José Alves, a researcher at CESAM/DBIO, is a co-author of a review article recently published in Conservation Biology, one of the most prestigious international scientific journals in the field of Conservation Biology.
This work brings together and critically analyses the available evidence on the remote tracking of migratory shorebirds at a global scale, integrating previously scattered contributions from the literature and providing an up-to-date overview of the current state of knowledge.
A total of 351 publications containing relevant tracking data were identified, covering 195 species from 10 families of shorebirds. In addition, searches in the Movebank database revealed further species that have not yet appeared in the published literature. Overall, the study showed that for 50% of the species analysed there were no available tracking data, and that research efforts to date have been biased towards temperate regions and migratory routes that include wealthier countries. Somewhat surprisingly, only 26.9% of publications reported archiving their data in an online repository. Although this proportion has increased over time, the results highlight that dedicated efforts to preserve and properly archive older datasets would be particularly valuable.
The study also identifies 16 shorebird species whose conservation needs, combined with the scarcity of available data, make them high priorities for future tracking studies. While some of these are non-migratory species, largely with restricted distributions (e.g. Gallinago imperialis), others have very extensive ranges typical of migratory shorebirds (e.g. Calidris ferruginea).
At a time when conservation decisions increasingly rely on robust and transparent syntheses of scientific evidence, this type of article is especially valuable. It supports the development of conservation strategies, guides new research directions, and strengthens the link between academic research and practical application, making science more accessible and useful for researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers.
Full article here.