Spacing out at Mono Lake: Breeding Success, Nest Density, and Predation in the Snowy Plover

The Auk ◽  
1983 ◽  
Vol 100 (1) ◽  
pp. 13-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gary W. Page ◽  
Lynne E. Stenzel ◽  
David W. Winkler ◽  
Christopher W. Swarth
Keyword(s):  
Nesting Success ◽  
Mono Lake ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Nest Density ◽  
Population Stability ◽  
Female Population ◽  
Charadrius Alexandrinus ◽  
Snowy Plover ◽  
Series Of Experiments ◽  
Snowy Plovers

Abstract Snowy Plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus) nesting on the exposed lake bed surrounding Mono Lake, California lose up to 40% of their clutches. Most are destroyed by predators, predominantly California Gulls (Larus californicus). In 1978 Snowy Plover reproduction was estimated at 0.49-0.70 fledged young per female. Population stability was estimated to require 0.80 fledged young per female. A series of experiments with artificial clutches placed at different densities in the nesting area demonstrates that the predators can have an effect on the plovers' nesting success that is dependent upon their nest density. The maintenance of low nesting density is an important antipredator adaptation. We consider predation on clutches and broods to be the major limiting factor on the Snowy Plover population at Mono Lake.

scholarly journals Survival and Natal Dispersal of Juvenile Snowy Plovers (Charadrius Alexandrinus) in Central Coastal California

The Auk ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 1023-1036 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne E. Stenzel ◽  
Gary W. Page ◽  
Jane C. Warriner ◽  
John S. Warriner ◽  
Douglas E. George ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Large Body ◽  
Weather Conditions ◽  
Natal Dispersal ◽  
Adult Survival ◽  
Juvenile Survival ◽  
Coast Range ◽  
Breeding Sites ◽  
Charadrius Alexandrinus ◽  
Snowy Plover ◽  
Snowy Plovers

AbstractJuvenile survival and dispersal rates are important demographic parameters in predicting the viability of avian populations, but estimates are seldom available because mortality is usually confounded with permanent natal dispersal in analyses of live-encounter data. We used the Barker model for combined captures, recoveries, and resightings to estimate juvenile survival in fledgling Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) for the 6.5-to-10.5-month period between fledging at 28 days and 1 April the following year, on the central California coast, for a 16-year period, 1984-1999. By using a large body of year-round sighting data from throughout the species' Pacific-coast range, we estimated true survival and quantified natal dispersal rates and distances. Juvenile survival estimates varied annually between 0.283 ± 0.028 (mean ± SE) and 0.575 ± 0.061 with no trend over the study, and paralleled higher adult survival in our most parsimonious models. In comparison, annual survival of banded chicks from hatching to fledging at age 28 days was 0.285–0.483 (x̄ = 0.382 ± 0.014 SE) for those 16 years. Males were more likely to disperse from Monterey Bay for winter and females were more likely to disperse for breeding. Dispersal distances to breeding sites were usually within 10 km of natal sites (64%) and seldom >50 km (16%). The present study provides the first estimate of true survival for a juvenile shorebird and new information on survival and dispersal rates that will be useful for modeling Snowy Plover population viability. Studies of local winter residents, focused on predator pressure and weather conditions, could further advance our understanding of factors determining Snowy Plover survival.Supervivencia y Dispersión Natal de Juveniles de Charadrius alexandrinus en la Costa Central de California

Male-skewed adult sex ratio, survival, mating opportunity and annual productivity in the Snowy Plover Charadrius alexandrinus

Ibis ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 153 (2) ◽  
pp. 312-322 ◽  
Author(s):  
LYNNE E. STENZEL ◽  
GARY W. PAGE ◽  
JANE C. WARRINER ◽  
JOHN S. WARRINER ◽  
KRISTINA K. NEUMAN ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Ratio ◽  
Charadrius Alexandrinus ◽  
Annual Productivity ◽  
Adult Sex Ratio ◽  
Snowy Plover

SURVIVAL AND NATAL DISPERSAL OF JUVENILE SNOWY PLOVERS (CHARADRIUS ALEXANDRINUS) IN CENTRAL COASTAL CALIFORNIA

The Auk ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 124 (3) ◽  
pp. 1023 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lynne E. Stenzel ◽  
Gary W. Page ◽  
Jane C. Warriner ◽  
John S. Warriner ◽  
Douglas E. George ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Natal Dispersal ◽  
Charadrius Alexandrinus ◽  
Snowy Plovers

Are goose nesting success and lemming cycles linked? Interplay between nest density and predators

Oikos ◽  
2001 ◽  
Vol 93 (3) ◽  
pp. 388-400 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joel Bety ◽  
Gilles Gauthier ◽  
Jean-Francois Giroux ◽  
Erkki Korpimaki
Keyword(s):  
Nesting Success ◽  
Nest Density

scholarly journals Making the best of a bad job? Chick mortality and flexible female brood care in Snowy Plovers

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krisztina Kupán ◽  
Tamás Székely ◽  
Medardo Cruz-López ◽  
Keeley Seymour ◽  
Clemens Küpper
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Dynamic Modelling ◽  
Extended Period ◽  
Brood Care ◽  
Modelling Framework ◽  
Mating Opportunities ◽  
Breeding Attempt ◽  
Snowy Plover ◽  
Snowy Plovers ◽  
Female Brood

AbstractOffspring desertion represents a trade-off between current and future reproductive success. Its timing is crucial as the termination of parental care has profound consequences for the fitness of the parents and their offspring. However, the decision process involved with termination of care is still poorly understood. Snowy Plovers Charadrius nivosus show highly flexible brood care with females either deserting the brood early or providing care for an extended period. Deserting females often quickly remate and start a new breeding attempt. Using a dynamic modelling framework, we investigated the decision-making process for continuation or termination of care by females over a seven-year period. The length of female care increased over the season likely reflecting lower re-mating opportunities for deserting females late in the season. Present brood size, assessed daily during the brood care period, was strongly related to the length of female care: females were more likely to stay and care for larger than for smaller broods. Chick death and desertion frequently coincided, suggesting that poor offspring condition served as a trigger for female desertion. Overall, deserting females had a similar number of fledglings to caring females. This suggests that for many females, desertion was not a strategy to escape the shackles of monogamy and secure higher reproductive success through sequential polygamy. Rather, most deserting females made the best of a bad job when conditions were poor and their continued presence did not make a difference for the survival of their young. We conclude that when making the decision to continue or terminate care, Snowy Plover females monitor the condition of their offspring closely and adjust their care flexibly to the value and needs of their young.

Salt Water Tolerance and Water Turnover in the Snowy Plover

The Auk ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 94 (2) ◽  
pp. 248-255 ◽  
Author(s):  
James R. Purdue ◽  
Howard Haines
Keyword(s):  
Sea Water ◽  
Salt Water ◽  
Weight Class ◽  
Water Tolerance ◽  
Salt Flats ◽  
Snowy Plover ◽  
Maintain Body Weight ◽  
Ad Libitum ◽  
Snowy Plovers ◽  
Maintenance Behavior

Abstract A series of water-related experiments showed that Snowy Plovers do not have any outstanding physiological capabilities for dealing with the potential thermal and osmotic stresses of the Great Salt Plains, Oklahoma. Snowy Plovers and Semipalmated Sandpipers failed to maintain body weight when given 0.3 M NaCl ad libitum. Killdeer did even more poorly by rapidly losing weight on 0.2 M. These salt water tolerance values are limited when compared to other, particularly marine, birds that can drink full strength sea water. The Snowy Plover is no better at conserving water than other birds in its weight class. So plovers without drinking water were able to maintain their weight when furnished mealworm larvae ad libitum, the insectivorous diet as well as maintenance behavior of the birds is essential for their survival on the salt flats.

scholarly journals Age-Related Survival and Behavior of Snowy Plover Chicks

The Condor ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 109 (3) ◽  
pp. 638-647 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Colwell ◽  
Susan J. Hurley ◽  
James N. Hall ◽  
Stephen J. Dinsmore
Keyword(s):  
High Mortality ◽  
Chick Survival ◽  
Lower Survival ◽  
Charadrius Alexandrinus ◽  
Avian Predators ◽  
Age Related ◽  
Age Dependent ◽  
Snowy Plover ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Related Survival

AbstractAbstract. Precocial young often experience high mortality prior to achieving flight, especially in the first days after hatching. We quantified relationships between chick age, survival, behavior, and response to natural and anthropogenic danger for the threatened Western Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) in coastal northern California, USA. Plover chicks were most likely to die in the first three days of their 28-day prefledging period, especially on sandy ocean beaches compared to coarser substrates of river habitats. Chick survival in both habitats increased across the ∼120-day chick-rearing period. Improved survival of older chicks coincided with an age-related reduction in brooding and increased distance from the tending parent, which was not related to season. Lower survival of younger chicks was correlated with a tendency to lie motionless when approached by humans; nearly all older chicks responded to human approach by running to evade danger. Chicks of all ages were more likely to lie motionless when potential avian predators flew nearby. Age-dependent survival of Snowy Plover chicks paralleled a trend of increasing development, thermal independence from adults, and capability of evading predators.

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