create the General Scientific Program, which is availableonline at: http://www.corbidi.org/uploads/4/9/8/9/49890817/program_whsg2017.pdf.

e book of abstracts of the 7th WHSG meeting can bedownloaded from: http://www.corbidi.org/uploads/4/9/8/9/49890817/libro_de_resumenes_whsgc7_v3_web.pdf.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT

e Travel Award Committee provided 80% of the totalcost for travel, accommodation and food for 42 studentsfrom the Western Hemisphere and for 37 professionalsfrom Latin America. Acquisition and management offinances was led by Rick Lanctot. ese awards were madepossible by generous donations by the David & LucilePackard Foundation (arranged by Josh Donlan), the USForest Service (Jim Chu – International Programs),National Audubon Society (Stan Senner, River Gates),Manomet, Inc. (Stephen Brown, Rob Clay), and thePacific Flyway Council. e Peruvian government’sCIENCIACTIVA-CONCYTEC event organizationprovided the majority of funds needed to host the meetingin Peru; awarded to CORBIDI aer a national competi-tion. e Local Committee also received financial supportto offset the costs of the meeting from Environment andClimate Change Canada (Mark Drever), MINAM, eNational Service of Natural Protected Areas by the State(SERNANP), International Conservation Fund of Canada(ICFC), Aleteos Almacén, ISA-rep and the Union ofOrnithologists of Peru (UNOP). e Silent Auction wasa huge success that helped raise travel funds for the nextmeeting. e Eighth WHSG meeting will be held inPanama, in October 2019; Rosabel Miró, the ExecutiveDirector at Audubon Panama (rosabelmiro01@gmail.com), will serve as the chair of the Local Committee.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE MEETING

e first official Executive Committee meeting of theWHSG was held on 11 November 2017. Several majorchanges were made to the Terms of Reference of theWHSG, which outlines the organization and managementof the group. e Executive Committee agreed that:

l e term lengths of the Chair and the other Committeemembers were changed from two years to six years.However, the Graduate Student representative willcontinue to serve two-year terms. Eveling Tavera, theChair of the Seventh WHSG meeting, agreed tocontinue in position for the next four years.

e Seventh Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group(WHSG) Meeting was held at the DoubleTree Resort byHilton Paracas, in Paracas, Ica, Peru, during 10–14November 2017. e Local Committee for this consistedof members of Centro de Ornitología y Biodiversidad(CORBIDI), with the assistance of students from SanLuis Gonzaga de Ica National University. e WHSGmeets biennially with previous meetings held in Boulder,Colorado, USA (2006), Maturin, Venezuela (2007),Mazatlán, Mexico (2009), Vancouver, British Columbia(2011), Santa Marta, Colombia (2013) and Virginia, USA(2015). e Paracas meeting welcomed 189 participantsfrom 23 different countries; there were four internationalplenary speakers (Guy Morrison, Nigel Clark, PatriciaGonzalez and eunis Piersma), ten symposia comprising134 oral presentations, and 36 poster presentations. Inaddition, three pre-conference workshops took place on9 November on: Buff-Breasted Sandpiper Calidris sub-ruficollis Conservation; Shorebird Banding (led by theNorth American Banding Council); and Shorebird Con-servation and Shrimp Aquaculture in the Western Hemi-sphere. Two workshops were held during the mainmeeting: e-Bird Data Analysis and the Initiative for theConservation of Coastal Wetlands and Shorebirds on theArid Pacific Coast of South America. In addition a sidemeeting took place on 10 November led by representativesof the Peruvian Minister of the Environment (MINAM)and CORBIDI to take the first steps to create a NationalShorebird Conservation Plan for Peru. In this meeting,Rob Clay, representing the Western Hemisphere ShorebirdReserve Network (WHSRN) presented the 101st siteselected to be part of the network: e Virrilá Estuary,Peru.

Arturo May and Nicholas Gibler provided simultaneoustranslations for the entire meeting from Spanish intoEnglish and vice versa.

e meeting location, Paracas, is one of the main touristattractions of Peru so several excursions were availableon 12 November, organized and coordinated by EnverOrtiz. A total of 115 people participated in the field tripsto see: Andean birds; shorebirds and seabirds at BallestasIsland and Paracas National Reserve; with one culturaland traditional trip to Ica with an aerial view of theNazca lines.

e Scientific Committee responsible for the programwas chaired by Fernando Angulo, and consisted of DavidLank, Mark Drever, Patricia Gonzalez, Conor McGowan,Nathan Senner and Luis Navedo. Committee memberscarefully evaluated both oral presentations and posters to

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SEVENTH MEETING OF THE WESTERN HEMISPHERE SHOREBIRD GROUP, 10–14 NOVEMBER 2017,PARACAS, PERU

Eveling A. Tavera & Enver Ortiz López

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l e Chair will be responsible for coordinating biennialmeetings with the Local Committee Chair and theLocal Committee Chair will be responsible for meetinglogistics and finances.

l ere should be a new online website to be active inearly summer 2018 (www.westernshorebirdgroup.org).is is in addition to the current listserv (to join senda blank e-mail to: whsg-join@lists.fws.gov) and Facebookpage. e Executive Committee thanks Manomet Inc.for purchasing the website domain name and payingthe maintenance fees for the first year. e websitewill aim to recruit more shorebird enthusiasts and en-hance communication about the activities of theWHSG, the people involved throughout the WesternHemisphere, and the incredible shorebird conservation,management and education being conducted.

AWARDS

Many awards were presented during the banquet on thenight of 14 November. Enver Ortiz, who organized theStudent Prize Committee, presented the Best Oral PaperAward to Valeria Araya from Chile for her talk entitled“Surveying for antibiotic resistance in long-distancemigratory shorebirds”, and the Best Poster Award toGianco Angelozzi from Venezuela for his poster on“Description of the diet of three small calidridine sand-pipers on a tropical coastal lagoon”. Jim Chu alsopresented two awards on behalf of the United States ForestService’s Wings Across the Americas program. e Inter-national Cooperation Award went to Guy Morrison andEnrique Bucher. e Communities in ConservationAward went to Richard Johnston and Vianey Ramírez.Stephen Brown of Manomet, Inc. presented the 2017Pablo Canevari Award to Wayne Burke from Barbados.Brad Andres described Wayne as an avid shorebirdconservationist and founder of the Barbados ShorebirdConservation Trust. In 2008, Wayne began working withBirdLife International to lead efforts with local hunters toaddress the unsustainable take of shorebirds on Barbados.

His efforts led to many favorable changes in the culture ofhunting on the island, including self-imposed bag limitsby hunters, and the creation of the WoodbourneShorebird Refuge among other extremely importanthabitats for shorebird conservation in the country.

For the first time, two new biennial awards were presentedto honor Allan Baker and Lewis Oring. Amazing hand-painted plates (designed and painted by Rocio Landivar)were given to each winner, along with a $1,000 monetaryaward. e Allan Baker Lifetime Achievement Award forShorebird Conservation was given to Guy Morrison. Guyis a legendary character, who has been involved withshorebird conservation for 50 years. In the 1980s, in part-nership with Ken Ross, he carried out a shorebird surveyalong the entire coast of South America; he was also in-strumental in founding the WHSRN. He was appointeda Member of the Order of Canada for his contributionsto the conservation of Arctic shorebirds and othermigratory species. Although he has retired from Envi-ronment and Climate Change Canada, where he workedas a Senior Research Scientist for many years, he retainsan emeritus position and continues to contribute to En-vironment Canada’s role of ensuring that wildlife is con-served and protected.

Finally, the Lewis W. Oring Lifetime Achievement Awardfor Shorebird Research was presented to David (Dov)Lank and Connie Smith. Dov Lank has devoted 30 years’research work to understanding reproductive strategieswithin and between the sexes of a variety of shorebirdsand other species viewed in the context of population bi-ology and evolutionary ecology. He is most noted for his

Eveling Tavera, the first Chair of the WHSG ExecutiveCommittee.

Patricia González presenting the Allan Baker LifetimeAchievement Award for Shorebird Conservation to GuyMorrison.

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extensive research on Ruffs Philomachus pugnax in whichhe has, through careful maintenance of a captive flock,unraveled the genetic mysteries associated with malemating strategies and plumage variation. His work andthe way he has motivated others has inspired manygraduate students to pursue careers in behavioral andconservation ecology. He has always and continues towork as a Research Associate and Adjunct Professor inthe Behavioral Ecology Research Group at the Centre forWildlife Ecology (CWE) at Simon Fraser University,Canada. Connie has been a major supporter of Dov, hisgraduate students, and the CWE department (not tomention their two daughters) for >30 years. Her invaluableassistance has enabled Dov, his students, and all the manyshorebird projects to enjoy great success over the years.

SYMPOSIA AND WORKSHOPS

NABC Shorebird Bander Training and CertificationWorkshop, Paracas, Peru 2017

Organized by Lesley Howes and Christian Friis

e second North American Banding Council shorebirdbander training and certification workshop involvedtopics such as: 1) legal responsibilities and the role ofgovernment; 2) scientific and ethical standards; 3) humanhealth and safety considerations; 4) essentials of shorebirdcapture, including the appropriate use of audio-lures and

reducing risk of injury and capture myopathy; 5) ageingon the non-breeding grounds; 6) capture of birds withmist, whoosh and cannon nets; 7) visual and electronicmarkers and attachment methods; 8) feather and bloodcollection; 9) data management and data sharing; and10) the Pan American Shorebird Program and the im-portance of coordination, resighting flags and how toreport them.

ere were two breakout exercises where participantswere invited to share, demonstrate and practice sometechniques and skills in the field. e first session reviewedbird band types, sizes, correct band placement and appli-cation, and band corrections and removal. e secondsession focused on how to make high quality flags(including engravings) and how to safely attach them tobirds. ere was also a field training session during theevening of 15 November with 20 participants. Topicscovered were capture and banding site selection, how toset up mist nets, how to manage net rounds and a fieldcrew, shorebird extraction and handling, and processingshorebirds in the field. Over 30 people from eight countriesattended the workshop and 13 participants took theNABC shorebird certification exam. Twelve people passedthe exam and will earn certificates as an assistant, banderor trainer once they have met all remaining certificationcriteria including sufficient practical experience for theirlevel.

Lew Oring (center) presenting the Lewis W. Oring Lifetime Achievement Award for Shorebird Research to Connie Smithand Dov Lank.

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Biofilm and Shorebirds

Organized by Ron Ydenberg

Biofilms grow on all kinds of surfaces, and are importantin settings as diverse as industrial piping and civic watersystems, the preservation and restoration of paintings,dental health, and much else. Interest in biofilms isgrowing as their importance is recognized. Mudflatsurfaces throughout the world are coated with biofilm,consisting of microorganisms, other tiny creatures andsome debris, all contained within a matrix of mucilaginoussubstances secreted by the microbes. e stickiness ofbiofilms (think ‘snot’) contributes to the stability ofmudflats, and it is consumed by a wide variety of inverte-brates such as clams and snails. e discovery that biofilmis an important food source for some small calidridineswas a first for any vertebrate, and biofilms are for a varietyof reasons now important in shorebird research. However,our understanding is limited, and there is a need formore data on how widespread biofilm foraging is amongshorebirds, for measurement methods that are moreuseful in the field, for better knowledge of biofilm dynamicsand the environmental factors influencing its growth, onits nutritional importance for sandpipers, and much else.We organized this session to bring together shorebird re-searchers active in this area, and here we briefly summarizeeach presentation.

Talks included an assessment of biofilms and the omegafatty acids produced by marine organisms at RobertsBank, on the Fraser River estuary in British Columbia.Measured in a state-of-the-art laboratory, the data reveala profile of 28 different fatty acids, including saturatedfatty acids (‘SFA’), monounsaturated fatty acids (‘MUFA’),as well as some of the polyunsaturated fatty acids (‘PUFA’)believed to be essential, including omega 3s. Measures ofthe quantity of biofilm at the same site were presented byJay Rourke. To do so, scrapings of the mudflat surfacewere carefully collected at locations across the site, andthe amount of each of 30 components of biofilm (the 28fatty acids, chlorophyll a, total carbohydrates) was measured.Other topics included the use of a portable chlorofluo-rometer to measure biofilm dynamics in the field. e in-strument is capable of quickly measuring the density ofchlorophyll a and hence can log hundreds of measurementsover the course of a single tidal interval. Another measuringdevice uses isotopes to estimate biofilm contributions todiets of shorebirds by measuring isotopes in exhaledbreath. is technique has the advantage that breath iseasy to collect, and all the carbon in a properly-collectedsample has been through the metabolism of the capturedsandpiper. Finally the session included a talk on biofilm-consumption by southbound Semipalmated SandpipersCalridris pusilla in the upper Bay of Fundy on the Atlanticcoast of Canada. is species feeds on biofilm primarilyat night, and the use of biofilm may be related to thedecline of their previous main prey item, the amphipodCorophium volutator. Biofilm has a fatty acid profilesimilar to C. volutator. ere was compelling evidencethat consumption of biofilm was higher in the arm of theBay where biofilm had higher proportions of n–3 PUFAs.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper Conservation Workshop

Organized by Richard Lanctot

e third meeting of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper WorkingGroup was held a day before the formal WHSG meeting.Previous meetings had considered updates on the naturalhistory, status, distribution, and threats facing the species;developed and revised the species conservation plan, andhelped develop new proposals on migration tracking,habitat use, and surveys throughout the species’ annualcycle.

Lew Oring gave the first presentation in which he describedhis studies of the species in Oklahoma during 1961–1963. His early work focused on the unique courtshipand territorial behaviors of the species, as well as how thelength and frequency of stopovers affect migration mon-itoring. Lee Tibbitts and Rick Lanctot next spoke about afull-cycle migration tracking study designed to uncoverareas of use and factors in those areas that may be con-tributing to the species’ decline. Next Natalia Martínez-Curci described her upcoming post-doctoral study thatwill: 1) evaluate the influence of landscape variables inthe patterns of abundance and distribution of grasslandshorebirds, and 2) use this information to constructhabitat suitability maps. She described her proposed useof the normalized difference vegetation index to estimateforage above-ground net primary production that mayhelp extrapolate population densities to short and tallgrass areas.

Arne Lesterhuis then spoke about habitat use and threatsfaced by Buff-breasted Sandpipers at migration and win-tering sites in seven countries in South America usingGPS-Argos tagged birds. Birds were found in grasslands(both flooded and dry), agricultural fields, and wetlands.Potential threats included urban expansion and habitatclearance, and contaminants in agricultural fields. JoaquinAldabe next described how forest cover and tall grassnegatively influenced the presence of Buff-breasted Sand-pipers and American Golden-plovers Pluvialis dominica,and how short grass areas had lower arthropod levels,suggesting that these species use short grass for otherreasons, perhaps for easier detection of predators or prey.

Next Juliana Almeida spoke about conservation effortsand current threats facing Buff-breasted Sandpipers atLagoa do Peixe National Park in Brazil. Some of the chal-lenges include: 1) a history of conflict between the parkand community, 2) land ownership, 3) resource use, 4)isolation from the shorebird community, and 5) lack ofstaff and capacity. A Shorebird Ecology, Conservation,and Habitat Management Workshop was held at the parkin 2017 to show staff how cattle ranching can be used as amanagement tool to produce high-quality Buff-breastedSandpiper habitat. Juliana further described efforts to pro-mote good governance at the site and ways to establish alegal framework for allowing cattle to remain in the park.

Arne Lesterhuis gave his second talk on the status of theBuff-breasted Sandpiper in Asunción Bay, Paraguay.Although it was declared as a WHSRN site of Regional

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Importance for Buff-breasted Sandpipers in 2008, devel-opment of a road (Costanera) in 2010 destroyed about 70%of the shorebird habitat. Buff-breasted Sandpiper numbersdeclined thereaer. In 2013, Guyra Paraguay beganrestoring parts of the bay, including beach cleaning,removing invasive vegetation, and creating shallow pondsof water.

Gustavo Sanchez next described his group’s efforts to de-velop a shorebird program in Bolivia that would focus onBuff-breasted Sandpipers. is program would includeenvironmental education, identification of key sites, mon-itoring and banding. en Fernando Faria described thepopulation size and trends of Buff-breasted Sandpipersin Brazil. Population size models yielded estimates rangingfrom 1,415 to 2,718 birds at three survey sites during aseven-year period. e Torotama Island and Lagoa doPeixe sites had the highest bird densities in all years andthere was a population increase through time. en Fer-nando described some aspects of trophic relationshipsbetween Buff-breasted Sandpiper and other shorebirds atTorotama Island using fecal samples and stable isotopeanalysis.

Lindsay Brown talked about density trends and habitatuse of Buff-breasted Sandpipers in the Rainwater Basin,Nebraska. Using a revised survey protocol in 2016 and2017, she described how densities appear to have increasedin the most recent years, perhaps due to a population in-crease, or by changes in the proportion of the populationusing the Rainwater Basin. Lindsay then described amodeling effort that indicated Buff-breasted Sandpipersconsistently selected higher and flatter areas in an apparenthomogeneous agricultural area.

Finally, Jim Lyons spoke about monitoring Buff-breastedSandpipers during northbound migration through theFlint Hills ecoregion of E Kansas and NE Oklahoma,and the Western Gulf Coastal Plain ecoregion of Texasand Louisiana. In the Flint Hills ecoregion, extrapolationof population densities indicated 12,782 to 20,727 birdswere present. ese surveys showed that the speciesused areas with a high proportion of native grass, littledevelopment, and that had been recently burned. In theWestern Gulf Coastal Plain ecoregion, an estimated 2,637birds were present at the surveyed points in 2016 (no ex-trapolation to unsurveyed area) but precision aroundthis estimate was poor. Analyses are underway for 2017and surveys will continue in April 2018, when densityestimates will be combined with turnover rates generatedfrom a tracking study to generate more precise populationestimates.

Following the completion of the scheduled talks, IsadoraAngarita of BirdLife International Americas PartnershipSecretariat asked the group to participate in a futureupdate of the species conservation plan using an openstandards methodology so as to identify new and highpriority threats, as well as strategies to resolve thesethreats in a full life-cycle framework. is update wouldalso incorporate climate change impacts developed byBirdLife International. At the very end of the meeting, a

lengthy discussion was held among researchers participatingin a winter ground tracking study to take place shortlyaer the meeting in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay.

Within-species differences in migration strategies

Organized by Jesse Conklin & Yvonne Verkuil

Individuals in a species or a population can differ in mi-gration strategies; such differences may manifest in, forexample, timing of movements or molt, duration of non-stop flights and stopovers, or management of trade-offsbetween time and energy. How these strategies arisedictates whether they will stably co-exist or lead to theevolution of separate populations. is symposium aimedto spotlight shorebird systems in which multiple migrationstrategies exist, to gain insight into the mechanismsdriving these differences, and their potential ecologicaland evolutionary consequences.

Talks included the use of geolocators and direct observationto show that northward departure date of Bar-tailedGodwits Limosa lapponica from New Zealand has advancedsince 2008. e rate of advance depended on an individual’sbreeding destination in Alaska: on average, southernbreeders advanced by three days, whereas northernbreeders advanced by eight days. However, aer longerstopover durations in Asia, neither group arrived inAlaska earlier. is suggests that the earlier New Zealanddepartures may represent differential responses to stagingconditions experienced by the two groups en route, ratherthan to changing breeding phenologies.

Data from PTT-tracked Hudsonian Godwits Limosahaemastica migrating between southern Chile and breedingsites in Alaska showed that the godwits used differentroutes and strategies on their northward and southwardmigrations: the former journey includes a direct oceanicflight to central North America followed by one or fewstopovers, whereas the latter includes a more indirectroute through the eastern USA, involving shorter flightsand multiple stops in South America. Additional variationis contributed by the occurrence of mid-continentalstorms during migration, which can prompt unexpectedstops and delay arrival in Alaska by up to five days. eseadditional stops appeared to be more disruptive toschedules of birds with only one ‘planned’ stop, becausethey did not compensate by reducing time spent at themain staging site.

Next, the various migration strategies used by Alaska-breeding Marbled Godwits Limosa fedoa were discussed.Using multi years of satellite-tracking, and despite highbreeding and non-breeding site-fidelity, individuals showedsubstantial annual variation in both timing and routes ofmigration, and these differences were not obviously cor-related with environmental variables.

A 20-year multi-species study was presented on howfueling strategies can differ at the same northward stagingsite. At Delaware Bay, Ruddy Turnstones Arenaria interpresgained mass earlier in the season and more slowly thandid Red Knots Calidris canutus, which could gain mass

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very rapidly but with more variation in timing, and weremore sensitive to temporal variation in food availability.

e final presentation indicated that a revision of globalpopulation structure in Red Knots was needed. Geneticresearch indicated that two populations migrating in theAmericas (subspecies rufa and roselaari) are much moredistantly related than previously thought, and probablyreflect secondary contact aer a long period of isolation.Also, the Wrangel Island and Alaskan breeding populations,currently considered the same subspecies roselaari, aregenetically distinguishable.

The Migratory Shorebird Project: connectingcommunities of the Americas through climate-smartconservation science

Organized by Matthew Reiter

With climate change as a long-term threat that will com-pound existing threats to migratory shorebirds such ascoastal urbanization, human disturbance, and pollution,wetland managers and conservation decision-makersneed to be even smarter in their work today to set andaccomplish management goals that will be sustainableand effective for generations to come.

e Migratory Shorebird Project (www.migratoryshore-birdproject.org) was initiated in 2011 to establish a coor-dinated research and monitoring network throughoutthe non-breeding range of Pacifica Dunlin Calidris alpinaand Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri. is hypothesis-driven 10-year project facilitates climate-smart conservationactions because it provides essential knowledge on multiplespecies and ecosystems over a broad scale, assesses severalcurrent and future threats, and prioritizes the landscapefor conservation and management actions. Currently,more than 40 organizations in 12 countries are activelyparticipating in the Migratory Shorebird Project, applyingstandardized survey protocols, and centralizing datathrough the California Avian Data Center.

e symposium consisted of eight presentations thathighlighted progress by the Migratory Shorebird Projectto provide data and solutions that support coastal wetlandand shorebird conservation both now and in the future.e objectives of the symposium were to:

1. Highlight the extensive network of project locationsconducting coordinated research and monitoringacross 12 countries along the Pacific Coast of theAmericas.

2. Share research of the impact of threats on shorebirdsand the benefits of conservation actions.

3. Increase awareness of the value of hypothesis-drivencoordinated research and monitoring at a broad scale.

4. Promote understanding of how the Migratory ShorebirdProject enables climate-smart conservation.

5. Enhance recognition of the value of standardized pro-tocols and centralized data management that enableslarge-scale research and monitoring.

Aer an overview presentation, two talks evaluatedchanges in population sizes and distributions in the UpperBay of Panama and on the Baja Peninsula in Mexico re-spectively. e following three presentations highlightedthe impact of specific threats to shorebirds includingdrought, predators and human disturbance, and habitatloss. Lastly two talks targeted examples of using MigratoryShorebird Project data to help prioritize conservationactions for shorebirds. One example was specific to con-servation planning in Ecuador and the other lookedacross the Pacific Americas Flyway from Mexico to Peru.

By highlighting both local and broad-scale applicationsof research and monitoring data, the symposium promotedkey climate-smart conservation principles including con-servation prioritization and collaboration across sectors.e diversity of research and applications of the findingshighlighted the capability of a coordinated research andmonitoring network that utilizes standardized protocolsand centralized data management to quickly turn datainto action. Overall the symposium profiled the tremendousprogress the Migratory Shorebird Project is makingtowards its goal of building capacity to inform conservationand management of shorebirds and the coastal wetlandson which they depend.

Improving habitat through management and goodgovernance

Organized by Diego Luna Quevedo, Brad Winn, and MonicaIglecia

Shorebirds face a myriad of threats throughout their an-nual cycle. Improving conditions for shorebirds at criticalsites along the migratory route can require a multi-pronged approach. Shorebird conservation actions caninclude land and coastal system management, peoplemanagement, and improving the capacity of local pro-cesses to build agreements about land use and habitatconservation. In this symposium we explored the interfacebetween habitat management and good governance andtheir role in improving habitats for shorebirds. Nine pre-sentations were provided to illustrate these concepts withconcrete examples using habitat management, good gov-ernance, or both to improve conservation efforts for shore-birds. Our objectives were to:

1. Provide symposium participants with a broad view ofconservation actions that are possible at sites.

2. Share lessons learned about habitat management andgovernance.

3. Explore best practices.

4. Answer common questions and challenges.

e symposium started with an introduction to manage-ment techniques to improve shorebird habitat. “Manage-ment” comprises the suite of actions that are needed toreverse negative impacts on shorebirds and their habitatsat the local, regional, national, and international scales. Itincludes concepts of “Good Governance” to guide man-agement actions leading to shorebird conservation that

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can benefit shorebird conservation efforts at the intersectionof government, civil society, and the private sector. Goodgovernance is guided by principles of accountability,transparency, participation, and social justice, withoutwhich it fails to function.

Among others talks there were presentations about thedevelopment of a Conservation Plan for Shorebirds inEcuador that included a multi-sector process involvingthe government, public, and private sectors, and anotherabout an effort to promote and facilitate shorebird con-servation at Lagoa do Peixe National Park, Brazil, whichillustrated the value of having a good understanding ofboth the biological resource value at a site as well as thedrivers of local stakeholders.

From Argentina, a presentation summarized significantmanagement, governance, and habitat-protection effortsat Bahia de San Antonio. is talk emphasized the valueof long term commitments to conservation at a site, andalso highlighted the value of partnering with institutionsand agencies with similar environmental health goals,including pollution and human health. From Chile, apresentation described governance and site managementat Bahía Lomas in Tierra del Fuego. e talk describedthe site’s management plan and the development of anaction plan by both public and private partners to addressthe major threat of oil spills.

ere was a presentation from Colombia on the participativeprocess of working with the local fishermen’s group tozone the Iscuandé River Delta and facilitate better landmanagement and conservation. is process defined fourenvironmental zone types: strict protection, conservation,sustainable use, and restoration. A second talk from Chileprovided an overview of the wetlands and shorebirds onthe arid coast of Pacific South America, and efforts to de-velop a regional and bi-national initiative to conserve thelagoons, estuaries, bays, and river deltas along the coast.

Finally a discussion was held on species management,and the development and application of best managementpractices, to support American Oystercatcher Haematopuspalliatus population recovery efforts. A collaborativeworking group developed a set of practices to addressmajor threats to the species and improve reproductivesuccess. Initiatives include disturbance reduction, predatormanagement, and community education. With over 40organizations and institutions implementing these practices,the process has been successful.

e entire symposium highlighted the value of goodbiological information and the participation of govern-ment at all stages of the process. An understanding oflocal biological resources is important to identify the valueof an area for species of concern and to assess the potentialpopulation level impacts of local threats to species andalso local communities. is information can helpidentify the partners and stakeholders needed to engagein planning processes using a good governanceframework. e participation of government at local,regional, and national levels is important to garnersupport for regulation and enforcement of local laws andinternational agreements.

Community Engagement for ShorebirdConservation

Organized by Laura Chamberlin and Diego Luna Quevedo

e main objectives were:

1. To share lessons and learning about communityengagement.

2. To explore best practices including program design,social research, sample tools and evaluation.

3. To contribute to the development of a communityengagement toolkit.

e symposium started with a brief summary of a com-munity engagement toolkit that the Executive Office ofthe WHSRN is currently developing. is toolkit providesa step-by-step process that will allow site partners toquickly, efficiently, and effectively develop communityengagement programs. Case studies, sample tools, andexamples from published research will be provided toassist with the development of a program.

Eight community engagement case studies from sitesthroughout the Western Hemisphere were presented.Each case study focused on how they: 1) identified thethreat, 2) defined their audience with barriers and moti-vators of change, 3) developed a strategy, 4) implementedactions, and 5) evaluated the work. During the presentationeach symposium participant was invited to write on asmall piece of paper something they want to learn moreabout and a tool that they would like to access. esenotes were compiled for follow-up.

e first case study included experiences from Ecuador,which focused on sharing the results of the objectivesrelated to increasing awareness from the Site ConservationPlan, with a particular focus on youth education. esecond reviewed efforts to reduce human disturbance ofwildlife from recreation at the Fraser Estuary in Canada,with a focus on the results of the initial social researchthat was conducted. In Argentina, work focused on howfestivals can be used to engage new stakeholders to facilitateconservation and community action. A study carried outin Colombia reviewed the social research process thatAsociación Calidris used to understand the needs for pro-tecting habitat, including identifying audience barriersand motivators, evaluation through shorebird populations,and lessons learned. Further work from Argentina reviewedthe development of management plans through participatoryexperiences and other community engagement activitiesincluding environmental education, nature centers, andfestivals. Also working in Argentina, Asociación AmbienteSur provided an overview of community engagementactivities, including site-based protection at reserves, par-ticipation in a campaign to reduce litter, environmentaleducation at a nature center, mascots, and theatrical pre-sentations. In Chile, the case study illustrated the educationalprogram at the Centro Bahia Lomas, which includesguided tours, workshops with students and teachers,scientific fairs, and theatrical plays, all aiming to increaseawareness. And finally the initiative Environment for

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Americas focused on the wide range of worldwide activities,particularly International Migratory Bird Day, internshipprograms, and sample materials.

Aer the case studies, there was an open discussion onthe challenges of community engagement and what isneeded to be successful. Among the key challenges thatparticipants highlighted was the need to create protectedareas while also conducting community engagement,demonstrating economic benefit and other benefits ofshorebird conservation, and the need to address a com-munity’s basic human needs first. It was acknowledgedthat community leaders can create challenges in communityengagement by the decisions that they make, and thatfrequent changes of leaders means projects have to startover with re-engagement of leadership. Funding is alwaysa key challenge with any conservation effort, but is par-ticularly challenging when seeking to work across differentsectors for a conservation objective.

Initiative for the conservation of coastal wetlandsand shorebirds at the arid Pacific coast of SouthAmerica: Development of an Action Plan

Organized by Elier Tabilo-Valdivieso, Johannes Burmeisterand Cesar Chávez-Villavicencio

e coastal wetlands of the arid coast of the SouthAmerican Pacific are sites of great ecological value andvital importance for numerous shorebirds. ey comprisea chain of river mouths, lagoons, estuaries, and shallowbays, along a coastal stretch of more than 4,000 kmbetween southern Ecuador and central Chile. is is thecoastline of the Humboldt Current Large Marine Ecosystem,which has exceptional marine productivity, and a distinctiveterrestrial ecosystem. e landscape is dominated bycoastal deserts and xeric scrublands, crossed by transversevalleys of the western slope of the Andes. ey are par-ticularly fragile sites, subject to tsunamis, the El Niño-Southern Oscillation phenomenon, high anthropogenicpressure, and climate change.

e Chilean NGO Centro Neotropical de Entrenamientoen Humedales (CNEH) and the German foundationManfred-Hermsen-Stiung (MHS) are committed tojointly promote the protection of fragile and valuableecosystems in Latin America, including this chain ofcoastal wetlands. For this reason, we are looking to createa regional initiative, on a scale of this coastal ecoregion,which extends from Chile to Peru and Ecuador, to conservethe chain of coastal wetlands of the South AmericanPacific, promoted by a network of local stakeholders fromthe academic, governmental, NGO, and private sectors.e workshop worked on an Action Plan for this initiativeto promote an integral approach to coastal wetland con-servation with respect to water management, soil use,and adaption to climate change. We hope to establish amultilateral framework at the ecoregion scale for the pro-tection of these coastal wetlands and their avifauna,design a conservation program for the entire chain ofwetlands and respective management plans, and supportthe implementation of relevant international conventions.

In the workshop, presentations were given by CNEH andMHS, and by Ben Haase from Ecuador and Daniel ValleBasto from Peru. Subsequently, a dra of the futureAction Plan was jointly revised with the group and newelements added.

e main focuses of the dra Action Plan are: 1) tofacilitate knowledge about the chain of wetlands, 2) tostrengthen their governance, and 3) to improve theirmanagement. Future challenges include strengtheningthe network of stakeholders, coordinating activities withthe respective authorities, and creating, jointly with otherstakeholders, a program to enhance knowledge andrespond to the real needs for conservation of these coastalwetlands and their avifauna along this part of the coast ofthe Western Hemisphere.

Tools for the conservation of migratory shorebirdpopulations: monitoring physical condition ofindividuals

Organized by Verónica D’Amico

e conservation of migratory shorebirds presents majorchallenges related mainly to habitat loss, climate change,risk of acquisition of parasites and pathogens, increasingnumbers of predators and changes in the availability offood in the sites they use. ese factors are some of thoseresponsible for trends in shorebird populations aroundthe world. While efforts have been made throughout theAmericas to conserve habitats and sustain populations ofshorebird species in recent years, many populationscontinue to show serious declines. One of the diagnostictools of the state of an animal population is monitoringthe physical condition of individuals.

Migratory flights are periods of high energy demand, andtherefore birds must be in optimal physical condition tobe able to face them successfully, to reach the nesting sitesand to assure their survival. Birds in poor physicalcondition may need to stopover at more unknown sites,increasing their exposure to predators and immune-compromised states, which imply that they would bemore likely to develop parasitic infections or diseasescaused by pathogens during their migrations. us, basicdata on the general physical condition of shorebirds arekey for conservation decisions and the planning ofconservation strategies, and consequently for harmo-nizing natural events with human activities. erefore, themain objective of the symposium was to highlight currentresearch on the monitoring of the physical condition ofmigratory shorebirds as a diagnostic tool for determiningtheir population status.

ere were presentations related to hematological param-eters proposed as indicators of the physical condition ofbirds during migration, reproduction and over-summering, the risk of acquisition of parasites andpathogens during migration and the ecological and healthimplications of parasitic helminths. e use of these indi-cators has gained importance because they can provideearly evidence of changes in the status of individuals, evenbefore their reproductive or survival capacity is affected,

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thus allowing the problem to be detected sooner and miti-gation measures to be taken. In this way they becomeimportant tools for the generation of conservation actionsby the management entities, in those places where thebirds are most vulnerable.

Study of Shorebirds in Peru

Organized by Yaquelin Tenorio

Peru is an important country for shorebirds, supportingaround 52 species. More than 20 years ago, the communityof Peruvian shorebird researchers recognized a lack of

knowledge of these species in the country. is symposiumwas organized to enable scientists and other interestedparties to discuss and share the problems that shorebirdsare experiencing in Peru. On the last day of the conference,five talks were presented, each describing studies thatwere carried out along the coast of Peru. e talks coveredgeneral surveys, factors affecting the shorebirds that breedin Peru, the morphological characteristics of calidridines,non-breeding stopover site ecology, and publicizing theimportance of the collaboration of work teams to enhancethe capabilities of researchers.

Thanks to our reviewers

e editors of Wader Study record their thanks to the following for their reviews of papers that appear in thisissue: Yahkat Barshep, Teresa Catry, Sujan Chatterjee, Sayam Chowdhury, Steve Dodd, Bob Douthwaite, BrunoEns, David Gonçalves, Patricia González, Ariam Jiménez, Vladimir Morozov, Erica Nol, Philip Round, DanRuthrauff, Jennifer Smart, Colin Trainor, and Tom Virzi.

All 189 participants from 23 countries at the Seventh Western Hemisphere Shorebird Group meeting, Paracas, Peru,November 2017.