Hansenetal_Ramsar_shorebird_summaries_AUS_NZ_August2020

This dataset describes the results of a comprehensive review of long-term shorebird monitoring at Australian and New Zealand Ramsar sites. The review was conducted using an online literature search (from 2010 onwards) to compile information for individual site-based studies from published and unpublished sources (i.e. “grey literature”). Field researchers known to be working at particular sites were contacted by email to obtain data and information from additional monitoring initiatives. The review also included data and modelling results from the most recent Australia-wide assessment of waterbird populations, the Australian Bird Index 2 (ABI2), which analysed shorebird population trends at individual Ramsar sites (Clemens et al. 2019).

The review included all available Ramsar documentation relating to individual Ramsar sites in Australia and New Zealand. Original Ramsar Information Statements (RIS) and Ecological Character Descriptions (ECD) were accessed through the Ramsar Sites Information Service and the Australian Government Ramsar website, respectively. This information was used to determine which sites were nominated on the basis of one or more shorebird species (or subspecies) under Criterion 6. Other included information was the population counts or values (i.e. total abundance or proportion of flyway population) for individual listed taxa that supported the nomination (if available), Limits of Acceptable Change (LAC) (where quantified for individual species), and any documented changes in LAC from previous assessments. More details on data fields and references can be found under the “Metadata” tab in the Excel spreadsheet.