This book is the outcome of a major international conference on waterbirds held in Edinburgh in April 2004.

Long-term population monitoring is an important tool in our investigations of the role waterbirds play in their environment. This book is international in scope and presents information on species as diverse as the Common Loon, Harlequin Duck, and Semi-Palmated Sandpiper, and habitat in locations ranging from Iceland to Japan. Papers presented in this volume further our understanding of the important role that limnology plays in determining habitat suitability for waterbirds.

E. GWINNER! The phenomenon of bird migration with its large scale dimensions has attracted the attention of naturalists for centuries. Worldwide billions of birds leave their breeding grounds every autumn to migrate to areas with seasonally more favor able conditions. Many of these migrants travel only over a few hundred kilo meters but others cover distances equivalent to the circumference of the earth. Among these long-distance migrants are several billion birds that invade Africa every autumn from their West and Central Palaearctic breeding areas. In the Americas and in Asia the scope of bird migration is of a similar magnitude. Just as impressive as the numbers of birds are their achievements. They have to cope with the enormous energetic costs of long-distance flying. particularly while crossing oceans and deserts that do not allow replenishment of depleted fat reserves. They have to appropriately time the onset and end of migrations. both on a daily and annual basis. And finally. they have to orient their migratory movements in space to reach their species- or population-specific wintering and breeding grounds, irrespective of the variable climatic conditions along their migratory routes.

The migratory waterbirds of the Pacific Flyway convert food, air, and water into a mileage plan that has few equals in the animal world. Set against a backdrop of stunning images from more than 120 internationally acclaimed photographers, this book shares the amazing stories of these migrants--a cast of characters that includes shorebirds, seabirds, and waterfowl. Stretching from the Arctic regions of northeastern Russia, Alaska, and western Canada and along the Pacific coastlines of North, Central, and South America, the Pacific Flyway traverses some of our planet's greatest climatic and topographic extremes. Defined by water, the flyway encompasses a sweeping expanse of coastal and offshore marine ecosystems and an inland archipelago of freshwater wetlands. Hemispheric in scope, this integrated network of ecosystems is linked by its moving parts--the millions of migratory birds whose lives depend on this 10,000-mile (16,000-km) corridor as they travel between their breeding and overwintering grounds. With their ocean- and continent-spanning travels, waterbirds are our sentinels in a changing world--each of their journeys revealing the fraying edges of the web of life that sustains us all. Pacific Flyway perfectly blends amazing photography, science writing, and storytelling to illuminate the profound challenges faced by migratory birds and to inspire a longterm commitment to global conservation efforts.

Bird migration is one of the most astonishing feats in the natural world. Millions of birds migrate, often over very large distances, to benefit from seasonal resource surpluses and to avoid predators and competitors. The aim of this study is to survey the phenomena.

"Counts of water birds and shorebirds were made in the province of Matanzas in Cuba during 14-21 February 1990. Forty-three species and at least 2246 individuals were recorded. The relatively few individuals seen suggest that, at least in February, narrow shores, which are subject to small tidal fluctuations, and drying inland conditions, contribute to unfavourable habitat for shorebirds and water birds. Extensive surveys of coastal and wetland habitats at different times of the year are needed to identify the archipelago's critical staging, wintering and breeding sites"--Abstract.

This is the first comprehensive environmental history of California’s Great Central Valley, where extensive freshwater and tidal wetlands once provided critical habitat for tens of millions of migratory waterfowl. Weaving together ecology, grassroots politics, and public policy, Philip Garone tells how California’s wetlands were nearly obliterated by vast irrigation and reclamation projects, but have been brought back from the brink of total destruction by the organized efforts of duck hunters, whistle-blowing scientists, and a broad coalition of conservationists. Garone examines the many demands that have been made on the Valley’s natural resources, especially by large-scale agriculture, and traces the unforeseen ecological consequences of our unrestrained manipulation of nature. He also investigates changing public and scientific attitudes that are now ushering in an era of unprecedented protection for wildlife and wetlands in California and the nation.

Coastal Conservation and Management provides the reader with a synthesis of the range and variation of the main coastal formations and includes practical guidance on their management. The book discusses all the main coastal habitats of importance for nature conservation (saltmarsh, shingle, sand dune and seacliff) as well as combinations of these habitats (estuaries and other coastal wetlands). It offers a comprehensive picture of both the soft sedimentary formations and those which are more resilient. While these habitats have all been covered elsewhere in the literature, no single volume gives such a wide-ranging account. An attempt is made throughout to provide the reader with a basic understanding of the importance and range of variation of each habitat and coastal ecosystem. The principal issues are discussed and the key management options identified. Some prescriptive suggestions are made, though for the most part, the reader is left to ponder the issues and their possible solutions.

Presents results of aerial surveys undertaken to determine the principal areas used by nearctic shorebirds and other species of water birds on wintering grounds on the coast of Panama. Additional information is presented on numbers and distributions of these groups of birds on the coast of the Gulf of Panama during migration periods. Surveys of wintering populations were carried out in January 1993, while surveys of populations present during southward and northward migration periods were conducted in October 1991 and February 1988 respectively. Information is also included on aerial survey methodology; the geography, physical oceanography, and climate of Panama; and coastal habitats and their distribution in Panama.