Priorities for Future Research

The Greater and Lesser yellowlegs are among the most poorly known shorebirds in North America. Research on all aspects of Greater Yellowlegs breeding biology would constitute a major advance. In particular, long-term studies of known individuals or comparative studies of the 2 species would be useful. Currently, there are few quantitative data on diet, vocalizations, territory establishment or size, sexual behavior, nest-site selection, breeding success, nestling growth and development, dispersal, demography, migration, and so on. Many other aspects of basic biology (e.g., the mating system) are assumed rather than known. Obviously, this lack of basic information precludes any knowledge of regional variation, population dynamics, conservation status, and so on. On a more positive note, advances have been made in the study of Greater Yellowlegs parasite communities, and experimental manipulations of these communities would prove interesting. Finally, evolutionary relationships within Tringa have been much debated and remain unresolved; there is a clear need for modern phylogenetic methods to be applied to this problem.