Coastal Waterbirds under Global Change Drivers, Ecological Responses and Adaptation Pathways

Abstract

Coastal wetlands host a particularly high share of global waterbird diversity relative to their spatial extent, yet they are among the ecosystems most exposed to rapid global change. This review synthesizes recent empirical and modelling studies on how interacting drivers—including climate warming, sea-level rise and coastal squeeze, land reclamation and agricultural intensification, hydrological alteration, drought and changing disturbance regimes—affect coastal waterbirds and their habitats. We first summarize major pathways of habitat change across coastal and coastal–inland systems. We then examine ecological responses in terms of range shifts and climate exposure, phenology, demographic rates and long-term population trends, as well as habitat selection, community structure and functional traits. Finally, we assess conservation and adaptation options, focusing on protected-area networks and flyway planning, nature-based solutions such as managed realignment and living shorelines, and the growing role of working wetlands within agricultural landscapes. Overall, the literature points to high exposure to multiple, interacting stressors but also to significant scope for adaptation through habitat management, network-level planning and strengthened long-term monitoring and governance.