Download or read book Evidence based Recommendations for Atlantic Coast Piping Plover Charadrius Melodus Conservation and Habitat Restoration written by Brooke Maslo and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 100 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Conservation action and habitat restoration for threatened and endangered species are often guided by anecdotal evidence. Limited time and resources are wasted on ineffective strategies, or in some cases, on management that is detrimental to the target species. Therefore, rigorous scientific study must be easily translatable into pragmatic conservation directives. For the Atlantic Coast piping plover (Charadrius melodus), a threatened beach-nesting shorebird, two major threats exist for the recovery of the species -- habitat degradation by beach stabilization practices and human disturbance, and intense predation pressure by the introduced red fox (Vulpes vulpes). This dissertation employs robust statistical methods to: 1) analyze piping plover nesting and foraging behavior, and 2) evaluate the effectiveness of predator exclosures to present evidence-based recommendations for the restoration of breeding habitat and the optimization of reproductive success. Piping plover nests primarily occur in four distinct habitat conditions defined by percent shell and pebble cover, and distance to nearest dunes and high tide line. Characteristics also vary depending on where the nest is initiated (backshore, overwash fan, primary dune). I translate these results into practical restoration target parameters and identify threshold values to assist managers in maintaining suitable nesting habitat. Restoration projects must also include accessible high quality foraging habitat to bolster reproductive success. Plover chicks foraged at higher rates and spent less time being vigilant or fleeing from threats at restored tidal ponds than at other potential foraging habitats. This result suggests that the study ponds offered adequate prey biomass, were visited less frequently by humans, and provided proximate refuge from approaching predators. The foraging models I created were validated externally and are applicable for evaluating future restoration projects. Finally, long-term nest monitoring data indicate that predator exclosures do increase nest hatching success. Electrified exclosures are effective under certain conditions, but at sites with high fox density and human disturbance, nest abandonment becomes sizeable. While the direct cause of abandonments remains unclear, these results will assist managers in making informed decisions on using this technique. These science-based directives can help to create effective habitat designs and conservation strategies for this species.

Download or read book Piping Plover Charadrius Melodus Atlantic Coast Population Revised Recovery Plan written by and published by . This book was released on 1995 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Recovery Plan for Piping Plovers Charadrius Melodus of the Great Lakes and Northern Great Plains written by Great Lakes/Northern Great Plains Piping Plover Recovery Team and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 180 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book 1993 Status Update written by and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page 24 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Conservation of the Piping Plover Charadrius Melodus in the Great Lakes Region written by Lauren Christine Wemmer and published by . This book was released on 2000 with total page 346 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Piping Plover Charadrius Melodus Atlantic Coast Population Revised Recovery Plan written by Atlantic Coast Piping Plover Recovery Team and published by . This book was released on 1996 with total page 245 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book National Recovery Plan for the Piping Plover Charadrius Melodus written by Prairie Piping Plover Recovery Team (Canada) and published by Canadian Museum of Civilization/Musee Canadien Des Civilisations. This book was released on 2002 with total page 47 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Atlantic Coast Piping Plover Recovery Plan written by Atlantic Coast Piping Plover Recovery Team and published by . This book was released on 1988 with total page 88 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book 1991 Status Update written by and published by . This book was released on 1992 with total page 74 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book 1990 Status Update written by and published by . This book was released on 1991 with total page 82 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Effects on Piping Plover Charadrius Melodus Ord Foraging Habitat from Sea level Rise written by Peter Lostritto and published by . This book was released on 2013 with total page 67 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Sea-level rise from global climate change is becoming increasingly important especially in geographic sciences, where space and time are taken into account. Globally, the mid- Atlantic shoreline of the United States is expected to be at greater risk than the observed global sea-level rise due to localized sinking of the land surface. The shorebird species Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus), an endangered species, is predicted to be particularly at risk from the estimated rising sea levels due to their already vulnerable breeding habitat within their distribution along the United States Atlantic coast. Traditionally, research has examined the threats to C. melodus nesting habitats; however, one of their most important foraging habitats, coastal wetlands, which is often depended upon by recently hatched chicks, is preferentially at risk from future rising sea levels. This study investigates how wetlands within C. melodus predicted suitable habitat may be affected from rising sea levels for up to 120 years into the future (from 2006). The specific objectives are threefold: (i) parameterize a functional habitat suitability model for C. melodus; (ii) evaluate the accuracy of the habitat suitability model in field sites; and (iii) investigate the prospective effects of sea-level rise on wetlands within the predicted suitable habitat of C. melodus at time intervals of 30, 60, and 120 years. Geographic Information Systems (GIS) were used as a tool to predict future outcomes to C. melodus wetlands foraging habitat from sea-level rise. Maps for three different locations within Piping Plover breeding distribution (Cape May, Assateague NWR, and Chincoteague NWR) were created showing outcomes for several sea-level rise scenarios. Results indicate that effects from sea-level rise on C. melodus wetlands habitat vary based on location. Two of the locations (Assateague NWR and Chincoteague NWR), which are barrier islands, are predicted to be negatively affected from sea-level rise (73- 94% net loss for Assateague NWR and 48-90% net loss for Chincoteague NWR in 120 years), whereas the Cape May location, which is not a barrier island, is predicted to have little to no negative impact from sea-level rise on the wetlands within Piping Plover predicted suitable habitat. From these investigations of three locations in the mid- Atlantic region, it is concluded that the effect of sea level rise in the future on wetlands foraging habitat for C. melodus is site specific, with two of the three locations exhibiting significant losses (48-94%) in habitat within 120 years. Given that this species is already endangered, this conclusion indicates that future changes in sea level will place an additional stress on the species.

Download or read book The Winter Ecology of the Piping Plover Charadrius Melodus in Coastal Georgia written by Brandon Lennon Noel and published by . This book was released on 2006 with total page 86 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The piping plover (Charadrius melodus) is a federally listed species with three distinct breeding populations, including Great Plains (threatened), Great Lakes (endangered), and Atlantic Coast (threatened), all of which winter along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. I studied the winter ecology of the piping plovers on Little St. Simons Island (LSSI), Georgia, from 2003-2006, with emphasis on the conservation significance of this site for the endangered Great Lakes population. During 2003-2004 and 2004-2005, LSSI supported up to 100 piping plovers during peak migration, and approximately 40 birds wintered at this site. All populations had similar patterns of arrival, departure, and winter residence times on the island. Of the color-banded plovers observed on LSSI during 2003-2004, 35% were observed the following year; 69% of plovers that wintered inn 2003-2004 returned to winter 2004-2005. Wintering plovers show high site fidelity to particular beaches on LSSI within years. Foraging success of piping plovers was highest (35.3% of foraging maneuvers) on beaches adjacent to the Altamaha River at the north end of the island. This area also had a different sediment composition (more coarse silt and very fine sand) and greater prey abundance (Nereis sp.) than other parts of the island. My results suggest that LSSI is one of the most important wintering sites on the Atlantic coast for the piping plover, especially the endangered Great Lakes population. All breeding populations of piping plovers have similar patterns of temporal occurrence on LSSI, suggesting no need for population-specific management plans at this site. My data on site fidelity and foraging success suggest that relatively small areas on LSSI may be of disproportionate importance to wintering piping plovers. Critical habitat designations should take account of this winter-island variation.

Download or read book Piping Plover written by and published by . This book was released on 1994 with total page 2 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Ecology and Management of the Endangered Piping Plover at the Cat Island Restoration Project in Lower Green Bay Lake Michigan written by Demetrius Lafkas and published by . This book was released on 2021 with total page 244 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The endangered population of Great Lakes piping plover (Charadrius melodus) has nested at Cat Island Restoration Site in lower Green Bay, Wisconsin since 2016. Daily monitoring and research at Cat Island during the 2016-2021 breeding seasons have provided a detailed description of nesting and fledgling success of individually marked birds in a 5 ha (12.36 acres) gridded area. I acquired more detailed information about social behavior and species interactions of nesting piping plovers during the 2019 and 2020 nesting seasons. The goal of this analysis is to better understand the ecology and demography of the population and to provide a foundation for future management and monitoring decisions at Cat Island. The number of nesting piping plover pairs has increased from a single nest in 2016 to 6 nests in 2021. A total of 40 young birds have fledged during this 6 year period, with significant variation among years due to management-relevant issues including predation, avian botulism (2020), and demographic stochasticity resulting in a shortage of breeding males (2021). Adult piping plovers with unique band combinations have revealed a high degree of site philopatry and site specificity at the level of individual territories within the nesting area. Vegetation sampling during August 2020 showed that the native American searocket, (Cakile edentula); colonized Cat Island naturally and is associated with sand/cobble substrates characteristic of the main piping plover nesting area. Non-native invasive species like Phragmites australis (common reed) and Lythrum salicaria (purple loosestrife) were negatively associated with the piping plover nest area. During the past 6 years vegetation has gradually encroached into the habitat used by piping plovers, although management efforts have been fairly successful in controlling the spread of unwanted vegetation into the core nesting area. Piping plovers at the Cat Island Restoration Site shared their nesting habitat with killdeer (Charadrius vociferous), spotted sandpiper (Actitis macularius), common tern (Sterna hirundo), and transient or migrant birds that used the site irregularly. Interactions with killdeer were generally antagonistic when piping plover chicks were present, whereas interactions with killdeer at other times and interactions with spotted sandpipers were more neutral. Presence of common terns benefitted nesting piping plovers because the terns provided an effective warning system for potential predators. At least 16 potential avian predators and 4 mammalian predators were observed in or near the piping plover nesting area. I provide a literature review of the impacts of these and other predators on piping plover populations, with recommendations for control or eradication in the core piping plover nest area. Brinno BCC100 time-lapse construction cameras in the plovers' nesting area at Cat Island provided hundreds of thousands of images showing seasonal vegetation change and presence of bird and mammal species during the 2019 and 2020 nesting seasons. Coupled with daily location information for individual piping plovers, this information helps document where the birds spent their time at the Cat Island Restoration Site and what types of substrate and microhabitat are most important for their survival.Based on observations at Cat Island and published literature I provide recommendations regarding vegetation and habitat management, predator control, avian botulism, and other factors that affect long term success of the Cat Island piping plover population. Like most endangered species populations, ongoing monitoring and habitat management will be needed to ensure long term survival of piping plovers at this site. The attractiveness of Cat Island to migrating piping plovers and the potential demographic success of this local population have been demonstrated during the 2016-2021 observation period. Even if overall nesting success is moderate or low, the relatively long life and site specificity of individual birds suggests that this local population may contribute valuable genetic diversity, culturally evolved behavioral traits, and perhaps even improved demographic stability of the overall Great Lakes piping plover metapopulation.

Download or read book Alberta Piping Plover Recovery Plan 2010 2020 written by David Robert Charles Prescott and published by . This book was released on 2010 with total page 28 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The piping plover (Charadrius melodus) is a small shorebird that breeds on sand or gravel beaches on the Atlantic coast, Great Lakes and Great Plains. In February 2000, the piping plover was listed as Endangered in Alberta, because of a low population size (

Download or read book National Recovery Plan for Piping Plover written by Gerald McKeating and published by . This book was released on 1987 with total page 27 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt:

Download or read book Piping Plover Charadrius Melodus Conservation in Atlantic Canada s National Parks written by Gary Neil Corbett and published by . This book was released on 1993 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: