Overview

This book reviews what is known about the behaviour and population ecology of a popular shorebird, from a scientific conservation perspective. The plight of this bird highlights the many conflicts of interest in coastal zones, between human activities such as shellfishing, land reclamation, barrage construction, and industrial pollution, and the needs of wildlife for food and suitable habitats. As well as detailing Oystercatcher natural history - including the well-known specialization in feeding technique shown by individuals - the authors use their field studies of individual variations in behaviour to produce population models. This novel approach provides tools for predicting how populations will respond to the many environmental changes to which the coastal zone is subject. It thus can play a role in coastal management schemes that seek to balance the needs of people and wildlife, and suggests that the same methods can be applied in other situtations. The volume contains fifteen well-integrated chapters by an international team of contributors, and is fully referenced.

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9780198546474

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Reviews

This species of shorebird is the prime subject for field investigations. . . .This volume gives in-depth overviews of the bird's feeding strategies, winter survival and migration, breeding season biology, population dynamics, and conservation. --Choice<br> .,. [The book has] provided a case study of one species and its prey that contributes to the understanding of general issues in foraging behavior, as well as migration and (to a limited extent) breeding biology....[the book also contributes] towards a synthesis between individuals and populations. --Quarterly Review of Biology<br> One of the most thorough and well-integrated multi-authored volumes I have seen. This review of the behavior and population ecology of the Eurasian Oystercatcher contains a cornucopia of detailed information. Indeed, few organisms are known well enough to permit the ambitious and sophisticated analysis attempted in this work. . . . Twenty-five authors from 9 countries combined to produce the books 13 chapters. . . . The book is extensively referenced ... current ... and has a useful index. . . . I learned a lot from reading this book, and I highly recommend it to shorebird aficionados, ornithologists conducting in-depth research on a single species, and to conservation biologists and managers trying to understand population-level processes. Its value as a model gives it broader appeal than just a book about some European bird, and probably all university and museum libraries should have it. --The Condor<br>

This species of shorebird is the prime subject for field investigations. . . .This volume gives in-depth overviews of the bird's feeding strategies, winter survival and migration, breeding season biology, population dynamics, and conservation. --Choice. ..[The book has] provided a case study of one species and its prey that contributes to the understanding of general issues in foraging behavior, as well as migration and (to a limited extent) breeding biology....[the book also contributes] towards a synthesis between individuals and populations. --Quarterly Review of Biology One of the most thorough and well-integrated multi-authored volumes I have seen. This review of the behavior and population ecology of the Eurasian Oystercatcher contains a cornucopia of detailed information. Indeed, few organisms are known well enough to permit the ambitious and sophisticated analysis attempted in this work. . . . Twenty-five authors from 9 countries combined to produce the books 13 chapters. . . . The book is extensively referenced ... current ... and has a useful index. . . . I learned a lot from reading this book, and I highly recommend it to shorebird aficionados, ornithologists conducting in-depth research on a single species, and to conservation biologists and managers trying to understand population-level processes. Its value as a model gives it broader appeal than just a book about some European bird, and probably all university and museum libraries should have it. --The Condor

`This volume presents a comprehensive review of the behaviour and population ecology of the oystercatchers.' Biological Abstracts, vol.49, issue 8, 1997

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