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Updated: Dec 30, 2025

A Video Surveillance System to Monitor Breeding Colonies of Common Terns Sterna Hirundo
Published on: July 22, 2018
Status and trends of tundra birds across the circumpolar Arctic
Paul A Smith1,2, Laura McKinnon3, Hans Meltofte4
1Wildlife Research Division, Environment and Climate Change Canada, National Wildlife Research Centre, 1125 Colonel By Dr, Ottawa, ON, K1S 5B6, Canada. paulallen.smith@canada.ca.
Abstract:
Tundra-breeding birds face diverse conservation challenges, from accelerated rates of Arctic climate change to threats associated with highly migratory life histories. Here we summarise the status and trends of Arctic terrestrial birds (88 species, 228 subspecies or distinct flyway populations) across guilds/regions, derived from published sources, raw data or, in rare cases, expert opinion. We report long-term trends in vital rates (survival, reproduction) for the handful of species and regions for which these are available. Over half of all circumpolar Arctic wader taxa are declining (51% of 91 taxa with known trends) and almost half of all waterfowl are increasing (49% of 61 taxa); these opposing trends have fostered a shift in community composition in some locations. Declines were least prevalent in the African-Eurasian Flyway (29%), but similarly prevalent in the remaining three global flyways (44-54%). Widespread, and in some cases accelerating, declines underscore the urgent conservation needs faced by many Arctic terrestrial bird species.
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