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The mission of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. Toward fulfillment of that mission, a priority of the USFWS is conservation and management of migratory birds. Effective conservation actions to ensure the continued existence of a species on the landscape cannot be designed without first understanding basic life history characteristics of a species. It is common in the case of migratory birds, that we lack understanding of some of their elemental biological traits. The Marbled Godwit, Limosa fedoa, is one such species where we lack information and understanding of the birds ecology. The Marbled Godwit has been identified as a species of high conservation concern by USFWS and its many partners. Concern is warranted as the estimated global population is relatively small (173,500) coupled with significant loss and degradation of its breeding and wintering habitats. However, in order to assess where to focus conservation action that would provide the most benefit to the overall population first we need to learn more about its population trends and ecology. In this study, USFWS, Utah State University and many other partners propose a multi-year, $150,000 project to characterize the biogeography of Marbled Godwit populations. Using the latest technology in miniature satellite transmitters, we will determine migration routes, timing, distances, speed and duration. We will also determine the connectivity or the links between the major breeding, staging, wintering and stopover areas. Unraveling this mystery will help us identify key habitats for protection and allow us to examine the risks or threats that each subpopulation is exposed to throughout the annual cycle. The connectivity among and between disparate breeding subpopulations of North American Marbled Godwit is also the initial step in designing future studies to further understand population dynamics of the species. |
