A framework for linking hemispheric, full annual cycle prioritizations to local conservation actions for migratory birds

• Published in: Conservation science and practice Vol. 5; no. 8
• Main Authors: DeLuca, William V., Seavy, Nathaniel E., Grand, Joanna, Velásquez‐Tibatá, Jorge, Taylor, Lotem, Bowler, Cat, Deppe, Jill L., Knight, Erika J., Lentijo, Gloria M., Meehan, Timothy D., Michel, Nicole L., Saunders, Sarah P., Schillerstrom, Nolan, Smith, Melanie A., Witko, Chad, Wilsey, Chad B.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.08.2023; John Wiley & Sons, Inc; Wiley
• Subjects: Aquatic birds; Bats; Bird migration; Conservation; Decision making; Ecology; Marshes; migration; Migratory birds; migratory connectivity; Priorities; Regional development; resident birds; spatial prioritization; tracking; zonation; North America
• ISSN: 2578-4854; 2578-4854
• DOI: 10.1111/csp2.12975

The conservation of migratory birds poses a fundamental challenge, their conservation requires coordinated action across the hemisphere, but those actions must be designed and implemented locally. To address this challenge, we describe a multilevel framework for linking broad‐scale, full annual cycle prioritizations to local conservation actions for migratory birds. We developed hemisphere‐scale spatial prioritizations for the full annual cycle of migratory birds that breed in six different ecosystems in North America. The full annual cycle prioritizations provide a hemispheric context within which regional priorities can be identified. Finer resolution, regional prioritizations can then inform local conservation actions more effectively. We describe the importance of local conservation practitioner contributions at each level of the process and provide two examples of regional spatial prioritizations that were developed to guide local action. The first example focused on coastal North and South Carolina, USA, and used information on marsh birds, shorebirds, ecological integrity, and co‐benefits for people to identify Cape Romain, South Carolina as a high‐priority site for conservation action. The second example in Colombia used information on migrant and resident birds to identify the Cauca Valley as a high‐priority site. The multilevel conceptual framework we describe is one pathway for identifying sites for implementation of local conservation actions that are guided by conservation priorities for migratory birds across their full annual cycle. A fundamental challenge to migratory bird conservation is translating global scale processes to localized conservation actions. Here we describe a multilevel framework for using hemisphere‐scale, full annual cycle spatial prioritizations to inform on‐the‐ground conservation actions. Our framework illustrates how multi‐scale conservation planning can bring conservation practitioners together to develop locally relevant conservation plans that are in the context of hemispheric perspectives.