Conservation of Migratory Birds in the Tropics

Abstract

Migratory birds have been a major focus in avian conservation biology over the last three decades, as suggested by the large number of books, symposia, and multi-authored review articles published on their ecology and conservation (e.g. Keast and Morton 1980; Terborgh 1989; Crick and Jones 1992; Hagan and Johnson 1992; Monkkonen et al. 1992; Rappole 1995; Martin and Finch 1995; Able 1999; Faaborg 2002; Greenberg and Marra 2005; Ralph and Rich 2005; Stutchbury 2007; Faaborg et al. 2010a,b). Terborgh’s (1989) book, evocatively titled “Where Have All the Birds Gone?” exemplifies the high level of concern over Overview: There are more than 500 species of birds numbering in the billions of individuals that spend the non-breeding season in the tropics. These birds occur in virtually all habitats, even severely human-modified habitats such as agroecosystems, and play crucial roles in tropical ecosystems. Conserving migratory birds has become a major focus of global avian conservation efforts aimed largely at preserving their abundance rather than preventing extinction, but is very difficult because loss and degradation of habitat on breeding, wintering and migratory stopover habitats can all cause population declines. Conserving migratory birds therefore requires large-scale conservation efforts that consider migratory connectivity between breeding and winter grounds, the possibility of effective conservation in at least some agroecosystems (e.g. shade coffee and cacao), and on transboundary acquisition of pesticides and pathogens.