Research Project
Researchers:
Bennett Paul Stolze
(principalInvestigator)
,
Marcel Klaassen
(Point of contact, principalInvestigator)
,
Prof Marcel Klaassen
(Point of contact, principalInvestigator)
,
Professor Marcel Klaassen
(Point of contact, principalInvestigator)
,
Sara Ryding
(Point of contact, principalInvestigator)
View all 7 related researchers
Full description Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) is endemic in many countries along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF). Shorebirds are noted carriers of avian influenza [1], making them likely candidates to not only fall victim to the increasingly alarming HPAI panzootic [2, 3], but also cause incursions of the virus into Australia [4]. Understanding the current and future migratory connectivity of different Australian shorebird populations within sites along their flyway is required to better predict and mitigate disease incursion risks. Such detailed knowledge will allow prediction of precise geographical pathways through which HPAI may spread through the flyway and ultimately arrive at an Australian migratory terminus. Due to the importance of migratory behaviours when predicting HPAI incursion risk this project will: Aim 1: Understand how migration timing has changed in Australian shorebirds, and to what extent different shorebird populations use different sites along the flyway and within the breeding ranges - investigate past changes in migration timing, networks, and connectivity in a set of key Australian shorebirds. Investigating changes in migration timing will show how migration behaviour changes as a function of global change processes. Predicting migration timing will enable directed disease response protocols at likely Australian arrival sites during key times. Identifying chains of wetlands along the migratory route in East Asia and the connectivity of the breeding ranges will enable more focused tracking of potential HPAI hotspots for an earlier warning sign of when (and where) HPAI may enter Australia. Furthermore, identifying migratory connectivity and how this differs between populations can tell us where Australian shorebirds are likely to contract and potentially introduce HPAI into Australia. Aim 2: Building a tool to predict shorebird migrations and potential virus transport into Australia under different climate-, habitat, and socio-economical change scenarios. - Build on the outcomes of Aim 1 by modelling shorebird migrations to build a tool to predict changes going forward, using a range of climate and socio-economic scenarios (Aim 2). Modelling migrations in this way will allow for a future-focused perspective of how we expect populations to continue responding, thus allowing disease incursion management and mitigation strategies to be created in lieu of what is to come, rather than what has already occurred. Planned outputs: (i) rates of migration timing change in shorebirds (and impacts of this on demographic rates) (ii) connectivity between sites in the flyway (iii) dispersal of populations across the breeding range (iv) a tool to forecast migration behaviour under future scenarios.
Lineage Maintenance and Update Frequency: asNeeded
Lineage
Notes
Credit
The data collections described in this record are funded by the Australian Government Department of Climate Change, the Environment, Energy & Water (DCCEEW) through the NESP Marine and Coastal Hub. In addition to NESP (DCCEEW) funding, this project is matched by an equivalent amount of in-kind support and co-investment from project partners and collaborators.
Data time period: 2024-11-18 to 2026-11-20
- RAID : 10.82210/162fda4d
- global : 25d76d44-414e-4022-a947-dde07ebb6b6a