How shorebird migration welfare depends on a chain of intact stopover habitats and the conservation threats to these critical sites.
Shorebird migration welfare is determined by a chain of suitable stopover habitats separated by thousands of kilometers. Individual birds arriving at depleted stopover sites face energy deficits that compromise their ability to complete migration, leading to mortality from exhaustion or predation in weakened condition. The welfare consequences of habitat loss at a single critical stopover can cascade to affect entire flyway populations. Horseshoe crab egg depletion at Delaware Bay provides a clear example: red knots unable to fuel sufficiently at this site cannot complete Arctic migration, leading to breeding failure and population decline. Conservation of flyway networks requires international coordination across countries sharing migratory bird species.