van de Pol, Martijn, Atkinson, Phil, Blew, Jan, Crowe, Olivia, Delany, Simon, Duriez, Olivier, Ens, Bruno J., Halterlein, Bernd, Hötker, Herman, Laursen, Karsten, Oosterbeek, Kees, Petersen, Aevar, Thorup, Ole, Tjørve, Kathleen, Triplet, Patrick, and Yésou, Pierre (2014) A global assessment of the conservation status of the nominate subspecies of Eurasian Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus ostralegus. International Wader Studies, 20. pp. 47-61.

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Abstract

The nominate subspecies of Eurasian Oystercatchers Haematopus ostralegus ostralegus is the most abundant of all oystercatchers and the best studied. The main breeding and wintering areas are centered on the North Sea, but the distribution covers the European Atlantic coast to as far south as Ghana in western Africa. Population size increased strongly from the 1960s to 1990s to over one million birds. Although part of this expansion may have been caused by an ongoing successful adaptation to breeding inland, the main driving forces behind this increase are not well understood. Subsequently, the population size decreased substantially by about 200,000 individuals, mainly due to strong decreases in the Dutch-German-Danish Wadden Sea area. The decrease in the Netherlands is attributed largely to overexploitation by mechanical shell-fisheries; additional factors such as agricultural intensification and reduced eutrophication are likely to also have contributed. The causes for the decreases in Germany and Denmark are less well understood and urgently require further study. In other areas numbers are fairly stable or increasing, but good data for the Nordic countries are lacking. The global (and national) conservation status of H. o. ostralegus is classified as of ‘Least Concern’. We discuss other threats, such as habitat loss, climate change, hunting and human disturbance, and make prioritized recommendations for research and management.

Item ID:	80077
Item Type:	Article (Research - C1)
ISSN:	1354-9944
Date Deposited:	31 Aug 2023 04:50
FoR Codes:	31 BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES > 3103 Ecology > 310307 Population ecology @ 100%
SEO Codes:	19 ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY, CLIMATE CHANGE AND NATURAL HAZARDS > 1999 Other environmental policy, climate change and natural hazards > 199999 Other environmental policy, climate change and natural hazards not elsewhere classified @ 100%
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