Piping Plover response to coastal storms occurring during the nonbreeding season

Bourque, Nadine R.; Villard, Marc‐André; Mazerolle, Marc J.; Amirault-Langlais, Diane L.; Tremblay, Éric; Jolicoeur, Serge

doi:10.5751/ace-00734-100112

Cited by 2 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 21 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As also observed by Bourque et al [88], we found that the relationship between the storm-induced increase in habitat and piping plover population size was less clear. Population sizes, measured as the number of breeding pairs, remained steady or declined from the pre-Sandy (spring 2012) through the ca.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 73%

Using a Bayesian network to understand the importance of coastal storms and undeveloped landscapes for the creation and maintenance of early successional habitat

Zeigler¹,

Gutierrez²,

Sturdivant³

et al. 2019

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Coastal storms have consequences for human lives and infrastructure but also create important early successional habitats for myriad species. For example, storm-induced overwash creates nesting habitat for shorebirds like piping plovers ( Charadrius melodus ). We examined how piping plover habitat extent and location changed on barrier islands in New York, New Jersey, and Virginia after Hurricane Sandy made landfall following the 2012 breeding season. We modeled nesting habitat using a nest presence/absence dataset that included characterizations of coastal morphology and vegetation. Using a Bayesian network, we predicted nesting habitat for each study site for the years 2010/2011, 2012, and 2014/2015 based on remotely sensed spatial datasets (e.g., lidar, orthophotos). We found that Hurricane Sandy increased piping plover habitat by 9 to 300% at 4 of 5 study sites but that one site saw a decrease in habitat by 27%. The amount, location, and longevity of new habitat appeared to be influenced by the level of human development at each site. At three of the five sites, the amount of habitat created and the time new habitat persisted were inversely related to the amount of development. Furthermore, the proportion of new habitat created in high-quality overwash was inversely related to the level of development on study areas, from 17% of all new habitat in overwash at one of the most densely developed sites to 80% of all new habitat at an undeveloped site. We also show that piping plovers exploited new habitat after the storm, with 14–57% of all nests located in newly created habitat in the 2013 breeding season. Our results quantify the importance of storms in creating and maintaining coastal habitats for beach-nesting species like piping plovers, and these results suggest a negative correlation between human development and beneficial ecological impacts of these natural disturbances.

show abstract

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 73%

Using a Bayesian network to understand the importance of coastal storms and undeveloped landscapes for the creation and maintenance of early successional habitat

Zeigler¹,

Gutierrez²,

Sturdivant³

et al. 2019

PLoS ONE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…A study in eastern Canada, near the northern end of the Piping Plover's Atlantic Coast range, found that the number of fledglings increased following winter storms similar to Hurricane Isabel and the nor'easters reported here (Bourque et al 2015). However, Bourque et al (2015) did not find a strong relationship with pair counts, suggesting that the amount of habitat created following storms was too little to change the amount of available nesting habitat significantly given the current population, but did allow for more foraging habitat for prefledged chicks. Alternatively, other factors could be affecting this population's growth rate such as factors outside of the breeding season.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 49%

Irruptions: evidence for breeding season habitat limitation in Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)

Robinson¹,

Fraser²,

Catlin³

et al. 2019

ACE

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Effective management of wildlife populations requires identification of the factors limiting their growth. The Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) is an imperiled, disturbance-dependent, shorebird species that nests on broad, sparsely vegetated beaches, sandbars, and lakeshores. In areas minimally affected by human use, plover habitat loss occurs through vegetation encroachment and erosion. Alternatively, habitat availability may be increased by sand deposition caused by storm-or flood-induced sediment transport or scouring that removes vegetation, or by receding lake levels. To test the hypothesis that plover populations are limited by available breeding habitat, we estimated the amount of habitat available before and after four significant storm and flooding events (i.e., disturbance) by classifying pre-and postdisturbance aerial imagery. We then evaluated the population changes that occurred after disturbance-related habitat alterations. Additionally, we report on population changes from four population increases that occurred after habitat creation events for which we did not have imagery suitable for classification. The storm and flood effects considered were those from hurricanes and nor'easters on barrier islands of Virginia, North Carolina, New York, and Maryland, USA, and those from floods and high water output from the Gavins Point Dam on the Missouri River between South Dakota and Nebraska, USA. The amount of nesting habitat increased 27-950% at these sites, and plover populations increased overall 72-622% after these events (increase of 8-217 pairs in 3 to 8 years after the disturbance, average 12-116% increase annually). The demographic changes were driven by productivity in some cases and probably by increases in immigration in others, and occurred simultaneously with regional increases. Our results support our hypothesis that the focal plover populations were at or near carrying capacity and are habitat limited. Currently, human interventions such as beach stabilization, the construction of artificial dunes, and dams reduce natural disturbance, and therefore, the carrying capacity, in many plover breeding areas. If these interventions were reduced or modified in such a way as to create and improve habitat, plover populations would likely reach higher average numbers and the potential for achieving recovery goals would be increased.

show abstract

Piping Plover response to coastal storms occurring during the nonbreeding season

Cited by 2 publications

References 21 publications

Using a Bayesian network to understand the importance of coastal storms and undeveloped landscapes for the creation and maintenance of early successional habitat

Using a Bayesian network to understand the importance of coastal storms and undeveloped landscapes for the creation and maintenance of early successional habitat

Irruptions: evidence for breeding season habitat limitation in Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus)

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About