The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) allows listing of subspecies and other groupings below the rank of species. This provides the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service with a means to target the most critical unit in need of conservation. While roughly one-quarter of listed taxa are subspecies, these management agencies are hindered by uncertainties about taxonomic standards during listing or delisting activities. In a review of taxonomic publications and societies, we found few subspecies lists and none that stated standardized criteria for determining subspecific taxa. Lack of criteria is attributed to a centuries-old debate over species and subspecies concepts. However, the critical need to resolve this debate for ESA listings lead us to propose that minimal biological criteria to define disjunct subspecies (legally or taxonomically) should include the discreteness and significance criteria of Distinct Population Segments (as defined under the ESA). Our subspecies criteria are in stark contrast to that proposed by supporters of the Phylogenetic Species Concept and provide a clear distinction between species and subspecies. Efforts to eliminate or reduce ambiguity associated with subspecies-level classifications will assist with ESA listing decisions. Thus, we urge professional taxonomic societies to publish and periodically update peer-reviewed species and subspecies lists. This effort must be paralleled throughout the world for efficient taxonomic conservation to take place.
IdentificationThe piping plover is a small shorebird with a black neck band and a black bar across the forehead. The upperparts are light sandy-brown and the underparts are white, providing the plover with camouflage against sandy beach backgrounds. The legs are bright orange and, in breeding plumage, the bill is also orange with a black tip. Although males and females are similar in appearance, males typically have darker, more extensive neck bands. The call of the piping plover is a ventriloquist-like peep-lo which is hard to pinpoint before the bird itself is sighted which is often heard before the bird is seen.Juvenile and winter-plumage adults are similar in appearance. Both lack the black neck and forehead bands characteristic of breeding adults. Rather, there is a pale band around the neck. The bill is solid black and the legs are pale yellow.Piping plovers may be confused with other shorebird species. The killdeer (C. vociferus), a larger plover of open uplands, has rich brown upperparts and two black neck bands. In both size and pattern, semipalmated plovers (C. semipalmatus) are similar to piping plovers but are much darker brown on the upperwing, back, and head. The sanderling (Calidris alba), which frequently feeds at coastal beaches along the water's edge, lacks neck bands and has a longer, black bill and a broad, white wing bar that is visible in flight. HabitatPiping plovers inhabit oceanfront beaches and barrier islands, typically nesting on the stretch of beach between the dunes and the high-tide line. Nests are often located in flat areas with shell fragments and sparse vegetation. The coloration of piping plovers and their eggs blend in remarkably with sand and broken pieces of shell. Sparse vegetation, such as American beach grass (Ammophila breviligulata) or sea rocket (Cakile endentula ), is favored, as it provides cover against predators and the elements. However, areas with dense vegetation, such as dunes, are avoided by nesting plovers, since these sites provide cover for predators.During the nonbreeding season, piping plovers inhabit coastal beaches, barrier islands, inlets, sandflats, mudflats, and dredged material islands. Piping plovers forage on ©Chris Davidson
IdentificationThe piping plover is a small shorebird with a black neck band and a black bar across the forehead. The upperparts are light sandy-brown and the underparts are white, providing the plover with camouflage against sandy beach backgrounds. The legs are bright orange and, in breeding plumage, the bill is also orange with a black tip. Although males and females are similar in appearance, males typically have darker, more extensive neck bands. The call of the piping plover is a ventriloquist-like peep-lo which is hard to pinpoint before the bird itself is sighted which is often heard before the bird is seen.Juvenile and winter-plumage adults are similar in appearance. Both lack the black neck and forehead bands characteristic of breeding adults. Rather, there is a pale band around the neck. The bill is solid black and the legs are pale yellow.Piping plovers may be confused with other shorebird species. The killdeer (C. vociferus), a larger plover of open uplands, has rich brown upperparts and two black neck bands. In both size and pattern, semipalmated plovers (C. semipalmatus) are similar to piping plovers but are much darker brown on the upperwing, back, and head. The sanderling (Calidris alba), which frequently feeds at coastal beaches along the water's edge, lacks neck bands and has a longer, black bill and a broad, white wing bar that is visible in flight.
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