[mou] International Shorebird Surveys through the web

[Paul Budde]

If you have interest and believe you are qualified to take on the role =
described below, please respond directly to the ISS coordinator at =
Manomet.

Paul Budde

________________________________________
From: mou-net-owner@cbs.umn.edu [mailto:mou-net-owner@cbs.umn.edu] On =
Behalf Of Archer Larned
Sent: Friday, January 13, 2006 10:37 AM
To: mou-net-owner@cbs.umn.edu
Subject: International Shorebird Surveys through the web

HELPING SHOREBIRD CONSERVATION - International Shorebird Surveys through =
the Web.

To Whom It May Concern:

Populations of many kinds of shorebirds worldwide are declining, some at =
alarming rates predicted to end with endangerment within 15 years.=A0 =
Unfortunately, our ability to detect these population changes is poor =
because we do not have adequate count information to work with, this in =
spite of long-term projects such as our International Shorebird Surveys =
that have been collecting counts since 1974.

Although other efforts are being made to estimate population sizes (and =
change) based on Arctic surveys, these have been very expensive, are =
unlikely to be economically sustainable, and evidently are less precise =
and less useful for tracking population change than originally =
envisioned.=A0 Quite simply, we need to find a better way that has =
potential for providing urgently needed data.=A0 The conundrum is that =
most kinds of North American shorebirds breed at remote, Arctic =
locations where it is difficult and expensive to collect population =
monitoring information.=A0 Also, most species spend winter non-breeding =
seasons at widely dispersed, remote, and poorly known (ornithologically =
speaking) regions in South America.=20

Conceptually, collection of count information during migration seasons =
is the most practical strategy for monitoring populations from an =
economic standpoint.=A0 On the other hand, because shorebirds are also =
widely dispersed during migration, and may not use 'predictable' =
localities year to year, a geographically broad and extensive 'counting =
network' is needed to monitor for population change. This scale of work =
does not seem sustainable through professional networks due to high =
costs, but perhaps could be sustained through a volunteer network.

With changing communications (i.e. the internet), Manomet and the =
International Shorebird Survey believe there is an opportunity to =
improve on the ISS project by collecting information that is posted =
through bird chat lines.=A0 We would like to manage a 3-year test of =
this idea, while meanwhile maintaining the traditional ISS for =
comparison. What will be needed?

* Volunteer Coordinators,
* Broad geographic coverage during appropriate spans of dates,=20
* Monitoring of sites used by large numbers of shorebirds as well as =
other sites used by lesser numbers of birds, and
* Good descriptions of locations where counts are made.


With this letter we are looking for volunteers to act as primary =
'Coordinators' between the ISS project and their local birder =
chatline(s).

We will ask volunteer Coordinators to:=20

o (a)promote posting of complete shorebird counts on the chatline that =
they monitor,=20
o (b) to coordinate collection of=A0 posted counts, and
o (c) to review counts and deliver acceptable ones to the ISS.

Would you be willing to help?=A0 Please contact the ISS Coordinator at =
Manomet=20

ISS@MANOMET.ORG

Thanks for considering our request for help.

Brian Harrington
Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences=20
PO Box 1770, 81 Stage Pt Rd
Manomet, MA 02345
=A0
bharr@manomet.org=A0=A0=20
tel 508/224-6521, fax 224-9220
web site www.manomet.org
research updates www.shorebirdworld.org