Abstract
In precocial birds, adults select breeding areas using cues associated with habitat characteristics that are favorable for nesting success and chick survival, but there may be tradeoffs in habitat selection between these breeding stages. Here we describe habitat selection and intra-territory movements of 53 Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) broods (320 observations) during the 2007–2008 breeding seasons on mainland- and island-shoreline habitats at Lake Sakakawea, North Dakota, USA. We used remotely sensed habitat characteristics to separately examine habitat selection and movements at two spatiotemporal scales to account for potential confounding effects of nest-site selection on brood-rearing habitat used. The scales used were (1) the entire brood-rearing period within available brood-rearing areas and (2) 2-day observation intervals within age-specific discrete habitat selection choice sets. Analyses at both scales indicated that broods selected areas which were non-vegetated, moderately level, and nearer to the shoreline. Rate of brood movement increased with age up to 5 days, then stabilized; broods that hatched >50 m away from the shoreline moved toward the shoreline. Brood movements were greater when they were in vegetated areas, when the brood-rearing area was of greater topographic complexity, and when broods aged 6–25 days were further away from the shoreline. Using inferences from our results and those of previously published work, we postulate how a potential tradeoff in habitat selection between nesting and brood-rearing can contribute to an ecological trap in a novel habitat. This work, in the context of published works, suggests that plover breeding habitat is a complex of both nesting and brood-rearing habitats and provides a basis for making remotely sensed abundance estimates of suitable breeding habitat for Piping Plovers.
Zusammenfassung
Habitatwahl und Ortsbewegungen von Bruten des Gelbfuß-Regenpfeifers zeigen Entscheidungskonflikte zwischen Brutstadien Bei Nestflüchtern wählen die adulten Vögel die Brutgebiete nach Habitateigenschaften, die von Vorteil sind für den Bruterfolg und für das Überleben der Küken, aber es könnte Entscheidungskonflikte (Tradeoffs) bei der Habitatwahl geben zwischen diesen verschiedenen Brutstadien. Wir beschrieben Habitatwahl und intraterritoriale Bewegungen von 53 Bruten des Gelbfuß-Regenpfeifers (Charadrius melodus) anhand von 320 Beobachtungen während der Brutsaison 2007–2008 in Habitaten der Küstenlinien des Festlands und von Inseln am See Sakakawea in North Dakota, USA. Wir verwendeten Habitateigenschaften aus Fernerkundungsdaten, um Habitatwahl und Bewegungen auf zwei raumzeitlichen Skalen einzeln zu betrachten und um zufällig verbundenen Effekten zwischen Brutplatzwahl und Aufzuchthabitat Rechnung zu tragen. Die verwendeten Skalen waren (1) die gesamte Aufzuchtperiode in für die Aufzucht verfügbaren Gebieten und (2) 2-tägige Beobachtungsintervalle innerhalb von altersspezifischen, diskreten Sätzen von Habitatauswahlmöglichkeiten. Die Analysen zeigten, dass für die Bruten Gebiete gewählt wurden, die unbewachsen waren, einigermaßen eben und näher an der Küste. Die Anzahl von Bewegungen in den Bruten nahm bis zum Alter von fünf Tagen zu und stabilisierte sich dann. Bruten, die mehr als 50 m von der Küste entfernt schlüpften, bewegten sich in Richtung der Küste. Die Bewegungen der Bruten waren größer in Gebieten mit Bewuchs, von höherer topographischer Komplexität und wenn 6 bis 25 Tage alte Bruten weiter von der Küste entfernt waren. Aus unseren eigenen Ergebnissen und veröffentlichten Arbeiten stellen wir zur Diskussion, wie ein möglicher Entscheidungskonflikt zwischen Brüten und Aufzucht bei der Habitatwahl zu einer ökologischen Falle in einem neuen Habitat beitragen kann. Diese Arbeit deutet im Kontext von früher veröffentlichten Arbeiten darauf hin, dass die Definition eines Bruthabitats beim Gelbfuß-Regenpfeifer aus einem Komplex besteht aus sowohl Habitat für Brüten als auch für Aufzucht. Sie schafft eine Grundlage zur Abschätzungen der Häufigkeit von Bruthabitaten für Gelbfuß-Regenpfeifer aus Fernerkundungsdaten.
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Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Missouri River Recovery Program through financial and logistical support from the Corps’ Omaha District Threatened and Endangered Species Section and Garrison Project Office. We are grateful for technical support by the USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Missouri River Least Tern and Piping Plover Research Team, and especially to Melisa Bernard, Betty Euliss, Nickolas Smith, and Larry Strong for assistance with spatial data and remote sensing. We thank Phil Brown, Deb Buhl, Tom Buhl, Colin Dovichin, Anthony Hipp, Coral Huber, Casey Kruse, Michael Morris, Terry Shaffer, Brandi Skone, Nickolas Smith, Marsha Sovada, Jennifer Stucker, and Ryan Williamson for their help with project planning and logistics, and the many field technicians for their assistance with data collection. We thank Juan A. Amat, Glen A. Sargeant, and anonymous reviewers for valuable comments on an earlier version of this manuscript. Our field protocols were approved by the USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center Animal Care and Use Committee. Any use of trade, product, or firm names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government.
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Wiltermuth, M.T., Anteau, M.J., Sherfy, M.H. et al. Habitat selection and movements of Piping Plover broods suggest a tradeoff between breeding stages. J Ornithol 156, 999–1013 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-015-1227-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-015-1227-0