Impacts of extreme environmental disturbances on piping plover survival are partially moderated by migratory connectivity

Ellis, Kristen S.; Anteau, Michael J.; Cuthbert, Francesca J.; Gratto‐Trevor, Cheri L.; Jorgensen, Joel G.; Newstead, David J.; Powell, Larkin A.; Ring, Megan M.; Sherfy, Mark H.; Swift, Rose J.; Toy, Dustin L.; Koons, David N.

doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109371

Cited by 9 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 79 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…While red tide toxins have been directly tied to the mortality of Red Knots in Texas (Rafalski, 2012) and closely related shorebirds in Florida (van Deventer et al, 2012) through necropsy and tissue sampling, only one other study has quantitatively estimated the effect of HABs on shorebird survival at the population level. Ellis et al (2021) detected a negative effect of HABs on Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) survival during the nonbreeding season along the Gulf of Mexico coast. This species is not only faithful to wintering areas generally (similar to knots) but even more highly faithful to specific individual territories with small home ranges (Drake et al, 2001;Cohen et al, 2008;Newstead, 2014) and may have a greater disinclination to move away from an area affected by red tide or other factors that may negatively affect survival.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Impacts are likely underestimated due to depredation and decomposition of carcasses, and removal of carcasses through tidal action (Sutherland et al, 2012). Further, a lack of long-term demographic monitoring of affected avian species has confounded determination of population level effects, though a recent study found a relationship between HAB occurrence and survival in Gulf-wintering Piping Plovers (Ellis et al, 2021).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Survival of red knots in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Newstead,

Dinsmore,

Ballard

et al. 2024

Front. Ecol. Evol.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Highly migratory shorebirds are among the fastest declining avian guilds, so determining causes of mortality is critically important for their conservation. Most of these species depend on a specific geographic arrangement of suitable sites that reliably provide resources needed to fuel physiologically demanding life histories. Long-term mark-resight projects allow researchers to investigate specific potential sources of variation in demographic rates between populations. Red Knots (Calidris canutus) occur in three relatively distinct regions across the northern Gulf of Mexico, and two of these areas have been experiencing episodic harmful algal blooms (red tide) with increased frequency in recent decades. Since knots are mostly molluscivorous during the nonbreeding season in the Gulf, they are potentially exposed to red tide toxins at high concentrations via their filter-feeding prey. We used long-term mark-resight data from Texas, Louisiana, and Florida (USA) to estimate apparent survival, and to assess the effects of red tides on survival of Red Knots. We also assessed effects of tracking devices deployed in conjunction with the projects over the years. While overall apparent annual survival rates were similar across the three locations (0.768 – 0.819), several red tide events were associated with catastrophically low seasonal (fall) survival in Florida (as low as 0.492) and Texas (as low as 0.510). Leg-mounted geolocators, but not temporary glued-on VHF tags, were associated with a reduction in apparent survival (~8%/year). Movement of knots between the three areas was rare and site fidelity is known to be high. Harmful algal blooms are predicted to increase in frequency and severity with climate change and increased anthropogenic degradation of coastal habitats, which may further endanger these as well as other shorebird populations around the world.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Survival of red knots in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Newstead,

Dinsmore,

Ballard

et al. 2024

Front. Ecol. Evol.

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Pre‐fledging chick survival in the NGP is also affected by recent flooding events that create habitat and by the presence of heterospecifics that mob predators, which may mask any detectible annual effects (Anteau et al, 2019; Hunt et al, 2018; Swift, Anteau, Roche, et al, 2020). It is equally likely that our ability to detect relationships between survival and factors on breeding areas was obscured by broader‐scale factors during the post‐fledging period, such as events (e.g., extreme storms and harmful algal blooms) occurring on nonbreeding areas (Ellis et al, 2021). However, post‐fledging hatch‐year survival has previously been shown to be negatively related to hatching date, yet unrelated to body condition at banding, cohort size, predation pressure, and hurricane events on nonbreeding areas for plovers in the Great Lakes (Saunders et al, 2014).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Implications of habitat‐driven survival and dispersal on recruitment in a spatially structured piping plover population

et al. 2022

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Natal survival and dispersal have important consequences for populations through the movement of genes and individuals. Metapopulation theory predicts either balanced natal dispersal among regions or source-sink dynamics, which can dramatically change population structure. For species reliant on dynamic, early-successional habitats, availability and location of habitat will shift from year to year, requiring primiparous individuals to locate an appropriate breeding habitat. We estimated hatch-year survival to adulthood and natal dispersal rates between two breeding groups of Northern Great Plains piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) from four cohorts (n = 2669 total individuals; 2014-2017). Hatch-year survival to adulthood was slightly higher for individuals hatched on the Missouri River than on the US Alkali Wetlands but declined over time. Individuals hatched on the US Alkali Wetlands were more likely to disperse to breed on the Missouri River (0.33 [0.20, 0.48]) than vice versa (0.17 [0.11, 0.24]). When more habitat was available at the natal site than in the prior year, natal dispersal rates increased. However, despite higher recruitment rates as a result of higher natal fidelity, the Missouri River showed lower total recruitment with a declining trend in the number of recruits, largely due to differences in abundance between breeding groups. Overall, unbalanced, high natal dispersal rates within the Northern Great Plains indicate high connectivity among distinct regions with different water regimes on the Missouri River and on the US Alkali Wetlands driven by fluctuating availability of habitat. Our results suggest that plovers in the Northern Great Plains take advantage of dynamic habitats where they are available in a broad geographic area, which is consistent with a spatially structured panmictic population rather than a true metapopulation, but further research on adult breeding dispersal is needed to clarify population structure.

show abstract

“…Additionally, PVA has been conducted repeatedly on this population as part of the management process (Ryan et al, 1993;Plissner and Haig, 2000;Larson et al, 2002;McGowan and Ryan, 2009;McGowan et al, 2014). However, a wealth of new data have been published since the most recent PVA (McGowan et al, 2014), and studies focused on connectivity and dispersal (Ellis et al, 2021;Swift et al, 2021a;Swift et al, 2021b;Swift et al, 2022), renesting (Swift et al, 2020), and juvenile survival (fledge to secondyear; Catlin et al, 2015;Catlin et al, 2016;Roche et al, 2016a;Hunt et al, 2018;Catlin et al, 2019;Swift et al, 2021a;Swift et al, 2022) have filled critical knowledge gaps that required expert knowledge to inform prior PVAs. This new information allowed us to update critical vital rate estimates such as survival, fecundity, and connectivity and re-evaluate population viability for plovers throughout the NGP breeding range.…”

Section: Study System and Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most habitat is primarily created and maintained by waterlevel fluctuations (Anteau et al, 2014a;McCauley et al, 2016;Anteau et al, 2019). During the nonbreeding season, individuals breeding in the NGP largely overwinter along the Gulf Coast of Texas and Mexico (Ellis et al, 2021).…”

Section: Study System and Modelmentioning

confidence: 99%

Estimating population viability of the northern Great Plains piping plover population considering updated population structure, climate change, and intensive management

et al. 2023

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

One challenge in wildlife conservation is understanding how various threats and management actions may influence long-term population viability. This is particularly evident when there is considerable uncertainty regarding population structure and vital rates. Reassessment of current knowledge and population trends is necessary for listed species to improve management actions that benefit conservation. We present an updated population viability analysis for northern Great Plains piping plovers (Charadrius melodus circumcinctus) based on the latest scientific data on survival, fecundity, and connectivity. Further, we explore the consequences of potential management actions and the stochastic effects of global climate change on population viability through changes in survival and fecundity. Our results predict elevated risks of extinction after 50 years (0.088 – 0.373) compared to previous predictions (0.033) based on assumed conditions of low connectivity among four major breeding groups structured as a metapopulation. We explored eight scenarios based on empirically-derived, higher connectivity rates and found that the northern Great Plains population never had a mean predicted population growth rate greater than one (0.946 – 0.996). Two scenarios that simulated a reduction in adult survival showed higher extinction probabilities (0.267 – 0.373), whereas two other scenarios that simulated an increase in fecundity exhibited lower extinction probabilities (0.088 – 0.103). These results indicate that viability of the northern Great Plains population of piping plovers could be improved with management actions that increase fecundity as long as adult survival is not simultaneously reduced. Lastly, breeding groups appeared to function less independently when connectivity rates were higher, as the breeding population was divided evenly among breeding groups. This indicates that the presumed metapopulation structure of our study system may need to be re-evaluated, and that empirically-based estimates of connectivity are essential to assessing population viability of mobile species that exhibit a spatially structured distribution.

show abstract

Impacts of extreme environmental disturbances on piping plover survival are partially moderated by migratory connectivity

Cited by 9 publications

References 79 publications

Survival of red knots in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Survival of red knots in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Implications of habitat‐driven survival and dispersal on recruitment in a spatially structured piping plover population

Estimating population viability of the northern Great Plains piping plover population considering updated population structure, climate change, and intensive management

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About