1 Habitat variety and behaviour of the Sanderling ( Calidris alba ) in an urban neotropical coastal wetland Daniel Barona 1 , Jorge Podestá 2 1 Dirección General de Investigación, Desarrollo e Innovación, Universidad Científica del Sur, Lima, Peru 2 Programa de Maestría en Biodiversidad y Gestión de Ecosistemas, Facultad de Ciencias Biológicas, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos, Lima, Peru Corresponding author: Daniel Barona (fbarona@cientifica.edu.pe) Copyright: © Daniel Barona & Jorge Podestá. This is an open access article distributed under terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (Attribution 4.0 International – CC BY 4.0). Short Communication Abstract Sanderling Calidris alba is a migratory coastal bird species whose populations are af- fected by climatic and anthropogenic issues. Additionally, its behavioural patterns depend on habitat variety. The aim of this study was to evaluate the variation in the frequency and duration of C. alba behaviour in relation to habitat variety in a Peruvian coastal wetland. Based on types of behaviour recorded in a previous study of C. alba during August and September 2019 at low, mid and high tide periods in three habitats of the Coastal Wetland Poza La Arenilla (HCPA) (La Punta, Callao, Peru), differences and diversity in the frequencies and durations of such behaviour between habitats were assessed according to tide condition. Additionally, a correlation analysis between the duration and frequency of behaviour for each habitat according to tide condition was conducted. General differences in behaviour (frequency and duration) between habitats were found, although there was a high similarity of behaviour between areas particu- larly when mid- and high tide levels were present. The greatest diversity of behaviour, both in frequency and duration, was observed generally during mid-tide conditions in rocky habitats. In most cases, there was a high correlation between the frequency and duration of behaviour for habitats according to tide condition. It is concluded that mid- tide conditions are associated with greater availability of soft substrates, favouring a wide variety of types of behaviour for C. alba, including behaviour related to foraging and locomotion. Key words: bird behaviour patterns, coastal wetlands, food availability regarding tidal level, migratory birds, spatial distribution Introduction The Sanderling Calidris alba (Pallas, 1764) (Fig. 1) is a boreal migratory bird spe- cies that prefers habitats in the surf zone and near the breakwater line (Cotillo et al. 2018; Mazzochi et al. 2021). Calidris alba is a small shorebird (between 19 and 21 cm in length) belonging to the Scolopacidae family, characterised by abundant and seasonally fluctuating populations (Scherer and Petry 2012; Podestá and Barona 2021) and facing issues related to population decline, habitat loss and pressures due to sea-level rise as a consequence of climate change (Payne 2010; Galbraith et al. 2014). Academic editor: Cássio Cardoso Pereira Received: 9 November 2023 Accepted: 11 March 2024 Published: 27 March 2024 ZooBank: https://zoobank. org/82F61458-52B1-43B2-B999- 0553752766AC Citation: Barona D, Podestá J (2024) Habitat variety and behaviour of the Sanderling (Calidris alba) in an urban neotropical coastal wetland. Neotropical Biology and Conservation 19: 1–15. https://doi.org/10.3897/ neotropical.19.e115562 Neotropical Biology and Conservation 19(1): 1–15 (2024) DOI: 10.3897/neotropical.19.e115562