Objective: maintain artificial ponds as roosting and foraging sites for shorebirds
Definitions
● Intertidal = the area between high and low tide.
● Nesting = when birds lay eggs and protect their chicks.
● Roosting = when birds are resting, sleeping or preening, i.e. this is an energy-
saving behaviour.
● Shorebirds = birds of the order Charadriiformes; includes waders, gulls and terns
that use coastal habitats for feeding, roosting and/or nesting.
1. Description
Many shorebirds will roost in man-made, artificial ponds, such as aquaculture ponds. Artificial ponds are not replacements for natural intertidal habitat, but it has been widely recognised that they act as supplementary roosting and feeding sites for shorebirds, especially when natural intertidal habitats are threatened by degradation or natural supratidal habitats (e.g. salt marsh, natural salt pans) have been lost (Ma et al. , 2010; Jackson et al. , 2020). Aspects of artificial ponds can be managed to improve their utility for shorebirds, such as the water level and vegetation cover. With the growing human population and resulting food demands, coastal areas around the world are being converted to aquaculture and salt ponds (Sun et al. , 2015; FAO, 2020). This conversion involves taking control of water management by embanking, removing vegetation and creating free-standing water bodies in place of the free-flowing water that would occur naturally. Both of these types of artificial ponds are regularly used by shorebirds for roosting at high tide, and in some cases also for foraging or nesting (Sripanomyom et al. , 2011; Li et al. , 2013; Green et al. , 2015). Therefore, their management should be considered alongside natural habitat creation and restoration. There are some concerns about the reliance of shorebirds on artificial wetlands in coastal areas (Jackson et al. , 2020). For example, if aquaculture or salt ponds fall out of use, or if they are converted to other land uses, shorebirds may be at risk (Green et al. , 2015; Jackson et al. , 2020). For instance, there is an increasing trend in China of placing solar farms over aquaculture ponds and tidal flats (David Melville & Spike Millington, pers. comm.). How these sites are managed for food production and economic benefit should be taken into consideration and integrated with shorebird conservation (Ma et al., 2010). Spatial as well as temporal aspects of management may be considered in favour of the value these habitats can bring for birds.
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