Piping plover chick ecology following landscape-level disturbance

Population declines of disturbance-dependent species due to suppression of natural disturbances are realized across ecosystems. The piping plover (Charadrius melodus; plover), a disturbance-dependent and conservation-reliant shorebird that nests on sandy beaches and barrier islands on the Atlantic Coast, was listed under the United States Endangered Species Act in 1986. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy landed on Fire and Westhampton islands, barrier island nesting sites for plovers in New York, USA. Hurricane Sandy was a natural disturbance in this system, creating abundant nesting habitat. The number of chicks produced by a pair, or a population, is a direct measure of reproductive output, and gaining a better understanding of productivity and chick behavior following large-scale habitat creation may improve plover habitat management and potentially species persistence. We evaluated the effects of landscape features on habitat selection, behavior, and survival of plover broods using logistic regression, generalized linear mixed effects models, and survival models. Plover broods selected flatter sites with less dense vegetation than available at random. Chick foraging rates were highest in moist substrates and were lower in areas of higher nesting plover density. Chick survival was greater for broods that hatched earlier in the breeding season and increased as chicks aged. Generally, providing access to sites with flatter, moist substrates will likely result in higher quality brood rearing habitat on the landscape. Ultimately, vegetation removal and habitat management may be needed to reduce plover nesting density and ensure sufficient habitat, which may in turn improve plover chick survival. Moreover, sustaining natural landscape disturbances such as those resulting from storms, and not taking actions to prevent hurricane-created overwash, will allow these landscape features to persist.     

Characterization of 36 polymorphic microsatellite loci in the Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) including two sex‐linked loci and their amplification in four other Charadrius species

We isolated 45 new Kentish plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) microsatellite loci. These were tested for polymorphism in 42 Kentish plovers breeding in the Çukurova Delta, Turkey. Thirty‐six of the 45 loci were polymorphic with observed heterozygosity varying between 0.22 and 0.93. Genotypes of individuals of known sex indicated that two loci were sex‐linked (Calex‐26 is located on the Z chromosome and Calex‐31 on the W chromosome). Additionally, we tested all loci for amplification in four other species of Charadridae (Kittlitz's plover, Madagascar plover, three‐banded plover and white‐fronted plover). On average 34 loci amplified per species (range 29–36).     

Seasonal variation in migration strategies used to cross ecological barriers in a nearctic migrant wintering in Africa

Ecological barriers such as oceans, mountain ranges or glaciers can have a substantial influence on the evolution of animal migration. Along the migration flyway connecting breeding sites in the North American Arctic and wintering grounds in Europe or Africa, nearctic species are confronted with significant barriers such as the Atlantic Ocean and the Greenland icecap. Using geolocation devices, we identified wintering areas used by ringed plovers nesting in the Canadian High‐Arctic and investigated migration strategies used by these nearctic migrants along the transatlantic route. The main wintering area of the ringed plovers (n = 20) was located in western Africa. We found contrasting seasonal migration patterns, with ringed plovers minimizing continuous flight distances over the ocean in spring by making a detour to stop in Iceland. In autumn, however, most individuals crossed the ocean in one direct flight from southern Greenland to western Europe, as far as southern Spain. This likely resulted from prevailing anti‐clockwise winds associated with the Icelandic low‐pressure system. Moreover, the plovers we tracked largely circumvented the Greenland icecap in autumn, but in spring, some plovers apparently crossed the icecap above the 65°N. Our study highlighted the importance of Iceland as a stepping‐stone during the spring migration and showed that small nearctic migrants can perform non‐stop transatlantic flights from Greenland to southern Europe.     

Integrated survival analysis using an event‐time approach in a Bayesian framework

Event‐time or continuous‐time statistical approaches have been applied throughout the biostatistical literature and have led to numerous scientific advances. However, these techniques have traditionally relied on knowing failure times. This has limited application of these analyses, particularly, within the ecological field where fates of marked animals may be unknown. To address these limitations, we developed an integrated approach within a Bayesian framework to estimate hazard rates in the face of unknown fates. We combine failure/survival times from individuals whose fates are known and times of which are interval‐censored with information from those whose fates are unknown, and model the process of detecting animals with unknown fates. This provides the foundation for our integrated model and permits necessary parameter estimation. We provide the Bayesian model, its derivation, and use simulation techniques to investigate the properties and performance of our approach under several scenarios. Lastly, we apply our estimation technique using a piece‐wise constant hazard function to investigate the effects of year, age, chick size and sex, sex of the tending adult, and nesting habitat on mortality hazard rates of the endangered mountain plover (Charadrius montanus) chicks. Traditional models were inappropriate for this analysis because fates of some individual chicks were unknown due to failed radio transmitters. Simulations revealed biases of posterior mean estimates were minimal (≤ 4.95%), and posterior distributions behaved as expected with RMSE of the estimates decreasing as sample sizes, detection probability, and survival increased. We determined mortality hazard rates for plover chicks were highest at <5 days old and were lower for chicks with larger birth weights and/or whose nest was within agricultural habitats. Based on its performance, our approach greatly expands the range of problems for which event‐time analyses can be used by eliminating the need for having completely known fate data.     

Colored plastic and metal leg bands do not affect survival of Piping Plover chicks

ABSTRACT Leg bands are commonly used to mark shorebird chicks as young as 1‐d old, but little is known about the possible impacts of bands on survival of prefledging shorebirds. We used a mark‐recapture framework to assess the impact of bands and banding‐related disturbance on prefledging survival in a federally endangered population of Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) breeding in the Great Lakes region from 2000 to 2008. We banded approximately 96% of all surviving chicks hatched prior to fledging, typically between 5 and 15 d of age. We used a multistate approach in program MARK whereby individuals contributed data as unbanded chicks before capture (N= 1073) and as banded chicks afterward (N= 780). The cumulative probability of surviving through 24 d of age was 0.63 and did not differ between banded and unbanded chicks. In addition, we found a positive effect of banding‐related disturbance on survival up to 3 d following banding (β= 0.60 CI: 0.17–1.02), possibly due to increased postbanding vigilance on the part of chicks and adults. Our results indicate that banding has no detrimental effect on survival of Piping Plover chicks prior to fledging and that current capture and banding methods are appropriate for this endangered species.     

Seasonal abundance of nonbreeding Piping Plovers on a Georgia barrier island

ABSTRACT.   Although breeding populations of Piping Plovers are well studied, their winter distribution is less clear. We studied the seasonal abundance of nonbreeding Piping Plovers ( Charadrius melodus ) during the winters of 2003–2004 and 2004–2005 on Little St. Simons Island (LSSI), Georgia. Our objectives were to determine the relative abundance of individuals from three breeding populations at LSSI, and identify possible differences among populations in arrival time, winter movements, or departure time. We observed up to 100 Piping Plovers during peak migration, and approximately 40 plovers wintered at LSSI. From July 2004 to May 2005, approximately 20% of the Great Lakes breeding population used LSSI. Plovers were not present at LSSI during June. All breeding populations of Piping Plovers had similar patterns of temporal occurrence on LSSI, suggesting no need for population-specific management plans at this site. Our results suggest that LSSI is among the most important wintering sites on the Atlantic coast for Piping Plovers, especially for individuals from the endangered Great Lakes population.     

Snowy plover nest survival in Kansas and effective management to counter negative effects of precipitation

Snowy plovers (Charadrius nivosus) are a species of conservation concern throughout North America and listed as a threatened species in Kansas. Management to minimize the effects of flooding and predation were implemented at Kansas breeding sites in the 1980s to encourage reproductive success. However, the effectiveness of those strategies and the effect of other variables that may influence nest survival have not been formally assessed. We used Program MARK to model the daily survival rate (DSR) of 317 snowy plover nests with 14 habitat- and management-related covariates to identify factors that influence nest survival and examine the efficacy of current management practices. In 2005 and 2006, we monitored nests and collected habitat data at the 2 known breeding sites in Kansas, Quivira National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) and Cheyenne Bottoms Wildlife Area (WA). Overall DSR was greater at Quivira NWR in 2006 (0.954) than at Cheyenne Bottoms WA (0.917) and Quivira NWR (0.942) in 2005. We developed 88 candidate models of which 4 competing models (ΔAIC_c < 2) were identified. We selected the most parsimonious model (K = 14, w_i = 0.23) as the remaining 3 included covariates deemed biologically uninformative. This model included the effect of study site and year on a quadratic time trend, and included covariates quantifying nest age; precipitation; the proportion of gravel, rock, and vegetation at nests; occurrence within an electric fence and within 20 m of a road; occurrence on a human-constructed nest mound; and adult capture during incubation. We found a strong positive relationship between the use of nest mounds and DSR, and a strong negative relationship between precipitation and DSR. We also found a strong positive relationship between DSR and the proportion of vegetation at nest sites, the occurrence of a nest within an electric fence, and adult capture at a nest. We noted a strong negative relationship between DSR and occurrence within 20 m of a road. However, we found that DSR was not sensitive to the proportion of vegetation at a nest, occurrence within an electric fence or within 20 m of a road, and to adult capture at a nest in light of covariates quantifying precipitation and the use of nest mounds. We found weak support for a positive relationship between DSR, nest age, and the proportion of gravel and rock at nests. Our results indicate that large rainfall events are a major source of snowy plover nest loss in Kansas that can be mitigated by the construction of nest mounds. Limited influence of environmental variables found to influence nest survival at other breeding sites suggests that threats to snowy plover nest survival are site specific and managers should assess local sources of nest loss prior to implementing management strategies to improve reproductive success. © 2012 The Wildlife Society.     

嘉陵江中游长嘴剑鸻冬季觅食地选择

2009年12月至2010年2月,在嘉陵江中游采用样方法研究长嘴剑鸻Charadriusplacidus冬季觅食地选择。通过Mann-Whitney检验,发现基质类型、土壤动物生物量、裸地面积比例、距明水距离和坡度等变量在长嘴剑鸻的觅食地样方(n=62)和对照样方(n=62)间存在极显著性差异(Mann-Whitney检验,P<0.01)。对存在显著性差异的变量进行逻辑斯谛回归分析表明,裸地面积比例对长嘴剑鸻觅食地选择的影响最大,然后依次是坡度和土壤动物生物量。此外,对比渠化江段和自然江段长嘴剑鸻觅食地样方的结果表明,二者在距人为干扰距离和基质类型两个变量间存在显著性差异(Mann-Whitney检验,P<0.05),这在一定程度上反映了长嘴剑鸻对渠化江段的部分适应。总之,长嘴剑鸻偏好在食物丰富、坡度平缓的近水源裸露鹅卵石滩觅食。因此,加强沿江滩涂的保护对长嘴剑鸻有着重要意义。     

Piping Plover Chick Foraging,Growth, and Survival in the Great Plains

Abstract: We tested the hypothesis that piping plover (Charadrius melodus) habitat quality and chick survival on the Missouri River, USA, were lower on a cold-water reservoir and downstream from a hypolimnetic (cold-water) release dam with diel water fluctuations (Garrison Dam) than downstream from an epilimnetic dam (Gavins Point Dam). Plovers in adjacent alkali wetlands provided an index to the maximum reproductive potential in the region. Chicks gained weight more rapidly in the alkali wetlands than on epilimnetic and hypolimnetic river reaches. Invertebrate numbers and biomass were higher in the wetlands and epilimnetic reach, but chick survival was lower on the epilimnetic reach. Thus, piping plovers adapted to a variety of prey densities, and other factors, likely predation, reduced survival rates in the epilimnetic reach. Temporal and spatial variability in site quality indices suggests the need for a regional management strategy with different strategies at each site. Managers can minimize effects of local fluctuations in resource abundance and predators by ensuring protection of or creating geographically dispersed habitat. (JOURNAL OF WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT 72(3):682–687; 2008)