2026/02/01 by Glenda D. Hevia · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Avian ecology and behavior #Bat Biology and Ecology Studies #Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies #Foraging #Habitat #Intertidal zone #Nest (protein structural motif) #Plover #Population #Psychological resilience #Shore #Wildlife
paper · doi:10.1111/aec.70190
published in Austral Ecology 51(2) (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2026/02/01 · openalex created_date 2026/02/23 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
ABSTRACT I report a male Two‐banded Plover ( Anarhynchus falklandicus ) nearing 20 years of age, likely the oldest shorebird recorded to date that breeds exclusively in the Neotropics. First captured while incubating a nest in November 2006, he was last resighted in July 2024 on the same gravel beach (Playa Paraná) in northern Chubut, Patagonia, Argentina. Assuming he was 2–3 years old at banding, his age in 2024 likely exceeded 19 years. Between 2008 and 2024 the bird was resighted 18 times, all within 3 km of its core nesting territory, including three recent, photographically confirmed records in 2022–2024. The final sighting occurred in an intertidal marsh, where he foraged with a mixed‐age flock of ~250 conspecifics. Over nearly two decades, this individual exhibited strong site fidelity, repeated breeding and behavioural resilience to chronic human disturbance. Observations of other marked plovers—some at least 9 years old—support the hypothesis that three spatial strategies occur within the population: year‐round residency, short‐range dispersal, and potential partial migration. These findings underscore the ecological value of disturbed yet resource‐rich shorelines and suggest that long‐lived, site‐faithful individuals may disproportionately contribute to population persistence, and highlight the need to manage both breeding and foraging habitats along Patagonian coasts.