The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission asked the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to form a Shorebird Technical Committee that would provide technical guidance, regarding effects that horseshoe crab management actions could have on shorebird populations, to the Horseshoe Crab Management Board. One of the immediate tasks of the Shorebird Technical Committee was to produce a peer-reviewed report that synthesized unpublished and published information on shorebird population trends, threats to shorebird populations, shorebird habitat use, shorebird energetic requirements, and horseshoe crab egg abundance.