Data and code from: Coastal shorebirds delay maturity more than inland ones

Full description

On the basis of data from summer and winter counts of shorebirds, recaptures, and long-term banding studies from non-breeding grounds in Australia, we assess the age of first return migration (as a measure of maturity) and provide a comparative analysis of its association with habitat use (contrasting coastal and inland wetland habitats). Age structure: We used data from long-term banding studies of migratory shorebirds to describe the age structure of shorebird populations in south-eastern and north-western Australia during the breeding period. We analysed data collected between 1980 and 2005. Austral summer and winter comparisons:  We obtained data on winter-summer ratios from two sources. Shorebirds at key Australian sites are counted annually (Birdlife Australia 2020) during the austral summer (usually in January) and austral winter (June or early July). We analysed data collected between 1980 and 2005, when counts were carried out for the Population Monitoring Project of the Australasian Wader Studies Group. Ecological and life‐history traits: We assembled species-specific data on ecological and life‐history traits that may associate with age at maturity: non-breeding habitat, migration distance, breeding latitude and body size. Each species was classified into one of three categories of non-breeding habitat in Australia: ‘inland’ for species typically occurring in freshwater or other inland habitats; ‘coastal’ for species typically restricted to coastal habitats; and ‘mixed’ for species that use both habitats. This dataset is used for the statistical analyses shown in the article and the R code provided here.

Notes

External Organisations
Charles Sturt University; University of Groningen; Victorian Wader Study Group; Australasian Wader Studies Group; BirdLife Australia; Universidad de Extremadura

Associated Persons
Danny Rogers (Creator); Theunis Piersma (Creator); Clive Minton (Creator); Adrian Boyle (Creator); Chris Hassell (Creator); Ken Rogers (Creator); Andrew Silcocks (Creator); Jorge Gutiérrez (Creator)