American Golden-Plover
(Pluvialis dominica)

Summary

Picture of bird
© Jukka Jantunen (flickr.com/photos/jukka_jantunen)
For additional photos and vocalizations, visit Dendroica. (Link opens in a new window.)

In Canada, the American Golden-Plover breeds widely across the Low to Mid Arctic and winters in grasslands and wetlands of South America. Surveys at migration stopover sites suggest that the Canadian population has experienced a large decrease relative to the early 1970s, but these results have poor precision and are considered to have low reliability. Habitat loss and disturbance threaten the species in winter. The American Golden-plover is a candidate wildlife species for assessment by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). This species has been identified as a priority for conservation and/or stewardship in one or more Bird Conservation Region Strategies in Canada.

Designations

Listing of the main designations for the species
DesignationStatusDateSubspecies, population
IUCN (Global)Least Concern2012 
Wild Species (Canada)Sensitive2010 
Bird Conservation Region StrategyPriority Species2013 

Population status

Geographic areaStatusReliability
CanadaLarge DecreaseLow
 

Population estimate

Canada100,000 - 500,000 adults (includes birds breeding and migrating within Canada)
 

Distribution maps

 

Migration strategy, occurrence

Long-distance migrant

Responsibility for conservation of world population

CanadaHigh

Conservation and management

Climate change is expected to have a negative effect on arctic-breeding shorebirds because their conservative life-history strategy (low reproduction and long lifespan) makes it difficult for them to quickly adapt to the effects of accelerated climate change on their breeding habitat (Meltofte et al. 2007). Effects may include: drying of tundra ponds (Smol and Douglas 2007, Stow et al. 2004), shrub encroachment (Tape and Racine 2006, Callaghan et al. 2005), asynchrony of insect-chick hatch (Tulp and Schekkerman 2008) and unusual weather events (Tulp and Schekkerman 2006, Martin and Wiebe 2004). Also, many American Golden-Plovers winter in grasslands of Argentina, where agricultural intensification favours draining of the species' preferred habitat, the "flooding pampa" (Blanco et al. 1993). Coastal wetlands and intertidal flats are also important wintering habitats, and these are increasingly lost or disturbed by development and tourism (Johnson and Connors 2010).

 

Bird conservation region strategies

Environment and Climate Change Canada and partners have developed Bird Conservation Region Strategies in each of Canada’s Bird Conservation Regions (BCRs). In these strategies, selected species are identified as priorities for one or more of the following reasons:

  • conservation concerns (i.e., species vulnerable due to population size, distribution, population trend, abundance, or threats)
  • stewardship responsibilities (i.e., species that typify the regional avifauna or have a large proportion of their range or population in the sub-region)
  • management concerns (i.e., species that require ongoing management because of their socio-economic importance as game species, or because of their impacts on other species or habitats)
  • other concerns (i.e., species deemed a priority by regional experts for other reasons than those listed above or because they are listed as species at risk or concern at the provincial level)

Select any of the sub-regions below to view the BCR strategy for additional details.

BCRs, marine biogeographic units, and sub-regions in which the species is listed as a priority
RegionSub-region and priority type
Arctic Plains and MountainsArctic Plains and Mountains, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic Region - Newfoundland and Labrador
Arctic Plains and MountainsArctic Plains and Mountains, sub-region and priority type: Prairie and Northern Region
Arctic Plains and MountainsArctic Plains and Mountains, sub-region and priority type: Quebec Region
Atlantic Northern ForestsAtlantic Northern Forests, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic Region - New Brunswick
Atlantic Northern ForestsAtlantic Northern Forests, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic Region - Nova Scotia
Atlantic Northern ForestsAtlantic Northern Forests, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic Region - Prince Edward Island
Boreal Softwood ShieldBoreal Softwood Shield, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic Region - Newfoundland and Labrador
Boreal Taiga PlainsBoreal Taiga Plains, sub-region and priority type: Prairie and Northern Region
Great BasinGreat Basin, sub-region and priority type: Pacific and Yukon Region
Lower Great Lakes/St. Lawrence PlainLower Great Lakes/St. Lawrence Plain, sub-region and priority type: Ontario Region
Northern Pacific RainforestNorthern Pacific Rainforest, sub-region and priority type: Pacific and Yukon Region
Northwestern Interior ForestNorthwestern Interior Forest, sub-region and priority type: Pacific and Yukon Region
Prairie PotholesPrairie Potholes, sub-region and priority type: Prairie and Northern Region
Taiga Shield and Hudson PlainsTaiga Shield and Hudson Plains, sub-region and priority type: Atlantic Region - Newfoundland and Labrador
Taiga Shield and Hudson PlainsTaiga Shield and Hudson Plains, sub-region and priority type: Ontario Region
Taiga Shield and Hudson PlainsTaiga Shield and Hudson Plains, sub-region and priority type: Prairie and Northern Region
 

References