Piping plover chick survival negatively correlated with beach recreation.

DeRose‐Wilson, Audrey L.; Hunt, Kelsi L.; Monk, Julia D.; Catlin, Daniel H.; Karpanty, Sarah M.; Fraser, James D.

Shorebird populations worldwide are declining because of habitat loss from sea‐level rise, accelerated erosion, development, and recreational land use. To better understand the consequences of human recreational activity, we monitored survival, habitat use, condition, and behavior of pre‐fledged piping plover (Charadrius melodus) chicks on Fire Island and Westhampton Island, New York, 2013–2015. Broods experienced varying levels of recreational land use (low‐use, moderate‐use, high‐use, and high off‐road vehicle‐use), and recreational use was higher on weekends (Friday–Sunday) than weekdays. Chick daily survival rates were lowest on weekends and increased with time since weekend. Chicks that hatched in areas with low recreational use were more likely to survive to fledging (25 days; x¯ = 0.82 ± 0.08 SE) than those that hatched in areas of high recreational use (x¯ = 0.19 ± 0.05). In addition, chicks hatched in areas of high recreational use fledged at a later age than those hatched in areas of low or moderate recreational use. On weekends, chicks spent less time in foraging habitat (with higher prey abundance), less time foraging, and made fewer foraging attempts per minute than they did on weekdays. These results suggest that recreational activity on beaches pushed foraging plover chicks into habitats with lower food availability, resulting in lower feeding rates, slower growth, and decreased survival. Recreational use of coastal areas can limit the functional availability of shorebird foraging habitat, particularly intertidal foraging habitat, resulting in demographic consequences. © 2018 The Wildlife Society. To better understand the consequences of human recreational activity, we monitored survival, habitat use, condition, and behavior of pre‐fledged piping plover (Charadrius melodus) chicks. Chicks that hatched in areas with low recreational use were more likely to survive to fledging than those in areas of high recreational use, and on weekends (when recreational use was highest) chicks spent a lower proportion of their time in higher‐quality foraging habitat, spent a lower proportion of their time foraging, made fewer foraging attempts per minute, and had lower survival than on weekdays. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that recreational use can reduce piping plover reproductive output.

FIRE Island (N.Y. : Island); SHORE birds; PLOVERS; CHARADRIUS; BIRD declines; BIRD populations; BIRD conservation

Journal of Wildlife Management, 2018, Vol 82, Issue 8, p1608

0022-541X

Academic Journal

10.1002/jwmg.21552