A Comparison between Tundra and Wet Grassland Breeding Waders with Special Reference to the Ruff (Philomachus pugnax)

Birds in wet grassland habitats have high priority in German nature conservation. To improve conservation measures key factors of the population dynamics should be identified. This book compares the ecology of relevant bird species at their breeding sites in Central Europe with those in the Arctic. The example of the Ruff shows that habitat degradation and extinction of the breeding population in Germany is just one part of a process that leads to a general concentration of the species in Arctic regions. This process reflects a large scale change of environmental conditions such as habitat quality and climate. Nature conservation has to face such global changes and focus bird protection action on those species which cannot shift their breeding areas to the north like the Ruff does. All countries along the flyways of wet grassland breeding bird populations should contribute to the species´ conservation. The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) is a good instrument to promote the appropriate international coordination and cooperation to save these endangered birds.