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Piping Plover

Meridan Tapert Environmental Science P3 February 8 th , 2014. Piping Plover . Name . Piping Plover Charadrius melodus. Life History . Nesting takes place on the ground Their life span is less than five years, on occasion up to 14 years

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Piping Plover

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  1. Meridan Tapert Environmental Science P3 February 8th, 2014 Piping Plover

  2. Name • Piping Plover • Charadriusmelodus

  3. Life History • Nesting takes place on the ground • Their life span is less than five years, on occasion up to 14 years • Piping plovers spend three to four months on their breeding grounds in the Great Lakes • Migrate to wintering areas along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts • They start arriving in Michigan and Wisconsin in late April

  4. Physical Characteristics • Small shore bird • 7 1/4 inches long with a 15 inch wingspan • Sandy-colored feathers • Grayish-brown crowns and backs • White foreheads • Dark bands across their crowns

  5. Physical Characteristics • Yellow-orange legs • Black bands across their foreheads from eye to eye • Black rings around the base of their necks • Small, stocky, with short, stubby bills • Weight ranging from 1.5-2.2 oz (43-63 grams)

  6. Reproduction • Reach sexual maturity at one year • Mate from late March through April • Females will lay about 4 gray to pale sand-colored eggs with a few dark spots • Eggs go through an incubation period of 25 days

  7. Reproduction • Fledge 30 to 35 days later • Females leave the young when the hatchlings are 14 to 20 days old • Males remain with them until they can fly • There are just over 5,000 known pairs of breeding piping plovers

  8. Food • Marine worms • Beetles • Spiders • Crustaceans • Mollusks

  9. Habitat • Shoreline; Open sandy beaches or lakeshores, especially above tideline • Coastal beaches • Alkalai Flats • ephemeral lakebed which consist of fine-grained sediments infused with alkali salts

  10. Distribution: Territory & Range • Territorial over nests

  11. Behavior • Ground forager • Search for prey visually and then pecks or quickly snatches at prey • Males compete against each other for females' attention by performing elaborate flights • Once he has her attention, he begins a high-stepping "dance," continuing the courtship ritual

  12. Ecology • Invertebrate Population Control • The piping plover feeds along sandy shorelines and acts as a population control factor for its prey • Predators keep prey populations at sustainable ecologically healthy levels • Pest Control • Fly larvae make up a significant portion of their diet • Control of pest species is useful to breeding mammals in the area and to human neighbors

  13. Ecology • Avian/ Mammalian Food Source • Other birds such as gulls, crows, owls, merlins and falcons utilize their eggs as a food source • Provide a meal for red foxes, coyotes and striped skunks etc. • An Umbrella of Protection • Environmental protection that shelters a number of other organisms in the ecosystem as well • American oystercatchers • Least terns • Wilson’s plovers • Red knots • Sea turtles • Northeastern beach tiger beetles

  14. Predators, Parasites, & Diseases • Gulls, crows, raccoons, foxes and skunks are threats to the eggs • Falcons, domestic and feral cats may prey on the adult birds • There are no known parasites or diseases that affect the bird

  15. Cause for Listing • Habitat Alteration & Destruction • Loss of sandy beaches and lakeshores due to recreational, residential, and commercial development (i.e. on the Great Lakes, Atlantic Coast, and the Gulf of Mexico) • Reservoir construction, channel excavation, and modification of river flows have eliminated sandbar nesting habitat along hundreds of miles of the Missouri and Platte Rivers • Winter habitats along the Gulf coast are threatened by industrial and urban expansion and maintenance activities for commercial waterways • Pollution from spills of petrochemical products and other hazardous materials is also a concern

  16. Cause for Listing • Human Disturbance • Vehicular and foot traffic Inhibits • incubation and other breeding behavior • Agricultural development and urbanization • Beach raking disrupt nutrient cycles and remove prey organisms from foraging areas

  17. Status • Endangered; Listed 1985 • In 2001, the total population of Piping Plovers in North America was estimated to be 5,945 breeding adults • The Texas Gulf Coast had the highest wintering population, with about 1,042 individuals detected • This represents about 44% of birds detected on the wintering grounds during the 2001 International Piping Plover Census

  18. Conservation Management Needs • Signs or fences are being implemented to reduce human disturbance • Vegetation management • Predator control • Pollution abatement • Habitat creation/restoration • Biologists continue to assess habitat availability and quality • Public information campaigns concerning Piping Plover conservation take place • Bird banding • Recovery plans currently exists in all areas where the bird breeds

  19. Impact • Impacts the food chain • Beaches will no longer be under critical habitat protection • The other animals that live in a beach habitat will be effected

  20. References • http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/piping_plover/lifehistory • http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/piplover/ • http://mnfi.anr.msu.edu/explorer/species.cfm?id=10978 • http://www.fws.gov/northeast/pipingplover/overview.html

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