Characteristics of sandy beaches used by resident shorebirds in Tasmania

Læst til 18.6.2015Across nations, sandy beaches are highly valued for their social and economic importance. They are especially important in Australia, where 80% of the population live within 100km of the coast and beaches are viewed as a national icon. Despite that fact, biodiversity and the environmental value of sandy beaches as ecosystems is often ignored. There has been lack of research on resident shorebirds and their habitat requirements, particularly regarding the importance of abiotic sandy beach characteristics for shorebirds. This study aimed at identifying important abiotic characteristics for selected breeding shorebird species in Tasmania, emphasising the underlying distribution and abundance patterns. Predictors were found to contribute to different extents for the three species investigated in this study, with the surf zone width being one of the most important abiotic predictors and invertebrate abundance the most important biotic predictors. Species-specific differences were also revealed with regards to all investigated variables and the distributions of the species among regions and beaches