Definition of migratory species < Knowledge about migratory species > Digital resources on biodiversity

2.2 — Knowledge about migratory species

The scientific literature, bibliographic databases1 and the World Wide Web were searched to assess the present state of knowledge. "The Evolutionary Ecology of Animal Migration" by BAKER (1978) is still the most comprehensive review of animal migration, summarising the scattered literature for most migratory species. Online information about most endangered species is provided by databases maintained by the World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC)2, the US Fish and Wildlife Service3 and several other organisations. In addition, IUCN specialist groups or consultants for CMS compile extensive reports for species considered endangered.

Figure 2.1 shows the estimated number of species to be considered as 'true migrants' with a minimum migration distance of 100 km, according to the biological definition given above, together with the number of species listed by GROMS. Our knowledge of these approximately 4000 species is heterogeneous, and incomplete for several major groups such as small whales (ROSE 1996), bats, or tropical and non-commercial fish. In the following chapters, the migratory behaviour and state of knowledge is outlined for each animal group, and the information sources and processing used by GROMS are described in detail.


1 BIOSIS (BIOSIS Inc., www.biosis.org)
2 WCMC: www.unep-wcmc.org.uk/
3 http://www.fws.gov/
Definition of migratory species < Knowledge about migratory species > Digital resources on biodiversity

This document should be quoted as part of the publication "Riede, K. (2001): The Global Register of Migratory Species ­ Database, GIS Maps and Threat Analysis. Münster (Landwirtschaftsverlag), 400 pp." + CD

 by Klaus Riede