翅碱蓬盐沼湿地是黄渤海生态区一种重要河口滩涂湿地景观，为丹顶鹤、大杓鹬等迁徙水鸟提供重要的取食栖息地。然而，近年来由于滩涂围垦、互花米草入侵和芦苇的快速演替使得翅碱蓬盐沼湿地不断被侵占，严重影响了水鸟的栖息与利用。本项目以黄河口和辽河口两处典型的河口湿地为研究地点，选择丹顶鹤和大杓鹬两种主要分布在翅碱蓬盐沼湿地的水鸟为重点研究对象，采用样方调查、行为观测、红外相机监测、无线电遥测和稳定同位素分析等方法，研究翅碱蓬变化对水鸟栖息地利用的影响，探讨食物变化对水鸟取食策略的影响，分析盐沼植物变化对水鸟取食食物链营养物质供应的影响。本研究对于深入了解翅碱蓬盐沼湿地在河口湿地生态系统中的特殊生态功能，及湿地变化或破坏对东北亚水鸟迁徙停歇地利用和能量补给对策的影响具有重要的科学意义。相关成果可以更好地指导滨海湿地的科学管理和水鸟保护工作。

Suaeda salsa saltmarsh is a typical estuarine tidal wetland in the Bohai Sea. It serves as an important foraging site for migratory waterbirds such as Red-crowned crane Grus japonensis, Eastern curlew Numenius madagascariensis. However, in recent years, the Suaeda salsa saltmarsh has faced significant threat posed by the invading Spartina alterniflora and succession of Phragmites australis, both of which can greatly influence the use of habitat by many waterbirds. In this project, two crab-eating waterbirds (Red-crowned crane and Eastern curlew) that mainly distributed in the Suaeda salsa saltmarsh habitat in the two typical estuaries of Yellow river delta and Liaohe delta were chosen as study species to investigate (i) the impact of vegetation change in the Suaeda salsa saltmarsh on the habitat use of waterbirds; (ii) the impact of prey change on the foraging strategies; (iii) the impact of vegetation change on the nutrient flow in the food chain of waterbirds by using the methods of grid plot sampling, field observation, Infrared camera monitoring, radio telemetry tracking and stable isotope analysis. The findings of this study will allow us to better understand the critical ecological function of Suaeda salsa saltmarsh within the estuarine ecosystems, and to grasp the significant impact that change in and damage to wetland may have on the stopover use and energy refueling strategy of the migratory waterbirds in the Northeast Asia, and consequently leading to better wetland management and waterbird conservation in the coastal wetlands in the future.