THE CRITICAL EFFECTECT OF JOINT RESEARCH BETWEEN RUSSIA AND NE CHINA ON CONSERVATION OF MIGRATORY LANDBIRDS IN THE EAST ASIAN FLYWAY

Abstract

Climate change, habitat loss, landscape change and other forms of human-caused mortality have contribute to local bird population extinctions in many common bird species in the Anthropocence [1, 2], which will have negative effects on ecosystem functioning and services even before we investigate them [3]. The decline of migratory species has caused global conservation concern across the world’s major flyways [4], which has been well documented in North America [5] and Europe [6]. However, the migration ecology of East Asian landbirds is still inadequately known, though there are nearly 400 migratоry landbird species in this flyway which is the most diverse among all the world’s flyways [7]. The East Asia Flyway also supports the most diverse and highest number of threatened bird species like buntings (Emberizidae) and other longdistance migrants breeding in NE China, Russia and other European countries. In this presentation, I will take the critically endangered species of Yellow-breasted Bunting Emberiza aureola as an example, which is one of our joint research that collaborated with the ornithologists from Russia, and other Northeast Asia countries, to address (1) how important it is to integrate different researchers from NE Asian and particularly the joint collaboration between Russian and China, and (2) what can we do, if we want to understand the threats affecting species and their ecological requirements, by which the future conservation actions can also benefit other bird species facing similar threats.