Taxon name
Calidris alpina
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Calidris alpina
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Assessed taxon level
Species
Higher level taxonomic groupings
Vertebrates
Birds
Species authority
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Location and scope
Specific locality or subnational name or regional name
United Arab Emirates (the)
Scope (of the Assessment)
National
Countries included within the scope of the assessment
United Arab Emirates (the)
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Not_assigned
Conservation Status
Assessed as
Least Concern
Criteria system used
IUCN
(see Assessment details)
Assessment rationale/justification
This species has a relatively large non-breeding population in the UAE, which is stable at high numbers. Therefore, the species is listed as Least Concern at the national level.
Assessment details
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Criteria system used
IUCN
Reference for methods given
IUCN. 2012. IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria: Version 3.1, Second edition. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK. iv + 32pp pp. And IUCN. 2012. Guidelines for Application of IUCN Red List Criteria at Regional and National Levels: Version 4.0. Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK: IUCN. iii + 41pp.
Further information
Endemism (according to assessment)
Endemic to region
Not assigned
Taxon distribution as listed in assessment
The majority of occurrences of this species within the UAE are likely to be of winter visitors and migrant individuals on passage to and from the breeding grounds (Pedersen et al. 2017). Numbers peak between October and February, particularly along the coast (Richardson 1990). Single non-breeding individuals remain over summer in the UAE (Richardson 1990, Pedersen et al. 2017).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Habitat and systems
Ecological system type
Habitat
Habitat details as listed in assessment
This species inhabits coastal mudflats and creeks along the coast (Richardson 1990, Aspinall and Porter 2011). During migration, it also occurs on wetlands further inland, including at sewage treatment plants, brackish pools and pond edges (Richardson 1990, Aspinall and Porter 2011). There is no information available about its diet in the UAE; elsewhere during the non-breeding season it is omnivorous, consuming mostly polychaete worms and small gastropods, as well as insects, crustaceans, bivalves, plant matter and occasionally small fish (Cramp and Simmons 1977, del Hoyo et al. 1996). The species is migratory. It breeds in loose colonies in moist arctic tundra and migrates in large groups of up to 1,500 individuals to the non-breeding grounds along tropical and subtropical coastlines (Cramp and Simmons 1977, del Hoyo et al. 1996). Some juveniles may remain in the non-breeding range all year (Richardson 1990, del Hoyo et al. 1996, Pedersen et al. 2017).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
Changes in coastal land-use and the possibility of oil pollution could affect this species in UAE, but the severity of these threats towards this species is unknown. Elsewhere in its range (which could be relevant to species that pass-through or over-winter in UAE) the;species is significantly threatened by the loss of its breeding habitat though afforestation of moorland (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Lavers and Haines-Young 1997).;Additionally, important migratory stop-over habitats are threatened by petroleum pollution, wetland drainage for irrigation, peat-extraction, reedbed mowing and burning, and abandonment and changing land management practices leading to scrub and reed overgrowth (Grishanov 2006). The species is also susceptible to avian influenza (strain H5N1 in particular) and is therefore threatened by outbreaks of the virus (Melville and Shortridge 2006). Climate change is likely to have an effect on this species in the future.
History
The species would have qualified as Least Concern in 1996. Although the population size may have been small in 1996, it is assumed to have still have exceeded 1,000 mature individuals..
Publication
Burfield, I.J., Westrip, J., Sheldon, R.D., Hermes, C., Wheatley, H., Smith, D., Harding, K.A. Allen, D.J. and Alshamsi, O. 2021. UAE National Red List of Birds. Ministry of Climate Change and Environment, Dubai, United Arab Emirates
