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Status of the Interior Least Tern and Piping Plover in Nebraska
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Status of the Interior Least Tern and Piping Plover in Nebraska
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Last modified
2/22/2013 10:59:20 AM
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1/29/2013 1:20:55 PM
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Water Supply Protection
Description
Prepared for Interstate Task Force on Endangered Species (related to the Platte River Recovery Implementation Program or PRRIP), Colorado Water Congress, Nebraska Water Resources Association, Wyoming Water Development Association Tom Pitts, P.E. Task Force Coordinator
State
CO
WY
NE
Basin
South Platte
Water Division
1
Date
9/1/1988
Author
EA Engineering, Science, and Technology, Inc.
Title
Status of the Interior Least Tern and Piping Plover in Nebraska (Period of Record through 1986)
Water Supply Pro - Doc Type
Report/Study
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fledged below Gavins Point Dam in 1983, whereas fledging rates /nesting pair <br />were 0.05 and 0.20 below Gavins Point Dam and Fort Randall Dam, respectively, <br />in 1986. <br />Flooding resulting from high flows subsequent to the next initiation period <br />appeared to be the main cause of low production at piping plover colonies <br />located on sandbars along the Platte River in 1986 and along the Missouri River <br />�- in 1983 and 1986. The higher production rate of 1.8 fledglings /nesting pair <br />determined at sandpit colonies adjacent to the Platte River in 1984 compares <br />favorably with rates reported for colonies along the Atlantic Coast: at one <br />area in Nova Scotia, piping plovers nesting on an isolated, rarely visited <br />beach fledged 1.3 to 2.1 young per pair, whereas birds nesting on a <br />recreational beach at another site fledged 0.7 to 1.1 young per pair (Cairns <br />1977, 1982). The reason for the lower production rates at sandpit colonies <br />along the Platte River in 1986 versus 1984 is not known. <br />Because piping plovers occupy the same types of nesting habitat as least terns <br />(low river bars, beaches, and other exposed land surfaces), they, too, are <br />subject to high temporal and spatial variability in production rates, as <br />influenced by the occurrence of floods, storms, and other disturbance factors. <br />Like least terns, piping plovers are advantaged by a long life span: one <br />banded bird lived to be 14 years old (Wilcox 1962) and, in general, adult males <br />and females may live as long as 10 and 11 years, respectively (Dinsmore 1984). <br />As a result, the species is able to cope with periodic bouts of low <br />productivity. However, the population as a whole cannot be sustained or <br />augmented, unless occurrences of reproductive failure are balanced or augmented <br />by occurrences of reproductive success. <br />{ As has been noted by the Nebraska Game and Parks Commission (NGPC 1984 and <br />1986) production rates reported for least tern and piping plover breeding <br />�_. populations should be viewed with caution because 1) the mobility and dispersal <br />of young birds from their nests soon after hatching makes it difficult to <br />monitor development through to fledging (age at first flight); and 2) lack of <br />nesting synchrony among and between colonies results in young reaching fledging <br />age at different times. Based on similar observations during studies of least <br />tern colonies along the Texas coast, Thompson and Slack (1984) determined that <br />single counts of fledglings substantially underestimate cumulative production <br />among colonies. Instead, they concluded that multiple counts timed with the <br />breeding chronology for colonies within the survey area, and corrected for <br />juvenile departure, are required to achieve more realistic estimates of <br />survival to fledging. They stated that empirical verification at other nesting <br />areas was warranted. <br />To more effectively monitor the health and status of least tern and piping <br />plover populations in Nebraska (and elsewhere within the species, breeding <br />ranges), priority should be placed on the collection of accurate production <br />data in accordance with the procedures recommended by Thompson and Slack <br />(1984), and in consort with regular censusing and management initiatives. <br />FACTORS AFFECTING PRE - FLEDGLING MORTALITY <br />Available data and observations recorded during systematic surveys indicate <br />that main sources of pre - fledgling mortality at least tern and piping plover <br />colonies along Nebraska rivers include flooding, human disturbance, and <br />vii <br />
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