Tracking the migration of Pacifc Golden-Plovers from nonbreeding grounds at Moorea, French Polynesia, using Pinpoint GPS-Argos tags Oscar W. Johnson 1 , T. Lee Tibbitts 2 , Michael F. Weber 3 , David R. Bybee 4 , Roger H. Goodwill 5 , Andrea E. Bruner 4 , Errika J. Smith 4 , Emmalee L. Buss 4 , Trinity Q.A. Waddell 4 , Daxton C. Brooks 4 , Carolyn D. Smith 6 & Jean-Yves Meyer 7 1 Dept. of Ecology, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT 59717, USA. owjohnson2105@aol.com 2 U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center, 4210 University Drive, Anchorage, AK 99508, USA 3 Dept. of Biochemistry & Physical Sciences, Brigham Young University-Hawaii, Laie, HI 96762, USA 4 Dept. of Biology, Brigham Young University-Hawaii, Laie, HI 96762, USA 5 3459 E. Kesler Ln, Gilbert, AZ 85295, USA 6 500 Mitchell Rd., Cape Elizabeth, ME 04107, USA 7 Délégation à la Recherche de la Polynésie française, B.P. 20981 Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia Johnson, O.W., T.L. Tibbitts, M.F. Weber, D.R. Bybee, R.H. Goodwill, A.E. Bruner, E.J. Smith, E.L. Buss, T.Q.A. Waddell, D.C. Brooks, C.D. Smith & J.-Y. Meyer. 2020. Tracking the migration of Pacifc Golden-Plovers from nonbreeding grounds at Moorea, French Polynesia, using Pinpoint GPS-Argos tags. Wader Study 127(1): xx–xx. INTRODUCTION We report here the frst successful GPS tracking of trans- Pacifc migration by a shorebird, the Pacifc Golden- Plover Pluvialis fulva (hereafer Plover). Tis species nests on tundra from western Alaska to the Yamal Peninsula in Siberia, and winters on inland and coastal habitats of the insular Pacifc, Australia, New Zealand, SE Asia, India and NE Africa (Hayman et al. 1986, Byrkjedal & Tompson 1998, Lappo et al. 2012, Johnson et al. 2019). Te species’ annual migrations between these far-fung regions ofen involve extensive over-water fights, particularly for eastern populations, that are among the most impressive in the avian world (Conklin et al. 2017). Based on tracking with geolocators, the migrations from Hawaii to Alaska and return are nonstop along a direct north-south path, whereas more distant connections to and from wintering grounds beyond Hawaii in the Central and South Pacifc follow a circular clockwise pathway (Johnson et al. 2011, 2012, 2015, 2017). Te latter consists of three legs, each apparently fown nonstop: a northwestward leg in spring to refueling sites (particularly in Japan), then a north- eastward leg to breeding grounds in the Russian Far East and Alaska, and fnally a mid-Pacifc return leg in fall. research paper Wader Study 127(1): xx-xx. doi:10.18194/ws.00172 Keywords Pluvialis fulva trans-Pacifc fights spring stopover migratory connectivity fight speed Japan rice felds We used Pinpoint GPS-Argos tags to track migration of Pacifc Golden-Plovers Pluvialis fulva in 2017 and 2018 from Moorea Island, at the extreme southeastern edge of the species’ winter range. Of 20 tagged birds, 13 uploaded locations during all or part of their northward migration. The birds departed in mid-April traveling a long (8,250–10,200 km) northwestward track. Ten individuals signaled from Japan, where they stopped over (or ‘staged’) for periods up to about one month. Almost all stopovers were on the island of Honshu, with coordinates indicating inland habitats, most likely rice felds. In May, at least nine of the plovers left Japan on a mid-length (3,200–5,400 km) northeastward track to the Bering Sea region, where one bird reported from a possible nesting site in Kam- chatka Krai and eight from traditional breeding grounds (three from Chukotka, fve from Alaska). Thereafter, contact with tags was intermittent and gradually lost. We received signals from only two individuals during fall migration; one bird few 1,600 km southeast from Alaska before its tag ceased transmitting, and the other few >8,600 km directly southward from its post-breeding site in south- west Alaska and made landfall in Samoa where transmissions ended. Throughout the study, lengthy transoceanic fights appeared to be nonstop, and the annual migratory pathway (though defned by only a single bird in fall) was circular. As we have shown in other studies, Japan emerges as a key stopover site for Pacifc Golden-Plovers during northward migration.