Demography and Populations

Age at First Breeding

Except for overwintering birds (see Distribution, Migration and Habitat: Timing and Routes), almost all first-year American Golden-Plover and many first-year Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva) return to nesting grounds. Of these, the Pacific Golden-Plover is distinguished by worn juvenile primaries (see Appearance: Plumages and Appearance: Molts.) Both sexes are known to breed, males possibly with greater frequency (266 Johnson, O. W., P. G. Connors, P. L. Bruner, and J. L. Maron (1993d). Breeding ground fidelity and mate retention in the Pacific Golden-Plover. Wilson Bulletin 105:60–67. Close ). Similar age criterion is not present in the American Golden-Plover, as this species molts primaries during its first overwintering period (14 Jukema, J., O. W. Johnson, J. Aldabe, and P. Rocca (2011). Wing and tail moult of American Golden-Plovers Pluvialis dominica on wintering grounds in Uruguay, with confirmation that juveniles replace all primaries during their first non-breeding season. Wader Study Group Bulletin 118:129–131. Close ), and, therefore, it is more difficult to confirm probable breeding by first-year individuals.

Intervals Between Breeding

Most birds attempt to nest each year, but local and regional variables, such as late snow melt, may prevent breeding or dramatically reduce nesting densities in some seasons (174 Hussell, D. J. T., and G. L. Holroyd (1974). Birds of the Truelove Lowland and adjacent areas of Northeastern Devon Island, N.W.T. Canadian Field-Naturalist 88:197–212. Close , 121 Montgomerie, R. D., R. D. Cartar, R. L. McLaughlin, and B. Lyon (1983). Birds of Sarcpa Lake, Melville Peninsula, Northwest Territories: breeding phenologies, densities and biogeography. Arctic 36:65–75. Close , 266 Johnson, O. W., P. G. Connors, P. L. Bruner, and J. L. Maron (1993d). Breeding ground fidelity and mate retention in the Pacific Golden-Plover. Wilson Bulletin 105:60–67. Close , 250 Troy, D. M. (1996). Population dynamics of breeding shorebirds in arctic Alaska. International Wader Studies 8:15–27. Close , 124 Jehl, J. R., Jr. (2004a). Birdlife of the Churchill Region: Status, History, Biology. Trafford, Victoria, BC, Canada. Close , 267 Latour, P. B., C. S. Machtans, and G. W. Beyersbergen (2005). Shorebird and passerine abundance and habitat use at a High Arctic breeding site: Creswell Bay, Nunavut. Arctic 58:55–65. Close , 173 Johnston, V. H., and S. T. Pepper (2009). The birds of Prince Charles Island and Air Force Island, Foxe Basin, Nunavut. Occasional Paper No. 117, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Close ).

Clutch Size and Number of Clutches per Season

The American Golden-Plover typically lays four eggs per clutch (46 Parmelee, D. F., H. A. Stephens, and R. H. Schmidt (1967). The birds of Southeastern Victoria Island and adjacent small islands. National Museum of Canada Bulletin 222. Close , 119 Jehl, J. R., Jr., and B. A. Smith (1970). Birds of the Churchill region, Manitoba. Special Publication no. 1. Manitoba Museum of Man and Nature, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Close , 138 Moiteret, C. S., T. R. Martin, and P. D. Martin (1996). Predevelopment surveys of nesting birds at two sites in the Kuparuk Oilfield, Alaska, 1988–1992. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northern Alaska Ecological Services, Fairbanks, AK, USA. Close , O. W. Johnson). However, clutches are often observed to contain less than four eggs on average [e.g., 3.7 eggs (n = 21 clutches, Western Foundation of Vertebrate Zoology collection); 3.8 eggs (n = 26 clutches, 138 Moiteret, C. S., T. R. Martin, and P. D. Martin (1996). Predevelopment surveys of nesting birds at two sites in the Kuparuk Oilfield, Alaska, 1988–1992. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northern Alaska Ecological Services, Fairbanks, AK, USA. Close )], presumably owing to partial depredation, or replacement clutches of less than four eggs. An unusual clutch of eight eggs (gradually “depredated one by one”) was reported at Churchill, Manitoba (123 Byrkjedal, I. (1989b). Nest habitat and nesting success of Lesser Golden-Plovers. Wilson Bulletin 101:93–96. Close ), and likely involved egg-dumping. Replacement laying after nest loss together with between-clutch mate fidelity has been documented in both the American Golden-Plover and the Pacific Golden-Plover (118 Johnson, O. W., P. L. Bruner, A. E. Bruner, and P. M. Johnson (2007c). American Golden-Plovers on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska: a new longevity record for the species and other breeding ground observations. Wader Study Group Bulletin 114:56–59. Close , 253 Johnson, O. W., R. H. Goodwill, R. S. Gold, and P. M. Johnson (2008e). Clutch replacement and between-clutch mate fidelity of Pacific Golden-Plovers Pluvialis fulva breeding near Nome, Alaska. Wader Study Group Bulletin 115:157–160. Close ).

Annual and Lifetime Reproductive Success

There is no information on lifetime success. There is considerable variation in annual success because of seasonally variable losses of eggs and chicks and/or failure to breed. For example, six out of twenty-one (28.6%) nests were lost near Churchill (123 Byrkjedal, I. (1989b). Nest habitat and nesting success of Lesser Golden-Plovers. Wilson Bulletin 101:93–96. Close ). There was a 47% overall hatching success from 1989–1992 near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (138 Moiteret, C. S., T. R. Martin, and P. D. Martin (1996). Predevelopment surveys of nesting birds at two sites in the Kuparuk Oilfield, Alaska, 1988–1992. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northern Alaska Ecological Services, Fairbanks, AK, USA. Close ). At least five out of ten (50%) nests were destroyed in 1993 on Seward Peninsula, Alaska, some birds still incubating when observations ended (O. W. Johnson).

Life span and survivorship is best known for the Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva) rather than the American Golden-Plover (see 137 Johnson, O. W., P. G. Connors, and P. Pyle (2018). Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), version 3.0. In The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA. Close ). On the Taimyr Peninsula, Far North Russia, marked Pacific Golden-Plover males nested at the study site for at least eight seasons (268 Tulp, I., and H. Schekkerman (2001). Studies on breeding shorebirds at Medusa Bay, Taimyr, in summer 2001. Alterra, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Close ). Long-term nesting records for the American Golden-Plover and the Pacific Golden-Plover on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska suggest similar longevity. Several males of both species returned for eight consecutive seasons (O. W. Johnson and P. Bruner, unpublished data). Two exceptional American Golden-Plovers have been documented: a female at least 12 years of age (Churchill, Manitoba, 269 Klima, J., K. Ballantyne, J. Perz, A. S. Johnson, J. A. Jackson, J-F. Lamarre, and L. McKinnon (2013). North American longevity records for American Golden-Plover Pluvialis dominica and Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus from Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. Wader Study Group Bulletin 120:134–135. Close ), and a male at least 13 years of age (Seward Peninsula, Alaska), the latter being the longevity record for the species (118 Johnson, O. W., P. L. Bruner, A. E. Bruner, and P. M. Johnson (2007c). American Golden-Plovers on the Seward Peninsula, Alaska: a new longevity record for the species and other breeding ground observations. Wader Study Group Bulletin 114:56–59. Close ). An annual adult survival rate of 0.72 was estimated from survival modeling at nine breeding sites across the North American arctic and subarctic (270 Weiser, E. L., R. B. Lanctot, S. C. Brown, H. R. Gates, R. L. Bentzen, J. Bety, M. L. Boldenow, W. B. English, S. E. Franks, L. Koloski, E. Kwon, J-F. Lamarre, D. B. Lank, J. R. Liebezeit, L. McKinnon, E. Nol, J. Rausch, S. T. Saalfeld, N. R. Senner, D. H. Ward, P. F. Woodard, and B. K. Sandercock (2018). Environmental and ecological conditions at Arctic breeding sites have limited effects on true survival rates of adult shorebirds. Auk: Ornithological Advances 135:29–43. Close ).

The American Golden-Plover is known to harbor chewing lice (Actornitophilus timidus, Quadraceps orarius, Philopterus conicus) (271 Peters, H. S. (1936). A list of external parasites from birds of the eastern part of the United States. Bird-Banding 7:9–27. Close , 272 Orfila, R. N. (1959). Mallophaga. Primeras Jornades Entomoepidemiológicas Argentinas 2:509–524. Close ), and a nasal mite (Rhinonyssus pluvialis) (273 Fain, A., and D. E. Johnston (1966). Nouveaux acariens nasicoles d'oiseaux nord-Americains (Acari: Rhinonyssidae). Bulletins de la Société Royale de Zoologie d'Anvers 38:25–41. Close ). No blood parasites were detected in a sample of five individuals collected in North America (274 Greiner, E. C., G. F. Bennett, E. M. White, and R. F. Coombs (1975). Distribution of avian hematozoa of North America. Canadian Journal of Zoology 53:1762–1787. Close ). Parasites have been extensively studied in the Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva) (see 137 Johnson, O. W., P. G. Connors, and P. Pyle (2018). Pacific Golden-Plover (Pluvialis fulva), version 3.0. In The Birds of North America (P. G. Rodewald, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York, USA. Close ).

Effects of extreme weather and collisions with man-made structures (see 275 Newton, I. (2007). Weather-related mass-mortality events in migrants. Ibis 149:453–467. Close for a general review) are mostly undocumented. This species is exposed to a wide array of agrochemicals (see Conservation and Management: Effects of Human Activity), but there is no information on pesticide-related mortality. Nothing is known about mortality resulting from intraspecific or interspecific competition.

Exposure

Hailstones sometimes kill and injure plovers on the pampas (276 Hudson, W. H. (1918). Far away and long ago: a childhood in Argentina. Dent & Sons, London, United Kingdom. Close ).

Depredation

There is little detailed knowledge on American Golden-Plover depredation during the breeding season. The Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus), the Gyrfalcon (Falco rusticolus), and especially the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus), all take plovers (277 White, C. M., and R. B. Weeden (1966). Hunting methods of Gyrfalcons and behavior of their prey (ptarmigan). Condor 68:517–519. Close , 278 White, C. M., and T. J. Cade (1971). Cliff-nesting raptors and ravens along the Colville River in arctic Alaska. Living Bird 10:107–150. Close , 279 White, C. M., W. B. Emison, and F. S. L. Williamson (1973a). DDE in a resident Aleutian Island Peregrine population. Condor 75:306–311. Close , 280 Springer, A. M. (1975). Observations on the summer diet of Rough-legged Hawks from Alaska. Condor 77:338–339. Close ). The Parasitic Jaeger (Stercorarius parasiticus) and the Long-tailed Jaeger (Stercorarius longicaudus) prey mostly on chicks and young birds (281 Maher, W. J. (1974c). Ecology of Pomarine, Parasitic and Long-tailed Jaegers in northern Alaska. Pacific Coast Avifauna 37. Close ). The Snowy Owl (Bubo scandiacus) is a potential predator, but only one adult plover was found among remains of 15,078 prey (almost entirely lemmings) from owl nests near Utqiagvik, Alaska (D. Holt, personal communication). Other avian predators of possible significance include the Pomarine Jaeger (Stercorarius pomarinus), the Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus), and the Common Raven (Corvus corax). Nest predation may have increased in recent years (282 Kubelka, V., Šálek, M., Tomkovich, P., Végvári, Z., Freckleton, R.P. and Székely, T. (2018). Global pattern of nest predation is disrupted by climate change in shorebirds. Science. 362(6415): 680–683. Close )

Lemming cycles are apparently of major significance to the nesting success of golden-plovers. In peak years, arctic foxes and various raptors consume lemmings almost exclusively. As lemmings decline, predators switch to a diet of eggs and chicks. Numerous observers have reported these alternating scenarios on the Siberian breeding grounds of the Pacific Golden-Plover, with near reproductive failure in some seasons (e.g., 283 Underhill, L. G., R. P. Prys-Jones, E. E. Syroechkovski Jr., N. M. Groen, V. Karpov, H. G. Lappo, M. W. J. Van Roomen, A. Rybkin, H. Schekkerman, H. Spiekman, and R. W. Summers (1993). Breeding of waders (Charadrii) and Brent Geese Branta bernicla bernicla at Pronchishcheva Lake, northeastern Taimyr, Russia, in a peak and a decreasing lemming year. Ibis 135:277–292. Close , 284 Schekkerman, H., and M. van Roomen (1995). Breeding waders at Pronchishcheva Lake, northeastern Taimyr, Siberia, in 1991. WIWO Report 55, Zeist, The Netherlands. Close , 31 Byrkjedal, I., and D. B. A. Thompson (1998). Tundra Plovers: The Eurasian, Pacific and American Golden Plovers and Grey Plover. T & AD Poyser Ltd, London, United Kingdom. Close , 285 Ryabitsev, V. K. (2000). On the population ecology of the gray plover in the northern Yamal Peninsula. Russian Journal of Ecology 31:108–112. Close , 286 Schekkerman, H., I. Tulp, K. M. Calf, and J. J. de Leeuw (2004). Studies on breeding shorebirds at Medusa Bay, Taimyr, in summer 2002. Alterra, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Close ). There were similar findings in arctic Alaska (250 Troy, D. M. (1996). Population dynamics of breeding shorebirds in arctic Alaska. International Wader Studies 8:15–27. Close ) and Southampton Island, Nunavut (287 Smith, P. A., H. G. Gilchrist, and J. N. M. Smith (2007c). Effects of nest habitat, food, and parental behavior on shorebird nest success. Condor 109:15–31. Close ). Remote camera studies in the Prudhoe Bay region suggest that arctic foxes (among various potential predators, mostly avian) are responsible for shorebird nest depredation more often than previously recognized (288 Liebezeit, J. R., and S. Zack (2008). Point counts underestimate the importance of Arctic foxes as avian nest predators: Evidence from remote video cameras in Arctic Alaskan oil fields. Arctic 61:153–161. Close ).

Caribou and reindeer are known to trample nests and eat eggs or the young of tundra-nesting birds (289 Wright, J. M. (1979). Reindeer grazing in relation to bird nesting on the northern Seward Peninsula. M.S. thesis, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, AK, USA. Close , 290 Tomkovich, P. S., and Y. V. Zharikov (1997). Wader breeding conditions in the Russian tundras in 1996. Wader Study Group Bulletin 83:26–36. Close , 291 De Roos, G. T. (1997). A note on the significance of Wrangel Island (71°N 180°E), East Siberian Sea, for waders and its nature conservation status in the future. Wader Study Group Bulletin 83:55–56. Close , 268 Tulp, I., and H. Schekkerman (2001). Studies on breeding shorebirds at Medusa Bay, Taimyr, in summer 2001. Alterra, Wageningen, The Netherlands. Close ). This occurred with several nests under observation on Seward Peninsula in the summer of 1993 (O. W. Johnson). Chance passage of a large herd of these animals through the local area is likely to destroy most plover nests. There is no specific information concerning depredation during the overwintering period.

Home Range

When not incubating, breeding birds (especially females) move to feeding grounds, often at a considerable distance from the nest (31 Byrkjedal, I., and D. B. A. Thompson (1998). Tundra Plovers: The Eurasian, Pacific and American Golden Plovers and Grey Plover. T & AD Poyser Ltd, London, United Kingdom. Close ). Some individuals on Seward Peninsula move at least three kilometers, with more extended flights likely (O. W. Johnson). On their overwintering range in Argentina, plovers travel about four to six kilometers to reach nighttime roosts (235 Myers, J. P. (1984). Spacing behavior of non-breeding shorebirds. In Shorebirds: Migration and Foraging Behavior (J. Burger and B. L. Olla, Editors). Plenum Press, New York, NY, USA. pp. 271–321. Close ).

Breeding Territoriality

The American Golden-Plover is highly territorial on breeding grounds. Territory sizes are estimated at roughly 25 ha on the North Slope of Alaska, and 10–50 ha on the Seward Peninsula (P. G. Connors). Most pair activity is focused on the territory, but considerable foraging occurs elsewhere as the non-incubating bird (especially female) is often absent from its territory (171 Drury, W. H., Jr. (1961). The breeding biology of shorebirds on Bylot Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. Auk 78:176–219. Close , O. W. Johnson, P. G. Connors; see Breeding: Incubation). Extraterritorial feeding is probably of a communal nature on specific sites (O. W. Johnson). Interyear fidelity to breeding territory is high in males and low in females (see Movements and Migration: Dispersal and Site Fidelity).

Overwintering Territoriality and Non-territoriality

Many individuals defend feeding territories on wintering grounds, some are non-territorial. Territory sizes are much smaller on overwintering grounds than on breeding grounds, ≤0.3 ha in Argentina (147 Myers, J. P., and L. P. Myers (1979). Shorebirds of coastal Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Ibis 121:186–200. Close ).

Numbers

Population size remains uncertain and increased population monitoring is needed (see Clay et al. [106 Clay, R. P., A. J. Lesterhuis, and O. Johnson (2010). Conservation plan for the American Golden-Plover (Pluvialis dominica). Version 1.1. Manomet Center Conservation Science, Manomet, MA, USA. Close ]). Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM) surveys on the breeding grounds (292 Bart, J., and P. A. Smith (2012). Summary. In Arctic Shorebirds in North America: A Decade of Monitoring (J. Bart and V. Johnston, Editors). University of California Press, Berkeley, CA, USA. pp. 211–238. Close ) indicated that a previous population estimate of 200,000 individuals (293 Morrison, R. I. G., B. J. McCaffery, R. E. Gill, S. K. Skagen, S. L. Jones, G. W. Page, C. L. Gratto-Trevor, and B. A. Andres (2006). Population estimates of North American shorebirds, 2006. Wader Study Group Bulletin 111:67–85. Close ) was too low. Based on the PRISM surveys, Andres et al. (294 Andres, B. A., P. A. Smith, R. I. G. Morrison, C. L. Gratto-Trevor, S. C. Brown, and C. A. Friis (2012). Population estimates of North American shorebirds, 2012. Wader Study Group Bulletin 119:178–194. Close ) estimated a total population of 500,000 (possibly conservative because alpine nesting grounds were not surveyed), with about 50% in Alaska and 50% in Canada. Estimates of 1.0–2.5 million pairs (31 Byrkjedal, I., and D. B. A. Thompson (1998). Tundra Plovers: The Eurasian, Pacific and American Golden Plovers and Grey Plover. T & AD Poyser Ltd, London, United Kingdom. Close ) are likely too optimistic. These high numbers were extrapolations based on overall breeding range and average nesting density. However, breeding distribution is often patchy and what appears to be suitable habitat may contain no birds (O. W. Johnson).

Estimated breeding densities vary significantly between regions and from year to year; e.g., 0.4–6.1 pairs/km² in Alaska, Canadian arctic, and subarctic (31 Byrkjedal, I., and D. B. A. Thompson (1998). Tundra Plovers: The Eurasian, Pacific and American Golden Plovers and Grey Plover. T & AD Poyser Ltd, London, United Kingdom. Close ); 3.0 pairs/km² on Seward Peninsula in 1993 (O. W. Johnson); 4.0 pairs/km² on Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska (262 Spindler, M. A. (1978). Bird populations and habitat use in the Okpilak River delta area, Arctic National Wildlife Range, Alaska, 1978. Unpublished report, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Fairbanks, AK, USA. Close ); 6.0–15 pairs/km² at Utqiagvik, Alaska (see 295 Lowe, J. D. (1994). Resident bird counts 1993. Journal of Field Ornithology 65 (supplement):114–117. Close , 296 Lowe, J. D. (1995). Resident bird counts 1994. Journal of Field Ornithology 66 (supplement):106–108. Close ); 1.0–2.9 pairs/km² near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska (138 Moiteret, C. S., T. R. Martin, and P. D. Martin (1996). Predevelopment surveys of nesting birds at two sites in the Kuparuk Oilfield, Alaska, 1988–1992. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Northern Alaska Ecological Services, Fairbanks, AK, USA. Close ); 0.3–6.4 pairs/km² on 13 sites across the arctic breeding range (see 173 Johnston, V. H., and S. T. Pepper (2009). The birds of Prince Charles Island and Air Force Island, Foxe Basin, Nunavut. Occasional Paper No. 117, Canadian Wildlife Service, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Close ); and 0.2–40 birds/km² in Nunavut (81 Richards, J. M., and A. J. Gaston (Editors) (2018). Birds of Nunavut. University of British Columbia Press, Vancouver, BC, Canada. Close ). Estimated densities on overwintering grounds were 10.0+ birds/ha on grazed pampas of Argentina (147 Myers, J. P., and L. P. Myers (1979). Shorebirds of coastal Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. Ibis 121:186–200. Close ).

Trends

Reports through the 1990s to the early 2000s were often conflicting, some indicated increasing numbers (124 Jehl, J. R., Jr. (2004a). Birdlife of the Churchill Region: Status, History, Biology. Trafford, Victoria, BC, Canada. Close , 297 Johnston, V. H., C. L. Gratto-Trevor, and S. T. Pepper (2000). Assessment of bird populations in the Rasmussen Lowlands, Nunavut. Canadian Wildlife Service Occasional Paper 101:1–56. Close , 265 Pattie, D. L. (1990). A 16-year record of summer birds on Truelove Lowland, Devon Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. Arctic 43:275–283. Close , 298 Jehl, J. R., Jr., and W. L. Lin (2001). Population status of shorebirds nesting at Churchill, Manitoba. Canadian Field-Naturalist 115:487–494. Close ), others showed declining numbers (129 Azpiroz, A. B., J. P. Isacch, R. A. Dias, A. S. Di Giacomo, C. S. Fontana, and C. M. Palarea (2012). Ecology and conservation of grassland birds in southeastern South America: A review. Journal of Field Ornithology 83:217–246. Close , 293 Morrison, R. I. G., B. J. McCaffery, R. E. Gill, S. K. Skagen, S. L. Jones, G. W. Page, C. L. Gratto-Trevor, and B. A. Andres (2006). Population estimates of North American shorebirds, 2006. Wader Study Group Bulletin 111:67–85. Close , 299 Gratto-Trevor, C. L., V. H. Johnston, and S. T. Pepper (1998). Changes in shorebird and eider abundance in the Rasmussen Lowlands, NWT. Wilson Bulletin 110:316–325. Close , 297 Johnston, V. H., C. L. Gratto-Trevor, and S. T. Pepper (2000). Assessment of bird populations in the Rasmussen Lowlands, Nunavut. Canadian Wildlife Service Occasional Paper 101:1–56. Close , 300 Bart, J., S. Brown, B. Harrington, and R. I. G. Morrison (2007). Survey trends of North American shorebirds: population declines or shifting distributions? Journal of Avian Biology 38:73–82. Close ), still others suggested stability or uncertain trend (294 Andres, B. A., P. A. Smith, R. I. G. Morrison, C. L. Gratto-Trevor, S. C. Brown, and C. A. Friis (2012). Population estimates of North American shorebirds, 2012. Wader Study Group Bulletin 119:178–194. Close , 301 Weiser, E. L., R. B. Lanctot, S. C. Brown, H. R. Gates, J. Bêty, M. L. Boldenow, R. W. Brook, G. S. Brown, W. B. English, S. A. Flemming, S. E. Franks, H. G. Gilchrist, M.-A. Giroux, A. Johnson, S. Kendall, L. V. Kennedy, L. Koloski, E. Kwon, J.-F. Lamarre, D. B. Lank, C. J. Latty, N. Lecomte, J. R. Liebezeit, R. L. McGuire, L. McKinnon, E. Nol, D. Payer, J. Perz, J. Rausch, M. Robards, S. T. Saalfeld, N. R. Senner, P. A. Smith, M. Soloviev, D. Solovyeva, D. H. Ward, P. F. Woodard, B. K. Sandercock (2020). Annual adult survival drives trends in Arctic-breeding shorebirds but knowledge gaps in other vital rates remain. The Condor 122(3). Close ). Recent findings by Smith et al. (302 Smith, P. A., A. C. Smith, B. Andres, C. M. Francis, B. Harrington, C. Friis, R. I. G. Morrison, J. Paquet, B. Winn, S. Brown (2023). Accelerating declines of North America's shorebirds signal the need for urgent conservation action. Ornithological Applications 125:1-14. Close ) reveal a major population decline on the order of 70% over the past 40 years and a continuing downward trend of 5% per year. These alarming numbers "signal the need for urgent conservation action."

If populations are declining for various reasons (see Conservation and Management), objective assessments will require intensive systematic monitoring at stopover areas and on breeding and nonbreeding grounds.

There is little specific information about how populations are affected by vagaries of weather and food supply while on migratory routes and breeding/overwintering grounds. There is also little known about the depredation of eggs and chicks, mortality of juveniles from rigors of first migration and/or competition on overwintering grounds, and depredation on the overwintering grounds. Beyond these factors looms the specter of climate change and other anthropogenic impacts ( see Conservation and Management).