Northward migration of Red Knots Calidris canutus rufa and environment connectivity of southern Brazil to Canada

Antônio Coimbra De Brum, Júlia Victória Grohmann Finger, Richard G. Lathrop, Stephanie Feigin, Joseph Smith, Lawrence Joseph Niles, Maria Virginia Petry

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

During their northward migration, Red Knots Calidris canutus rufa stop at the Lagoa do Peixe National Park in the extreme south of Brazil to build up fat reserves for their journey to their Canadian breeding grounds. We tracked five Red Knots with PinPoint Argos-75 GPS transmitters to investigate differences in migration strategies from this stopover. Tracked birds used two different routes: the Central Brazil route and the Brazilian Atlantic Coast route. One bird flew 8,300 km straight from Lagoa do Peixe to the Delaware Bay (USA). Another bird stopped in Maranhão (north-east Brazil) and a third one used a yet unknown environment for the species, the mouth of the Amazon River at Baía Santa Rosa, Brazil. These two birds made short flights, covering stretches of 1,600 km to 3,600 km between stop-overs, where they stayed from 4 to 18 days. Our study highlights the occurrence of intrapopulation variation in migratory strategies and reveals the connectivity of environments that are essential for the viability of rufa Red Knot populations.

Original languageAmerican English
JournalBird Conservation International
Volume34
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 16 2024

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Ecology
  • Animal Science and Zoology
  • Nature and Landscape Conservation

Keywords

  • Monitoring
  • Nearctic
  • Route
  • Shorebirds
  • Tracking

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