Shorebirds display great variation in mating systems and breed in dynamic environments that are increasingly subject to human threats worldwide. In order to adequately assess productivity and demography of shorebird populations, it is important to understand factors that influence patterns of parental care and reproductive success. The Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus...
Despite their inherent importance and utility as ecological examples, island species are among the most endangered and least studied groups. Guam Micronesian Kingfishers (Halcyon cinnamomina cinnamomina) exemplify the plight of insular biota as a critically endangered and understudied island bird that went extinct in the wild before they could be...
Understanding how wetland birds use habitat is pivotal to developing successful and
beneficial conservation strategies. Although it has been an ardent topic in forest
research for some time, how species interact with the spatial patterning of habitat
across a landscape (i.e., landscape structure) has been more or less neglected in...
Avian movement behavior provides insight on patterns of regional and local fidelity, habitat and resource requirements, the scale at which individuals perceive the landscape, and the relative influence of the spatial array of resources. Shorebirds (suborder: Charadrii) are a diverse and mobile group of wetland associated species. Large numbers of...
The Mariana Swiftlet (Aerodramus bartschi) (Aves: Apodidae) is endemic to the Mariana Islands, where it currently occurs on Saipan, Aguiguan, and Guam. An introduced population of Mariana Swiftlets is also present on O'ahu in the Hawaiian Islands. Sparing interference with the endangered population in the Marianas, the introduced, surrogate population...
The endemic avifauna of Guam and the Mariana Islands represent a unique assemblage of bird species found nowhere else in the world and thus, are of considerable biological and conservation importance. Unfortunately, most of these species are understudied and exist in precariously low populations. The endangered Mariana Common Moorhen (Gallinula...
The number of endangered species is rapidly increasing while paucity of adequate information and resources delays establishment of conservation actions. The IUCN’s listing system is insufficient to determine conservation priorities and many species lack information even to be evaluated (i.e., “data deficient”). Here I proposed and tested the Rapid Endangered...
Island systems and species are susceptible to extinction because of their small population size and an ecological naiveté from an evolutionary past lacking strong competition and predation. For example, only one-fifth of the world’s bird species occur on islands, yet more than 90% of the avian extinctions witnessed during historic...