Phalaropus lobatus | UAE National Red List of Birds

Taxa
Phalaropus lobatus | (Linnaeus, 1758)
Publication
UAE National Red List of Birds
Location
Countries in Assessment
United Arab Emirates
Country ISO code(s)
ARE
Does the assessment cover a marine EEZ area(s)?
Off
Scope (Assessment)
National
Taxon
Taxonomic Group
Vertebrates
Taxonomic Group Level 2
Birds
Assessed taxon level
Species
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).
Habitats and Ecology
Ecological system type
Terrestrial system
No
Freshwater system
No
Marine system
No
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).
Is there a map available in assessment?
Yes
Assessed status
Asessment status in full
Least Concern
Assessment status abreviation
LC
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.
About the assessment
Assessment year
2019
Assessors/contributors/reviewers listed
UAE National Red List Workshop
Affliation of assessor(s)/contributors/reviewers listed on assessment
Government
IGO
Assessor affiliation specific
Government|IGO
Criteria system
Criteria system specifics
IUCN v3.1 + Regional Guidelines v4.0
Criteria system used
IUCN
Criteria Citation
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.
Endemism
Endemic to region
Not_assigned
Endemism Notes
Is an endemic?: Not_assigned
Conservation
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).
Conservation Measures

Conservation measures:
Conservation measures notes:
Required conservation measures:

Further information
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.
Scientific Name Kingdom Phylum Class Order Family Genus
Phalaropus lobatus Animalia Chordata Aves Charadriiformes Scolopacidae Phalaropus