Protect coastal wetlands in China to save endangered migratory birds

Evaluating the significance of protected areas for biodiversity and ecosystem services is important for nature conservation. In a recent issue of PNAS, Xu et al. (1) present valuable information on provision of biodiversity and ecosystem services by China’s nature reserves. They conclude that reserves serve bird populations moderately well. However, the importance of coastal wetlands for migratory birds and the shortage of protected coastal sites are underplayed. Migratory birds rely on networks of strategically located sites across their annual migration cycle. Loss or degradation of any one site can impact bird populations (2). In comparison to many studies, including the study of Xu et al. (1), which either omit parts of the annual migration or treat species’ distributions as static, Runge et al. (2) analyzed 520 bird species and found that protected areas covered only … [↵][1]1To whom correspondence may be addressed. Email: hongyanghy{at}gmail.com or mmg{at}swu.edu.cn. [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1