| | Accession Number | 5003488 |
| | Title | A Conservation Plan for Colonial Waterbirds throughout North America, Central |
| | America, and the Caribbean |
| | Project Description | Aquatic birds face significant threats to the long term stability of their populations and habitats |
| | within North America due to such impacts as the destruction of freshwater wetlands; destruction |
| | and degradation of coastal ecosystems; depletion of the forage base in freshwater, coastal, and |
| | marine ecosystems; contaminants; sea level rise; and various conflicts with human land and |
| | resource use. For some species, these threats have resulted in declines in numbers. In other |
| | cases, these disturbances have resulted in colonial waterbird species becoming pests. Most of |
| | these species are found in suitable habitats throughout North America and many migrate into the |
| | Caribbean, and Central and South America. Therefore, maintaining North American populations of |
| | colonially-nesting aquatic birds at levels required for their long-term conservation in balance with |
| | human needs depends on inventory, monitoring, management action, and planning on a |
| | continental and international scale. This project will result in a conservation plan which, once |
| | implemented, will lead to long-term conservation of colonial waterbirds throughout their breeding, |
| | migratory, and wintering habitats. This conservation plan will be integrated with other bird |
| | conservation planning efforts, including Partners in Flight, US Shorebird Plan, and the North |
| | American Waterfowl Management Plan through the North American Bird Conservation Initiative. |
| | Keywords | canada, caribbean, central america, colonial waterbirds, conservation initiative, conservation plan, |
| | mexico, nabci, seabirds, waterbirds, |
| | Principal | Melanie J Steinkamp, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center: melanie_steinkamp@usgs.gov; |
| | Investigators | R. M Erwin, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center: rme5g@virginia.edu; |
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