Study on shorebirds suggests that when conserving species, not all land is equal

Researchers may have solved the long-standing puzzle of why migratory shorebirds around the world are plummeting several times faster than coastal ecosystems are being developed. They discovered that shorebirds overwhelmingly rely on tidal zones closest to dry land, which are most often lost to development. The findings suggest that protecting species requires a detailed understanding of how animals interact with the landscape so that preserved habitats best serve endangered species' needs.