Shorebird Migration
Exploration 1

Migratory shorebirds depend on multiple ecosystems across vast geographical distances. Changes in one ecosystem may affect another ecosystem. According to the German Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union (NABU), the Wattenmeer is “the single most important wetland in Germany.” It plays a significant role in the survival of migratory birds that use the East Atlantic Flyway. The East Atlantic Flyway stretches from high Arctic breeding grounds to wintering grounds along western coastlines of Europe and Africa. The location of the Wadden Sea allows waterbirds to refuel prior to either long-distance flight to high Arctic breeding grounds or to southern wintering grounds. Several species of waterbirds breed in the Wadden Sea. It serves as a staging, wintering, and molting site for fifty-two populations of forty-one migratory waterbird species. These birds are dependent on the food, shelter, and other resources offered by the Wattenmeer.

Students will read Exploration 1: Shorebird Migration from the Companion Reader and use the Activity 1: East Atlantic Flyway worksheet below. 

Activity 1: East Atlantic Flyway

Share the video the East Atlantic Flyway Explained from the Wadden Sea Secretariat on YouTube. As a class or in small groups, students will then analyze the Migration Pathway Map and the East Atlantic Flyway Poster.

What patterns do students observe?
 

Activity 2: Ecosystem Interactions
Set up the Wader Migration Game. Students will play the role of a migratory shorebird. Hand out a Migration Passport to each student or student groups.

Materials Needed
Migration Game Cards and Migration Passport (if the hyperlink does not work, these may be downloaded from Wadden Sea Resources at http://www.iwss.org/resources?language=da&resource_type=All).

You will also need dice.

This activity needs a clear space.

Instructions for the activity are included in the Migration Game Cards pdf.

Students will need a pencil to complete their Migration Passport. 

Clipboards are suggested.

Instructions
As students complete their Migration Passport, they will keep track of their energy gains and losses. 
 

Students will work collaboratively (in small groups) to create a digital migration event sheet and explain why some birds may have been successful in migration while others were not.
 

Students will use evidence from their migration to explain how events in one ecosystem may affect another geographically distant ecosystem. For this extension exercise, use the Exploration 1: Shorebird Migration Extension reading below.
  Phenomenon
“Predators now wipe out 70 percent of shorebird nests in the far north, a shift in historical patterns that scientists pin on climate change.” (Audubon)

Students will:

• Use evidence and scientific reasoning to explain how a decrease in Arctic lemmings may lead to a decrease in shorebirds returning to the Wadden Sea.
• Create a PowerPoint presentation of the correlation between lemming population size and shorebird population size.

Writing Prompt
Arctic foxes are predators that consume both lemmings and shorebirds. Lemming winters in the Arctic have led to less snowpack for lemming burrows. Lemming survival rates have decreased as a result of decreased snow cover needed for protection from predators. In the spring, when shorebirds return to the Arctic for nesting, there are fewer lemmings.

Assessment Questions
How might a decrease in the lemming population affect the survival of shorebirds breeding in the Arctic?

Students who demonstrate understanding should be able to explain that Arctic foxes consume both lemmings and shorebirds. When lemming populations are high, Arctic foxes favor lemmings over shorebirds. When lemming populations are low, Arctic foxes will increase consumption of shorebird eggs and young shorebirds. This leads to a decrease in shorebirds.

What might scientists observe in the fall as shorebirds stop at the national park on their migration to wintering grounds?

Students who demonstrate understanding should be able to use evidence from the migration activity to predict that shorebird species consumed by Arctic foxes will either have stable or decreased numbers upon return to the national park.

Construct a graph to show the relationship between changes in the lemming population and shorebird population.

They should realize that since this is an event occurring over time, the graph should be a line graph. The lemming curve should show a decreasing trend. There should be a lag in the decline of shorebirds as the foxes shift predation from lemmings to shorebirds. Students may assume that the fox population is constant.
 

• Use mixed-ability pairs.
• Read-aloud strategies can be used for the information sections.
• Chunk tasks and set a time schedule for completion.
• Provide sentence starters for writing activities.
• Prelabeled graphs.
• Allow students to check answers with peers.

• Understand the importance of the Wadden Sea to the East Atlantic Flyway.
• Cite examples of how Germany is preserving biodiversity along the East Atlantic Flyway.