Spatial networks reveal a highly centralized functional connectivity in non-breeding areas for a long-distance migratory shorebird

Many migratory shorebirds spend a large part of their annual cycle at non-breeding coastal wetlands, where they commute between sites, feeding at low tide and resting at high tide. Understanding how these populations are structured and connected within coastal habitats modulated by tidal cycles is essential to develop effective conservation planning. Our aim was to reveal the network structure and functional connectivity of the Alaskan-breeding Hudsonian godwit (Limosa haemastica) population within three coastal wetland sectors in Chiloé, Chile—their main non-breeding area. We integrated GPS-acceleration telemetry data from 17 resident godwits and tidal cycle data using a quantitative approach based on hidden Markov models and spatial network analysis. Network metrics assessed centrality, functional connectivity, and aggregation; centrality was also evaluated across tidal cycles. Each sector’s network was highly centralized around critical nodes that acted as bridges, providing functional connectivity to neighboring nodes. This network structure and functional connectivity pattern remained consistent throughout the tidal cycles. In the central sector, there was evidence of slight aggregation of individuals across five different groups of bays. The approach used here assigns a weighted importance to each bay along a large archipelago, considering the effect of environmental variables on their functional connectivity within the wetland network that supports a globally threatened shorebird species during the non-breeding season. We propose a spatial network-informed conservation framework for each sector that identifies and integrates the protection of critical bays, facilitating the movement of individuals through corridors and ensuring population viability in a fragmented and heterogeneous landscape.