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? <br />Example Experiment to Test the Relative Effectiveness of Created Habitats <br />for Reproduction by Least Terns and Piping Plovers for use in Adaptive <br />Management <br />January 6, 2005 <br />The objective of the experiment is to determine the relative effectiveness of treatments to <br />create habitat suitable for tern and plover reproduction. The experiment is designed to <br />compare the resulting habitat and reproductive output by terns and plovers at a variety of <br />locations at which habitat modifications (treatments) are made. Treatments will be <br />applied to areas of land (experimental units) and monitoring will take place to enable the <br />estimation of reproductive parameters as described in the Program protocol "Monitoring <br />reproductive success and reproductive habitat parameters of least terns and piping plovers <br />in the central Platte River". The experiment will require several years of data to account <br />for variability inherent in the system. <br />Research Hypotheses <br />¦ Creation of bare sand area in the river channel will result in tern and plover <br />production. <br />Maintenance of bare sand areas in the river channel by flow will result in tern and <br />plover production. <br />¦ Maintenance of bare sand areas in the river channel by mechanical maintenance <br />will result in tern and plover production. <br />¦ Sandpits maintained mechanically will have higher production than river sites. <br />Treatments <br />The treatments represent a range of management actions implemented to create bare sand <br />areas of appropriate size, elevation, etc. such that they would be considered potential <br />piping plover and least tern habitat. The desired habitat characteristics to be obtained <br />from the treatments will not vary by treatment. The treatments will vary along a <br />continuum from mechanical creation and maintenance of bare sand areas to creation and <br />maintenance of bare sand areas by natural processes (flow). For the sake of this example, <br />there will be five treatments: <br />1. River sites created by flow impacts on sediment released by clearing and leveling <br />with no additional mechanical maintenance <br />2. River sites created mechanically (in place) and maintained by flow <br />3. River sites created mechanically (in place) and maintained mechanically and by <br />flow <br />4. River sites created by flow beyond the influence of clearing and leveling or <br />mechanical activities with no mechanical maintenance (control for treatments 1-3)