Taxon name
Phalaropus lobatus
(Linnaeus, 1758)
Uploaded by
National Red List Database
Taxonomic information
Scientific name
Phalaropus lobatus
(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 moderate (1,000-2,500 mature individuals) non-breeding population size in the UAE, which is;fluctuating but stable and likely receives some rescue effect. Therefore, the species is listed;as Least Concern.
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
This species winters in large numbers off the coast of the UAE, particularly in the Gulf of Oman, but also in the Arabian Gulf (Richardson 1990, Pedersen et al. 2017). The species is fairly common on passage between August and September and between February and April, when it occurs also in wetlands further inland, but individuals have been recorded in all months (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
During winter, this species is largely pelagic, foraging at sea in upwelling zones and marine areas with a high abundance of plankton (del Hoyo et al. 1996, Aspinall and Porter 2011). On passage, it frequents saline lagoons but also inland wetlands like lakes, pools, ponds and creeks (Richardson 1990, Aspinall and Porter 2011). There is no information available about its diet in the UAE; elsewhere on passage, the species may take larval brine-flies (Ephydra spp.) from saline lakes, but when feeding pelagically during the winter it feeds on zooplankton and other floating planktonic particles (del Hoyo et al. 1996). The species is migratory. It breeds between late May and August in the Arctic tundra (Hayman et al. 1986, del Hoyo et al. 1996). The species leaves the breeding grounds between late-June and early-September (Hayman et al. 1986). It migrates in gregarious flocks using favoured lakes as staging points on route, and winters at sea in flocks of 20-100 (Hayman et al. 1986, del Hoyo et al. 1996).
Threats and conservation measures listed
Threats listed in assessment
The most relevant threats within the UAE are changes in land-use and the possibility of oil pollution, but the severity of these threats towards this species is unknown.;Outside of the UAE, the species faces a range of threats, which could impact individuals that visit the country. Habitat destruction, including from peat extraction, could impact the species during its breeding stage. Coastal dredging could also reduce available habitat and prey while at sea (O'Brien et al. 1997). The species is vulnerable to invasive alien predators (Biodiversity in Sweden 2012), as well as human disturbance on its breeding grounds. The species faces ongoing changes to habitat caused by increasing temperatures and impact of climate change (Huntley;et al. 2007).
History
Whilst the species would have used more coastal habitats (not anthropogenic), the population size is likely to have been the same in 1996, and so also LC.
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
