Afonso Rocha, researcher at CESAM/DBIO, was the guest of the Science Cast podcast, where he shared his research on migratory shorebirds and the challenges they face along their international routes.
During the episode, Afonso Rocha discussed his work on migratory strategies, feeding ecology, and physiology of shorebirds, groups of birds that travel thousands of kilometres between breeding sites in Northern Europe and wintering areas in Africa. The researcher also highlighted the importance of understanding the connectivity between coastal wetlands, such as estuaries and saltpans, to ensure the conservation of these species along the East Atlantic Flyway.
“These birds depend on a global network of coastal habitats. If we lose one of these critical sites, we compromise the entire migratory journey,” explained Afonso Rocha on the podcast.
His research combines bird ringing, telemetry, and the analysis of biological markers to map migratory routes and identify key stopover sites used by the species. His work has contributed to assessing the impacts of climate change, habitat degradation, and land-use change on these populations, providing essential data to guide conservation policies in Portugal and other countries.
The full episode is available here.