Breeding Waders in Europe: A Review of Population Size Estimates and a Bibliography of Information Sources
Breeding Waders in Europe: A Review of Population Size Estimates and a Bibliography of Information Sources.
International Wader Studies, Number 1
Compiled by Theunis Piersma
December, 1986.
Abstract
This is a review of population size estimates of all the Palearctic wader (Charadrii) species breeding in the greater part of Europe (Iceland, Faroe Islands, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Austria, Switzerland, East and West Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg, Great Britain, Ireland, France, north-east Spain and Portugal), plus Svalbard, north and east Greenland and Ellesmere Island. The review is based on published sources and on the results of the most recent surveys, supplied as unpublished material by national correspondents. A total of 37 wader species are included. Together they give a total of 6.5 million breeding wader pairs in Europe and a further 100 000 pairs in Svalbard, Greenland and Ellesmere Island. Species' totals range from 30 pairs (Terek Sandpiper) to 869 000 pairs (Lapwing). The completeness and accuracy of the surveys in the different countries varies greatly. For each species an annotated map, summarising the numerical distribution of breeding pairs over Europe, is given. In addition to the population size estimates, this document aims to list all published sources on which the estimates are based, and also to list all the recent (from 1950 onwards) publications on the breeding biology of waders in Europe. The bibliography consists o£ 3374 entries: 326 for breeding biological studies of general interest, 887 for species specific studies and 2161 for publications on breeding wader surveys, listed by country. The gaps in the current knowledge of the distribution, size and biology of European breeding wader populations are highlighted. This should stimulate and focus future work on breeding waders both in the areas covered by this review, and elsewhere in Europe.
