Society of Wetland Scientists
Professional Certification Program
WE ARE THE INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION THAT HAS BEEN
CERTIFYING PROFESSIONAL WETLAND SCIENTISTS SINCE 1994

Home

Professional Short Courses

COURSE INFO PROVIDER: SWSPCP Webinar
COURSE TITLE: The Central American Waterbird Census: the first ten years 2011–2020

INSTRUCTORS John van Dort
Arne Lesterhuis

COURSE DESCRIPTION The Central American Waterbird Census: the first ten years 2011–2020
John van Dort and Arne Lesterhuis
December 12, 2022

ABSTRACT:
The Central American Waterbird Census, based on the Neotropical Waterbird Census, has been collecting annual data on the region's 132 waterbird species, including 38 shorebird species, since 2011. The program grew from modest beginnings, with only a few count sites in 2011, to encompass more than 200 sites in all seven Central American countries and southern Mexico over the past few years. Between 2011 and 2020, the sites were surveyed once a year during the boreal winter. Using the R-package rtrim, designed to estimate population trends from annual counts at a collection of sites with missing observations, we analyzed population trends for 92 waterbird species during the period with greatest effort, 2015–2020. We found increasing population trends for 45 species of 15 families, stable population trends for 20 species of 9 families, and declining population trends for 27 species of 12 families. For six families we found declines for half or more of the species: Podicipedidae; Charadriidae; Ciconiidae; Fregatidae; Anhingidae; and Phalacrocoridae. Most of the species we analyzed are classified under the IUCN Red List as Least Concern, but five species are classified as Near Threatened. Our analyses suggest that two of them are stable and three are declining. The three species of conservation interest in decline in Central America are Calidris canutus (Scolopacidae), Thalasseus elegans (Laridae), and Egretta rufescens (Ardeidae). This is the first analysis of regional trends for waterbirds in Central America and may be instrumental in prioritizing regional needs in waterbird conservation.

John van Dort BIO:
John has worked in bird conservation in Central America since 2006. He participated in waterfowl counts in his home country of the Netherlands during the 1980s and 1990s. Between 2011 and 2022, he worked at the Zamorano Biodiversity Center as an environmental impact researcher at various wind farms in Honduras. Since 2012, John has been the administrator of the eBird Central America portal, where he has contributed dozens of articles. Since 2012 he has contributed to the Central American Census of Aquatic Birds in Honduras. Since 2014, he has carried out waterfowl counts in Honduras within the framework of the MSP project, an annual census throughout the entire Pacific migratory route between Alaska and Tierra del Fuego. He organized trinational shorebird counts in the Gulf of Fonseca, an area shared between El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua, in 2017 and 2018. Since 2020 he is an associate editor of Birds of the World, a Cornell Lab of Ornithology project. He is part of the scientific committee of Aves Honduras, the Honduran Association of Ornithology. John has an M.A. from Boston University in English Literature.

Arne Lesterhuis BIO:
Arne has been working on bird conservation in the Americas for over 15 years, starting his career as a volunteer working for Guyra Paraguay, when he coordinated a project on Nearctic migrants in Paraguay, thereby triggering his interest in shorebirds. He initially gained experience in the field of bird conservation at a Paraguayan and international level working for Guyra Paraguay, but then for Wetlands International (America’s office) as regional coordinator of the Neotropical Waterbird Census and as Species Officer for the BirdLife International Americas Secretariat.

Shorebirds have been a prominent factor in most of his work. While working for Guyra Paraguay (2000-2008), he coordinated and led the implementation of shorebird research and conservation projects. As a Species Officer for BirdLife International (2009-2015), he supported the development of BirdLife’s Flyways program in the Americas, including the identification of priority species and sites, and led an analysis of candidate WHSRN sites in the Americas. Arne is the lead author/co-author of four Manomet shorebird conservation plans (American Oystercatcher, American Golden Plover, Lesser Yellowlegs, and Wilson’s Phalarope).

Arne has a B.Sc. in Wildlife Management (Van Hall Larenstein, University of Applied Sciences, Holland) and is based in Asuncion, Paraguay.

Credit Points: 0.06

SYLLABUS/TOPICAL OUTLINE Introduction (5 minutes) Methodology (10 minutes) Case Study (30 minutes) Questions and Answers (15 minutes)

COURSE CONTACT

Louis Mantini
9225 CR49, Live Oak, FL, FL 32060
lfm@srwmd.org
P: 13866974891
F:

Certification Information

ProfessionalWetland Scientist

Resources

Professional Short Courses

Professional
Wetland Scientist