Demographic studies of wading birds: An overview

The estimation of demographic parameters is important for an understanding of the population dynamics of wading birds. Over the last 20 years, only a few studies have resulted in unbiased estimates of survival rate, dispersal, recruitment, and age at first breeding. Most studies have focused instead on the estimation of breeding success, although the multiplication rate of any wading bird population is more sensitive to adult survival than to fecundity. interestingly, several applications of recent techniques for the estimation of demographic parameters have used wading birds (e.g., Grey Herons, Little Egrets, and Greater Flamingos) as a model. Such studies have provided important insights in the understanding of the demography of wading birds. However, long-term data are lacking for most wading birds, so that the opportunities to extend such analyses to other species are quite limited. Future knowledge about the demography of wading birds will heavily depend on the development of individually-based banding programs.