DOI: 10.5061/dryad.f2g5f49
title: Data from: Filling knowledge gaps in a threatened shorebird flyway through satellite tracking

description: 1. Satellite-based technologies that track individual animal movements
 enable the mapping of their spatial and temporal patterns of occurrence.
 This is particularly useful in poorly studied or remote regions where
 there is a need for the rapid gathering of relevant ecological knowledge
 to inform management actions. One such region is East Asia, where many
 intertidal habitats are being degraded at unprecedented rates and
 shorebird populations relying on these habitats show rapid declines. 2. We
 examine the utility of satellite tracking to accelerate the identification
 of coastal sites of conservation importance in the East Asian-Australasian
 Flyway. In 2015–2017 we used solar-powered satellite transmitters to track
 the migration of 32 great knots (Calidris tenuirostris), an ‘Endangered’
 shorebird species widely distributed in the Flyway and fully dependent on
 intertidal habitats for foraging during the non-breeding season. 3. From
 the great knot tracks, a total of 92 stopping sites along the Flyway were
 identified. Surprisingly, 63% of these sites were not known as important
 shorebird sites before our study; in fact, every one of the tracked
 individuals used sites that were previously unrecognized. 4. Site
 knowledge from on-ground studies in the Flyway is most complete for the
 Yellow Sea and generally lacking for Southeast Asia, Southern China, and
 Eastern Russia. 5. Policy implications: Satellite tracking highlighted
 coastal habitats that are potentially important for shorebirds but lack
 ecological information and conservation recognition, such as those in
 Southern China and Southeast Asia. At the same time, the distributional
 data of tracked individuals can direct on-ground surveys at the
 lesser-known sites to collect information on bird numbers and habitat
 characteristics. To recognize and subsequently protect valuable coastal
 habitats, filling knowledge gaps by integrating bird tracking with
 ground-based methods should be prioritized.19-Jun-2019
description: Stopping sites and
 stopover timing of satellite-tracked great knots in East
 AsiaThe datafile contains
 coastal stopping sites of great knots tracked with solar Argos satellite
 transmitters during 2015-2017, and their respective arrival and departure
 times at each site. The transmitters were deployed in Roebuck Bay,
 Australia, and were operating on an 8 h on and 25 h off duty cycle. For
 further details, see README file.Chan etal 2019 Stops and
 timing.csvIndividual encounter
 histories of great knots with and without satellite
 transmittersThe datafile contains
 the encounter histories of individually marked adult great knots (Calidris
 tenuirostris) with or without a satellite transmitters (denoted by the
 column 'tag') that were resighted at their primary non-breeding
 area Roebuck Bay between 2015-2018. All birds were caught in Roebuck Bay
 in September and October 2014-2016 using cannon-netting, individually
 marked with 4 coloured bands and a flag. The resightings were pooled into
 boreal winter years, where July 2015–June 2016 is referred to as winter
 year 2015. Within each year, the individual can either be seen (1) or not
 seen (0).ch_GK_tag.txt