Identifying Optimal Foraging Characteristics to Inform Piping Plover and Red Knot Habitat Management - NERRS/NSC(NERRS Science Collaborative)

Shorebird populations are declining globally in the face of sea level rise, increasing coastal

development, and shoreline modifications. The piping plover (Charadrius melodus) and red knot

(Calidris canutus) have exhibited population declines in recent years. The piping plover is a federally listed species that spends most of the year in its wintering range, including intertidal habitats in South Carolina. Recent research has established linkages between benthic prey abundance and foraging activity along South Carolina beaches; however, most of these projects focused on determining impacts from shoreline modification, rather than quantifying habitat characteristics. Identifying characteristics associated with optimal foraging habitat would help inform state and federal permitting and habitat management activities in areas these shorebirds inhabit.

A project team at the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources worked with the ACE Basin NERR, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and other partners, including beach communities and conservation groups, to develop a habitat assessment tool for the piping plover. This easy-to-use tool was derived from new data collections in areas of high foraging activity, application of new genetic tools to distinguish preferred prey, and reanalysis of a decade of sampling data collected along the South Carolina coast. The tool allows for identification of important habitats and provides the user (e.g., state or federal biologist making recommendations about permit applications such as beach nourishment) an understanding of what is unique about each of these areas. Information was collected to further knowledge of red knot foraging areas, but more work is needed before there is sufficient information to develop a similar tool for red knots.

Through a 2020 catalyst project, staff from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources worked with ACE Basin NERR and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to fill a critical gap in understanding piping plover needs by quantifying foraging habitat characteristics of this declining shorebird species and developing a habitat assessment tool to inform state and federal permitting and habitat management activities.

Project Lead:

Andrew Tweel, South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, tweela@dnr.sc.gov

Collaborative Lead:

Abi Locatis Prochaska, ACE Basin NERR, ProchaskaA@dnr.sc.gov

Team Members:

Denise Sanger, ACE Basin NERR, sangerd@dnr.sc.gov

Melissa Chaplin, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, melissa_chaplin@fws.gov

Partners:

South Carolina Department of Natural Resources; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Services

==About the data

3 related datasets are described in this document:

1. Piping Plover Benthic Habitat Characterization

2. Piping Plover Fecal Analysis Summary

3. UAV imagery to Understand Piping Plover Habitat Spatial Distribution and Relationships

The distributor does not assume liability.

None

Cite this dataset when used as a source: NOAA retains the right to analyze, synthesize and publish summaries of the NERRS/NSC data. The NERRS/NSC retains the right to be fully credited for having collected and process the data. Following academic courtesy standards, the NERR site where the data were collected should be contacted and fully acknowledged in any subsequent publications in which any part of the data are used. The data enclosed within this package/transmission are only as accurate as the quality assurance and quality control procedures that are described in the associated metadata reporting statement allow. The user bears all responsibility for its subsequent use/misuse in any further analyses or comparisons. The Federal government does not assume liability to the Recipient or third persons, nor will the Federal government reimburse or indemnify the Recipient for its liability due to any losses resulting in any way from the use of this data. Requested citation format: NOAA National Estuarine Research Reserve System (NERRS) Science Collaborative(NSC).

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This information is detailed within the project links.

This information is detailed within the project links.