonia: profitability versus safety?Journal of Field Ornithology 72:86–95

[31] STROUD DA, BAKER A, BLANCO DE, DAVIDSON NC,DELANY S, GANTER B, GILL R, GONZÁLEZ P, HAANSTRAL, MORRISON RIG, PIERSMA T, SCOTT DA, THORUP O,WEST R, WILSON J AND ZÖCKLER C (2006) Theconservation and population status of the world’swaders at the turn of the millennium. Pp. 643–648in: BOERE GC, GALBRAITH CA AND STROUD DA (eds)Waterbirds around the world. A global overview of theconservation, management and research of the world’swaterbird flyways. The Stationery Office, Edinburgh

[32] TOMKOVICH PS (2001) A new subspecies of Red KnotsCalidris canutus from the New Siberian islands.Bulletin of the British Ornithologists’ Club 121:257–263

[33] TSIPOURA N AND BURGER J (1999) Shorebird diet dur-ing spring migration stopover on Delaware Bay.Condor 101:635–644

[34] WALLS EA, BERKSON J AND SMITH SA (2002) The horse-shoe crab, Limulus polyphemus: 200 million years ofexistence, 100 years of study. Reviews in FisheriesScience 10:39–73

[35] WHITE GC AND BURNHAM KP (1999) Program MARK:survival estimation from populations of markedanimals. Bird Study 46(Suppl.):120–139