{"id":11424,"date":"2008-07-15T20:13:32","date_gmt":"2008-07-16T00:13:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/?p=11424"},"modified":"2015-05-21T20:20:35","modified_gmt":"2015-05-22T00:20:35","slug":"dietary-surprises-of-western-sandpipers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/dietary-surprises-of-western-sandpipers\/","title":{"rendered":"Dietary Surprises of Western Sandpipers"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"p1\"><span class=\"s1\"><div class=\"wp-block-group sidebar-alignright sidebar-space order-bottom\"><div class=\"article-list list-style alignright\"><h2 class=\"article-list-header\">More From Living Bird<\/h2><ul><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-living-bird-toc\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/lb_homepage_turnstone.jpg\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/lb_homepage_turnstone-720x329.jpg 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/lb_homepage_turnstone-768x351.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/lb_homepage_turnstone-480x219.jpg 480w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/lb_homepage_turnstone.jpg 918w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"spring 2008 living bird cover\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Living Bird Summer 2008\u2014Table of Contents<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-living-bird-toc\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-latest.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-latest.png 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-latest-240x180.png 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-latest-480x360.png 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"Living Bird-latest issue\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Living Bird Magazine\u2014Latest Issue<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/li><li class=\"article-item\"><div class=\"article-item-container\"><div class=\"article-item-media  content-article\"><figure class=\"article-item-media-ratio\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-acrhive.png\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-acrhive.png 720w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-acrhive-240x180.png 240w, https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/living-bird-acrhive-480x360.png 480w\" sizes=\"\" alt=\"Living Bird archives\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/figure><\/div><div class=\"article-item-body\"><span class=\"article-item-header\">Living Bird Magazine Archives<\/span><\/div><\/div><\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<p class=\"p3\"><span class=\"s1\"><div class=\"wp-block-group sidebar-alignright sidebar-space order-bottom\"><!--HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\r\n<span class=\"hs-cta-wrapper\" id=\"hs-cta-wrapper-096b8ce3-0e2d-46c5-bbf7-12de3323c8da\">\r\n    <span class=\"hs-cta-node hs-cta-096b8ce3-0e2d-46c5-bbf7-12de3323c8da\" id=\"hs-cta-096b8ce3-0e2d-46c5-bbf7-12de3323c8da\">\r\n        <!--[if lte IE 8]><div id=\"hs-cta-ie-element\"><\/div><![endif]-->\r\n        <a href=\"http:\/\/cta-redirect.hubspot.com\/cta\/redirect\/95627\/096b8ce3-0e2d-46c5-bbf7-12de3323c8da\" ><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"hs-cta-img\" id=\"hs-cta-img-096b8ce3-0e2d-46c5-bbf7-12de3323c8da\" style=\"border-width:0px;\" src=\"https:\/\/no-cache.hubspot.com\/cta\/default\/95627\/096b8ce3-0e2d-46c5-bbf7-12de3323c8da.png\"  alt=\"subscribe to Living Bird magazine\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/a>\r\n    <\/span>\r\n    <script charset=\"utf-8\" src=\"https:\/\/js.hscta.net\/cta\/current.js\"><\/script>\r\n    <script type=\"text\/javascript\">\r\n        hbspt.cta.load(95627, '096b8ce3-0e2d-46c5-bbf7-12de3323c8da', {});\r\n    <\/script>\r\n<\/span>\r\n<!-- end HubSpot Call-to-Action Code -->\r\n\r\n<\/div><\/span><\/p>\n<p>Have you ever watched a flock of sandpipers pecking furiously at a mudflat and wondered what they could possibly be eating? As you might predict, most foraging shorebirds are gleaning small invertebrates such as marine worms and small crustaceans from the mud. But not always: new research on Western Sandpipers has discovered that these birds rely heavily on a previously unsuspected food source.<\/p>\n<p>This surprising sandpiper food is not a clam, a worm, or another small animal but rather the so-called biofilm that grows as a mat on the surface of the mud. Biofilms are a rich goo of microscopic bacteria, detritus, and sediment, along with compounds secreted by the bacteria that give the substance a mucus-like consistency. The mudflat biofilms eaten by sandpipers are challenging to feed upon because they are very thin\u2014usually much thinner than the paper on which this magazine is printed.<\/p>\n<p>A group of researchers from Japan, France, and Canada had looked closely at the bills of Western Sandpipers and Dunlins and found specialized structures that might allow the birds to graze on biofilms. To test their suspicions, they studied Western Sandpipers feeding on mudflats during spring migration. Using high-speed video, the research team documented how these birds consume mudflat biofilms.<\/p>\n<p>When eating biofilm, the birds move more slowly than they do when eating invertebrates, because there is no need to sneak up on the immobile biofilms. The birds simply place their open bill tips on the surface of the mud and collect a tiny ball of biofilm, then raise their still slightly open bill out of the mud and swallow the droplet, leaving behind tiny doubled impressions of their bill tips on the surface of the mudflat.<\/p>\n<p>Even with the video evidence for this newly documented type of feeding, it was still possible that the birds might really just be consuming minute invertebrates contained within these tiny mudballs. To prove that the sandpipers were eating bacterial biofilm, the researchers used a series of chemical assays to calculate how much of the sandpipers\u2019 overall food energy was derived from biofilms. Like plants, the bacteria in biofilms are primary producers, and this gives them a characteristic chemical signature along with a high abundance of proteins such as chlorophyll that aren\u2019t found in most invertebrates.<\/p>\n<p>These comparisons showed that migrating Western Sandpipers garner up to half of their daily energy from eating biofilms. Western Sandpipers are one of the world\u2019s most numerous shorebirds, and mudflats in calm waters are nearly ideal growing conditions for biofilms. The researchers speculate that the spectacular abundance of Western Sandpipers may stem from their unusual ability to feed on this plentiful resource.<\/p>\n<p>Reference: Kuwae et al. Biofilm grazing in a higher vertebrate: the Western Sandpiper\u00a0<em>Calidris mauri. Ecology<\/em> 89:599-606 (2008).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Have you ever watched a flock of sandpipers pecking furiously at a mudflat and wondered what they could possibly be eating? As you might predict, most foraging shorebirds are gleaning<a class=\"excerpt-read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.allaboutbirds.org\/news\/dietary-surprises-of-western-sandpipers\/\" title=\"ReadDietary Surprises of Western Sandpipers\">&#8230; Read more &raquo;<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":11425,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_tec_requires_first_save":true,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc":0,"_birdpress_living_bird_toc_title":"","_birdpress_featured_image":false,"_birdpress_hero_toggle":false,"_birdpress_hero_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_image_type":"image","_birdpress_hero_style":"default","_birdpress_hero_ratio":"","_birdpress_hero_h1":"","_birdpress_hero_media_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_media_array_id":[],"_birdpress_hero_media_array":[],"_birdpress_hero_media":0,"_birdpress_hero_video_id":0,"_birdpress_hero_video":0,"_birdpress_hero_youtube":"","_birdpress_hero_content":true,"_birdpress_hero_byline":"","_birdpress_hero_byline_bottom":"","_birdpress_hero_button_link":"","_birdpress_hero_button_text":"","_birdpress_hero_button_color":"","_birdpress_hero_date":false,"original_guid":"","_birdpress_hide_search":false,"_birdpress_page_width":"","_birdpress_global_cta":false,"_birdpress_widget_sidebar":"","_birdpress_next_article":0,"_birdpress_next_article_title":"","_birdpress_prev_article":0,"_birdpress_prev_article_title":"","_birdpress_sub_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_sub_navigation":"","_birdpress_sub_navigation_title":false,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation_id":0,"_birdpress_anchor_navigation":"","_birdpress_postType":"both","_birdpress_categoryID":0,"_birdpress_tagID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostID":0,"_birdpress_parentPostTitle":"","_birdpress_menuID":0,"_birdpress_menuName":"","_birdpress_listHeader":"","_birdpress_listLayout":"card-display","_birdpress_listColumns":"","_birdpress_maxItems":12,"_birdpress_listPaginate":true,"_birdpress_displaySort":true,"_birdpress_sortOrder":"DESC","_birdpress_sortBy":"date","_birdpress_listID":"","_birdpress_listClass":"","_birdpress_displayImages":true,"_birdpress_displayCaptions":false,"_birdpress_displayExcerpts":false,"_birdpress_attTop":"","_birdpress_attBottom":"","_birdpress_showLogos":false,"_birdpress_post_logo":0,"_EventAllDay":false,"_EventTimezone":"","_EventStartDate":"","_EventEndDate":"","_EventStartDateUTC":"","_EventEndDateUTC":"","_EventShowMap":false,"_EventShowMapLink":false,"_EventURL":"","_EventCost":"","_EventCostDescription":"","_EventCurrencySymbol":"","_EventCurrencyCode":"","_EventCurrencyPosition":"","_EventDateTimeSeparator":"","_EventTimeRangeSeparator":"","_EventOrganizerID":[],"_EventVenueID":[],"_OrganizerEmail":"","_OrganizerPhone":"","_OrganizerWebsite":"","_VenueAddress":"","_VenueCity":"","_VenueCountry":"","_VenueProvince":"","_VenueState":"","_VenueZip":"","_VenuePhone":"","_VenueURL":"","_VenueStateProvince":"","_VenueLat":"","_VenueLng":"","_VenueShowMap":false,"_VenueShowMapLink":false,"_tribe_blocks_recurrence_rules":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_description":"","_tribe_blocks_recurrence_exclusions":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_topic":0,"wds_primary_content-format":0,"wds_primary_cornell-lab-project":0,"wds_primary_host-project":0,"wds_primary_read-more-tag":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"topic":[998,1043],"content-format":[1055],"cornell-lab-project":[1069],"host-project":[],"read-more-tag":[],"class_list":["post-11424","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","topic-news-and-features","topic-science-conservation-news-and-features","content-format-article","cornell-lab-project-living-bird-magazine"],"metadata":{"associated-posts":[""],"_edit_lock":["1432253898:2"],"_edit_last":["2"],"_thumbnail_id":["11425"],"wdsi_message_id":[""],"wdsi_do_not_show":[""],"custom-byline":["<em>By 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