American Oystercatchers in Maryland and Virginia, USA: Status and Distribution

Wilke, Alexandra L.; Brinker, D.J.; Watts, Bryan D.; Traut, Ashley H.; Boettcher, Ruth; McCann, James M.; Truitt, Barry R.; Denmon, Pamela

doi:10.1675/1524-4695(2007)030[0152:aoimav]2.0.co;2

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Although our data were incomplete on American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) nesting, this species may also benefit from eroding islands where vegetation dies or washes away during storms or high tide events and sand-shell habitat expands. At least in the Maryland portion of the Bay, they maybe increasing (Traut et al 2006;Wilke et al 2007). In 2007, it appeared that a number of these small Tangier Sound islands supported American oystercatcher pairs (GRC, unpublished data).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Islands at bay: rising seas, eroding islands, and waterbird habitat loss in Chesapeake Bay (USA)

et al. 2010

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Like many resources in the Chesapeake Bay region of the U.S., many waterbird nesting populations have suffered over the past three to four decades. In this study, historic information for the entire Bay and recent results from the Tangier Sound region were evaluated to illustrate patterns of island erosion and habitat loss for 19 breeding species of waterbirds. Aerial imagery and field data collected in the nesting season were the primary sources of data. From a group of 15 islands in Tangier Sound, Virginia were reduced by 21% in area, as most of their small dunes and associated vegetation and forest cover were lost to increased washovers. Concurrently, nesting American black ducks (Anas rubripes) declined by 66% , wading birds (herons-egrets) by 51%, gulls by 72%, common terns (Sterna hirundo) by 96% and black skimmers (Rynchops niger) by about 70% in this complex. The declines noted at the larger Bay-wide scale suggest that this study area maybe symptomatic of a systemic limitation of nesting habitat for these species. The island losses noted in the Chesapeake have also been noted in other Atlantic U. S. coastal states. Stabilization and/or restoration of at least some of the rapidly eroding islands at key coastal areas are critical to help sustain waterbird communities.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Islands at bay: rising seas, eroding islands, and waterbird habitat loss in Chesapeake Bay (USA)

et al. 2010

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“…Age-specific variation in survival for American oystercatchers is best modeled by biologically meaningful age stages (juveniles, sub-adults, and adults) rather than year (Wilke et al 2017). We considered oystercatchers that were ≥3 years old to be adults because this is the age most oystercatchers reach breeding maturity (McGowan et al 2005, American Oystercatcher Working Group et al 2012, Wilke et al 2017. We assumed that over-wintering juveniles had similar survival rates as sub-adults, so we grouped juveniles with sub-adults.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Annual shorebird survival estimates are commonly reported based on data from breeding grounds, but season‐specific estimates (especially for the overwintering period) are lacking (Méndez et al 2018). It is unknown if annual oystercatcher survival during the overwintering period will differ from the results of studies that have estimated annual adult survival rates focused on band resights of individuals during the breeding season (Nol et al 2012, Murphy et al 2017, Wilke et al 2017). Oystercatcher population dynamics are sensitive to changes in adult survival (Wilke et al 2017) and identifying age‐related differences in survival will refine our understanding of population demographics.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…It is unknown if annual oystercatcher survival during the overwintering period will differ from the results of studies that have estimated annual adult survival rates focused on band resights of individuals during the breeding season (Nol et al 2012, Murphy et al 2017, Wilke et al 2017). Oystercatcher population dynamics are sensitive to changes in adult survival (Wilke et al 2017) and identifying age‐related differences in survival will refine our understanding of population demographics. Oystercatcher site fidelity estimates are high for breeding populations (Murphey et al 2017), but it is unknown if there are age‐specific differences in wintering populations.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

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Decline in annual survival of American oystercatchers wintering in Florida linked to extreme high tides

2023

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The projected effects of climate change include an increase in the frequency and intensity of storm events and sea‐level rise, which can erode and degrade coastal habitats and affect coastal‐dependent species. The American oystercatcher (Haematopus palliatus) is a shorebird that is dependent on low‐lying coastal habitats for breeding and wintering and is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change and sea‐level rise. We investigated the degree to which changes in duration of flooding of roosts affected annual survival of individuals in a large wintering population of oystercatchers on the Nature Coast of Florida, USA. We used 12 years (2007–2018) of mark‐resight data from a large‐scale monitoring effort that included winter resights on Florida's Nature Coast to model the annual survival and site fidelity of sub‐adult and adult birds. High‐tide roosts are limited in number and are a potential population‐limiting factor for wintering oystercatchers. We assessed the effect of roost inundation on survival and site fidelity by incorporating the number of hours roosts were at risk of inundation during extreme higher high tide events each winter. We documented a 7.3% decline in annual survival, from 0.96 to 0.89, over the study period, and survival rates did not differ between age stages. The decline was associated with an increase in the duration of extreme higher high tides, which had a negative effect (β = −0.003; 95% CI = −0.006 to −0.001) on survival. Site fidelity varied across the study period and among age stages, with lower rates in sub‐adults (0.85; 95% CI = 0.80–0.89) than in adults (0.94; 95% CI = 0.89–0.97). The duration of nest and roost inundation are among the greatest threats to oystercatcher populations, and high‐tide roosts are an important habitat component for wintering populations on the Nature Coast. Sea‐level rise is predicted to increase, which will contribute to the increasing inundation duration of coastal habitats. Our results underscore the importance of conservation and restoration of important wintering habitats to mitigate threats to the population viability of oystercatchers in Florida and throughout their range.

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“…The target species are four beach-nesting birds of conservation concern in eastern North America: American oystercatcher (Haemotopus palliatus), black skimmer (Rynchops niger), least tern (Sterna antillarum), and piping plover (Charadrius melodus; Figure 1). Black skimmers and least terns are colonial nesters (Brunton, 1999;Erwin, Galli, & Burger, 1981), while American oystercatchers and piping plovers nest as solitary pairs (Maslo et al, 2011;Wilke et al, 2009). Breeding sites for all species are typically found in areas of low elevation with gently sloping, low-lying dunes (Gochfeld, 1978(Gochfeld, , 1983Maslo et al, 2011;McGowan et al, 2005).…”

Section: Target Species and Study Areamentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing birds of conservation concern on sandy shores: How much room for future conservation actions is there?

Maslo

Leu

Pover

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Resource limitations often prevent the active management required to maintain habitat quality in protected areas. Because restrictions in access or allowable public activities are the sole conservation measure in these locations, an important question to consider is whether species of conservation concern truly benefit from parcels that are shielded from human disturbance. Here, we assess the conservation benefit of protecting birds from human recreation on over 204 km of sandy beaches by (a) estimating the total area of beach‐nesting bird habitat that has been created by conservation protections; (b) quantifying the change in nesting habitat extent should further conservation protections be implemented; and (c) providing data to inform future protected area expansion. We use a maximum entropy species distribution modeling approach to estimate the extent and quality of suitable habitat for four beach‐nesting bird species of conservation concern under the existing management regime and compare it to scenarios in which the entire study area is either unprotected of fully protected from human disturbance. Managing humans has dramatic conservation returns for least terns and piping plovers, creating extensive nesting habitat that otherwise would not exist. There is considerable scope for conservation gains, potentially tripling the extent of nesting areas. Expanding conservation footprints for American oystercatchers and black skimmers is predicted to enhance the quality of existing nesting areas. The work demonstrates the utility of modeling changes in habitat suitability to inform protected area expansion on ocean beaches and coastal dunes.

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American Oystercatchers in Maryland and Virginia, USA: Status and Distribution

Cited by 9 publications

References 16 publications

Islands at bay: rising seas, eroding islands, and waterbird habitat loss in Chesapeake Bay (USA)

Islands at bay: rising seas, eroding islands, and waterbird habitat loss in Chesapeake Bay (USA)

Decline in annual survival of American oystercatchers wintering in Florida linked to extreme high tides

Managing birds of conservation concern on sandy shores: How much room for future conservation actions is there?

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