Stopover habitat: management implications and guidelines

Abstract

If persistence of migrant populations depends on the ability to find favorable conditions for survival throughout the annual cycle, factors associated with the en-route ecology of migrants must figure in any analysis of population change and in development of a comprehensive conservation "strategy." We view en-route habitat selection as a hierarchical process. Once migration routes are recognized and geographical variability in the route and timing are documented, important stopover habitat for Neotropical migrants can be delimited. The continent-wide pattern of migration concentrates migrants in relation to ecological barriers (e.g., the Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Mexico). Protection and management of habitats used by migrants in relation to ecological barriers should be a prominent conservation priority. How effectively migrants satisfy energy demands and meet en-route contingencies depends not only on the habitat's intrinsic suitability, but also on time and energy available for selecting among alternative habitats, relative availability of more suitable habitats, the migrant's searching efficiency and probability of survival during migration.

Parent Publication

• Status and management of neotropical migratory birds

Citation

Moore, Frank R.; Gauthreaux, Sidney A., Jr.; Kerlinger, Paul; Simons, Ted R. 1993. Stopover habitat: management implications and guidelines. In: Finch, Deborah M.; Stangel, Peter W. (eds.). Status and management of neotropical migratory birds: September 21-25, 1992, Estes Park, Colorado. Gen. Tech. Rep. RM-229. Fort Collins, Colo.: Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station, U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service: 58-69