TRANSBOUNDARY CONSERVATION - AN ECOREGIONAL APPROACH TO PROTECT NEOTROPICAL MIGRATORY BIRDS IN SOUTH-AMERICA

Future conservation efforts will need to transcend geopolitical bounda ries in efforts to protect entire landscapes and ecosystems. Neotropic al migratory birds are as a group a useful conservation tool for linki ng diverse landscapes and people due to their dependence on multiple h abitats, sensitivity to habitat changes, and universal public appeal. The conservation of neotropical mig rants can therefore function as a powerful hemispheric umbrella for ecosystem protection. Efforts to pro tect neotropical migratory birds on their nonbreeding grounds have tra ditionally been focused on Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean. To assess the importance oi South America to neotropical migrants, an ecoregional classification system was used to determine species distr ibutions in the Andean/Southern Cone Region (Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuado r, Paraguay, Peru, and Venezuela). The occurrence of migrants in prote cted areas that are part of The Nature Conservancy's Parks in Peril pr ogram was also assessed. Of the 406 neotropical migrant species, nearl y one third (132) occur as regular nonbreeding residents in the region and for almost half of these species (53), South America is their mai n nonbreeding ground. All Parks in Peril sites were found to harbor ne otropical migrants. Forty-eight species (36%) have declining long term North American Breeding Bird Survey population trends and/or high Par tners in Plight concern scores and thus are of significant conservatio n concern. Most importantly, 29 species (22%) of conservation concern use South America as their primary nonbreeding ground, indicating a ne ed for focused conservation action. The nature of the ecoregional appr oach used in this endeavor makes future prioritization of ecoregions a nd conservation strategies for neotropical migrants across national bo undaries possible. The ability to link diverse landscapes using a comm on element such as migratory birds allows for unique transboundary par tnerships and opportunities for habitat conservation, which support th e goal of the Conservancy's new Migratory Bird Initiative.