Avian Predators Target Nocturnal Runs of the Beach-Spawning Marine Fish, California Grunion,<i>Leuresthes tenuis</i>(Atherinopsidae)

Martin, Kerry; Raim, Jennifer Griem

doi:10.3160/0038-3872-113.3.187

Cited by 4 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(27 reference statements)

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“…Great White Herons actively forage at night (Powell 1987), which may explain patterns in daytime abundance not captured in our study (Robert et al 1989). Most of the evidence from the literature points to daytime foraging by Great Blue Herons being complementary to daytime feeding, as opposed to a preferential behavior for fulfilling energetic requirements (Black and Collopy 1982, McNeil et al 1993, Martin and Raim 2014), but it is unclear to what extent day versus nighttime foraging habits are exhibited in our study area.…”

Section: Daily Tidal Schedules: Constraints On Foraging Time Of Diurnal Feedersmentioning

confidence: 72%

Effects of tidal periodicities and diurnal foraging constraints on the density of foraging wading birds

Calle

Gawlik

Xie

et al. 2016

The Auk

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In intertidal zones, tidal cycles reduce water depths and provide areas of shallow water where wading birds can forage for aquatic prey (water depths 0-50 cm). However, a bird that forages diurnally can make use of only a portion of the tidal cycle, which can limit fulfillment of energetic demands. Furthermore, daily and biweekly (spring-neap) tides may compound effects on shallow-water availability for foraging birds. However, the relative effects of daily and biweekly tidal periodicities on the foraging ecology of wading birds are seldom investigated due to a lack of appropriate tools. Therefore, we developed a tidal simulation model to provide dynamic spatiotemporal estimates of the availability of water depths that are within the upper and lower bounds of the birds' foraging water depth limits (''shallow-water availability''). We studied two wading bird species, the Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea), a daytime-only forager, and the Great White Heron (Ardea herodias occidentalis), which feeds both diurnally and nocturnally, to evaluate the relative effects of daily and biweekly tides on shallow-water availability and on patterns in abundance of foraging birds. Seasonal foraging surveys (n ¼ 38; 2011-2013) were conducted by boat along a 14-km transect adjacent to extensive intertidal flats in the lower Florida Keys, USA. For both species combined, biweekly tides resulted in a 0.61-to 6.09-fold change in abundance, whereas daily tides resulted in a 1.03-to 5.81-fold change in abundance. Diurnal shallow-water availability was not consistently correlated in magnitude or direction with spring-neap tidal cycles because differences in tide height between consecutive low tides were larger than changes in tidal amplitude from spring-neap tide cycles. Thus, the strong response by birds to the spring-neap tide was likely driven by mechanisms other than diurnal shallow-water availability alone.

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Section: Daily Tidal Schedules: Constraints On Foraging Time Of Diurnal Feedersmentioning

confidence: 72%

Effects of tidal periodicities and diurnal foraging constraints on the density of foraging wading birds

Calle

Gawlik

Xie

et al. 2016

The Auk

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“…Although larval grunion are attracted to light (Reynolds, Thomson, and Casterlin, 1977), adults in spawning aggregations avoid lights underwater (KLMM, personal observation). Grunion runs are stronger after new moons than after full moons (see figure 2 in Martin and Raim [2014]), suggesting photophobia or predator avoidance under the brightest conditions. The concentration of plover roosts in darker portions of beaches as a means to avoid disturbance and nocturnal predation is consistent with previous studies of nocturnal foraging (Mouritsen, 1992) and predator avoidance (Santos et al, 2010).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…California Grunion emerge onto sandy beaches at night, during the highest tides, to engage in spawning runs, despite the predation risk from various shorebirds and other predators, including humans (Martin, 2015;Martin and Raim, 2014). It can then be hypothesized that grunion will avoid more brightly illuminated locations to minimize predation risk.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Determining the Effects of Artificial Light at Night on the Distributions of Western Snowy Plovers (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) and California Grunion (Leuresthes tenuis) in Southern California

Simons

Martin

Longcore

2021

Journal of Coastal Research

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“…In 1998, a method for assessment of grunion runs, the Walker Scale, was developed that evaluates the number of fish on shore, the extent of shoreline involved, and the duration of the run [30], shown in Table 1. This has been in use in conjunction with a group of trained citizen scientists, the Grunion Greeters, since 2002 [31].…”

Section: 1: Effects On Sand Habitatmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Repeated Sand Replenishment Projects on Runs of a Beach-Spawning Fish, the California Grunion

Martin

Adams

2020

JMSE

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Beach habitats are diminishing globally, particularly in urban areas, as sea-level rise, erosion, and shoreline hardening, along with reduced sediment inputs, combine to squeeze the coast. In California, USA an endemic marine fish, the California grunion, spawns on sandy beaches during late-night spring tides. Its unique recreational fishery is managed by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The City of Oceanside, CA contracts for annual harbor dredging and, after testing, places the sandy sediment on its public beach. The effects on local beach wildlife from this annual sand replenishment are not known. We examined the effect of this repeated activity as a case study over three years on the spawning runs of the California grunion. Some spawning runs occurred in all three years, but the fish avoided areas with high scarps in the intertidal zone that developed following sand placement activity. Grunion spawning runs have declined in the habitat range as a whole over the past two decades, and those in Oceanside have declined to an even greater extent. Increasing sandy beach habitat can be beneficial to wildlife, but the method of placement, timing of the project, and fate of the beach afterward can modulate or prevent beneficial effects. Frequent repetition of sand placement may accumulate impacts without allowing sufficient time for the ecosystem to recover. Rather than improving the habitat, these repeated projects in Oceanside may degrade the spawning habitat for the grunion. Alternative discharge methods and locations, slope and elevation designs, sediment volumes, and greater care in beach fill practices should be implemented to reduce future impacts.

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Avian Predators Target Nocturnal Runs of the Beach-Spawning Marine Fish, California Grunion,Leuresthes tenuis(Atherinopsidae)

Cited by 4 publications

References 39 publications

Effects of tidal periodicities and diurnal foraging constraints on the density of foraging wading birds

Effects of tidal periodicities and diurnal foraging constraints on the density of foraging wading birds

Determining the Effects of Artificial Light at Night on the Distributions of Western Snowy Plovers (Charadrius nivosus nivosus) and California Grunion (Leuresthes tenuis) in Southern California

Effects of Repeated Sand Replenishment Projects on Runs of a Beach-Spawning Fish, the California Grunion

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