A Comparison of American Oystercatcher Reproductive Success on Barrier Beach and River Island Habitats in Coastal North Carolina

McGowan, Conor P.; Simons, Theodore R.; Golder, Walker; Cordes, Jeff

doi:10.1675/1524-4695(2005)028[0150:acoaor]2.0.co;2

Cited by 38 publications

(30 citation statements)

References 10 publications

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“…Two beach-nesting species in our study, Wilson's Plover and American Oystercatcher, already have low nesting success on Georgia beaches from other anthropogenic stressors like development and the rise in mesopredators such as raccoons (Bergstrom 1988;McGowan et al 2005;Sabine et al 2006), and the added threat of SLR may send populations of these species into steep declines. However, unlike species that primarily use salt marsh habitat, these beach-nesting species use other habitats (in addition to ocean beaches) as foraging grounds.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Coastal Vertebrate Exposure to Predicted Habitat Changes Due to Sea Level Rise

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Alexander

et al. 2015

Environmental Management

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Sea level rise (SLR) may degrade habitat for coastal vertebrates in the Southeastern United States, but it is unclear which groups or species will be most exposed to habitat changes. We assessed 28 coastal Georgia vertebrate species for their exposure to potential habitat changes due to SLR using output from the Sea Level Affecting Marshes Model and information on the species' fundamental niches. We assessed forecasted habitat change up to the year 2100 using three structural habitat metrics: total area, patch size, and habitat permanence. Almost all of the species (n = 24) experienced negative habitat changes due to SLR as measured by at least one of the metrics. Salt marsh and ocean beach habitats experienced the most change (out of 16 categorical land cover types) across the three metrics and species that used salt marsh extensively (rails and marsh sparrows) were ranked highest for exposure to habitat changes. Species that nested on ocean beaches (Diamondback Terrapins, shorebirds, and terns) were also ranked highly, but their use of other foraging habitats reduced their overall exposure. Future studies on potential effects of SLR on vertebrates in southeastern coastal ecosystems should focus on the relative importance of different habitat types to these species' foraging and nesting requirements. Our straightforward prioritization approach is applicable to other coastal systems and can provide insight to managers on which species to focus resources, what components of their habitats need to be protected, and which locations in the study area will provide habitat refuges in the face of SLR.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 79%

Coastal Vertebrate Exposure to Predicted Habitat Changes Due to Sea Level Rise

Hunter

Nibbelink

Alexander

et al. 2015

Environmental Management

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“…Such management actions (e.g., predator removal and beach closures) target specific components (i.e., component vital rates) of fecundity, such as nest survival and chick survival. Increased recreational activity and predator abundance on beaches negatively influences both nest and chick survival (McGowan et al 2005b;McGowan and Simons 2006;Sabine et al 2006;Martin et al 2010).…”

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confidence: 99%

Managing American Oystercatcher(Haematopus palliatus)Population Growth by Targeting Nesting Season Vital Rates

et al. 2017

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“…Barrier islands are particularly attractive to groundnesting waterbirds because they offer a variety of habitats for nest placement, including beaches and dunes (Elias et al 2000) and salt marshes (Lauro and Burger 1989). Nesting success is relatively high on islands that are free of mammalian predators (McGowan et al 2005). There is growing concern that flooding associated with sea-level rise and the greater frequency and intensity of storm surges will impact ground-nesting waterbirds through more frequent nest losses, significant changes in vegetation zonation, and loss of breeding habitat on poorly elevated islands (Hughes 2004;Erwin et al 2006).…”

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confidence: 99%