Arctic Shorebirds


Is toxic pollution driving declines of arctic shorebirds?

As their name suggests, shorebirds, which include sandpipers, plovers, and curlews, are generally found on the shores of oceans, lakes and wetlands. When it comes time to breed, spectacular shorebird flocks complete some of the world's longest migrations to raise their young in one of the harshest environments on our continent: the Arctic tundra. Indeed, shorebirds are an exception to the Arctic's generally low biodiversity: roughly 30 million of the world's 100 million shorebirds breed in the Arctic (1).

Despite their apparent hardiness, shorebirds around the world are declining (2), including two thirds of Canadian species (3). Arctic-nesting shorebirds are especially vulnerable, due to the risks associated with their long migration (4) and the increased likelihood of habitat disturbance due to climate change (5, 6). The causes of shorebird declines remain a mystery, but one hypothesis is exposure to toxic pollutants.


Researcher Anna Hargreaves
banding a Red phalarope.

To protect shorebirds and halt their declines, we must find out:

•  which toxins they are accumulating
•  whether toxin concentrations approach harmful levels
•  when and where exposure occurs

To answer these questions, the Centre for Conservation Research will conduct field work on the remote arctic tundra the summer of 2008, studying the shorebirds that nest there. This study represents the first assessment of pollutants in shorebirds from Canada's Arctic islands, and will provide essential baseline data for future monitoring as well as critical insights into the role of pollutants in North American shorebird declines.

How you help

Fieldwork in the arctic and analyzing tissues for contaminants are both expensive. We are grateful to our partners in the Canadian Wildlife Service and Calgary Zoological Society for their support. To find out how you can support this important conservation project, click here .

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