9314736 Castro This Americas Program award will support attendance of a group of Latin American shorebird biologists to a conference on shorebird research. The purpose of the conference is to review recent findings and determine priorities for shorebird research and management in the Western Hemisphere. Coordinators for the conference, which will be held in Ottawa, Canada, October 1994, are Dr. Gonzalo Castro and Dr. Julie Sibbing, of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network. Other coordinators include representatives from Canada, Mexico, Peru and Argentina. The conference will include presentations of papers by researchers and managers, and working group sessions for developing conclusions and recommendations. Most species of shorebirds depend upon wetlands as sources of food throughout their annual cycle of extensive, interhemispheric migrations. Wetlands in the Americas continue to be drained, or otherwise rendered unsuitable for use by the birds at a rapid pace, resulting in a precarious relationship between them and their habitats. This serious loss of shorebirds habitats across the hemisphere has generated conservation research efforts aimed at the protection of the species. However, successful conservation programs demand information-sharing and cooperation among the nations that host the species during their travels. This conference presents an opportunity for interaction among researchers of the Western Hemisphere and provides a forum for discussions of the latest findings in shorebird migration, ecology and conservation. ***
