scholarly journals Notice: The authors have discovered an error in raw data analyzed in this paper. This article has been retracted. The corrected article is published online early as Ringelman KM, Williams CK, Castelli PM, Sieges ML, Longenecker RA, Nichols TC, Earsom AD. 2018. Estimating waterfowl carrying capacity at local scales: A case study from Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey. Journal of Fish and Wildlife Management 9(1):xx-xx; e1944-687X. doi:10.3996/082017-JFWM-066.

2017 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-218
Author(s):  
Kevin M. Ringelman ◽  
Christopher K. Williams ◽  
Paul M. Castelli ◽  
Mason L. Sieges ◽  
Rebecca A. Longenecker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
New Jersey ◽  
Carrying Capacity ◽  
Standard Error ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Population Level ◽  
High Marsh ◽  
Level Energy ◽  
National Wildlife Refuge ◽  
Time Activity ◽  
Wildlife Refuge

Abstract The management of wintering North American waterfowl is based on the premise that the amount of foraging habitat can limit populations. To estimate carrying capacity of winter habitats, managers use bioenergetic models to quantify energy (food) availability and energy demand, and use results as planning tools to meet regional conservation objectives. Regional models provide only coarse estimates of carrying capacity because habitat area, habitat energy values, and temporal trends in population-level demand are difficult to quantify precisely at large scales. We took advantage of detailed data previously collected on wintering waterfowl at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding marsh, New Jersey, USA, and created a well-constrained local model of carrying capacity. We used 1,223 core samples collected between 2006 and 2015 to estimate available food. We used species-specific 24-h time-activity data collected between 2011 and 2013 to estimate daily energy expenditure, morphometrically corrected for site- and day-specific thermoregulatory costs. To estimate population-level energy demand, we used standardized monthly ground-surveys (2005–2014) to create a migration curve, and proportionally scaled that to fit aerial survey data (2005–2014). Crucially, we also explicitly incorporated estimates of variance in all of these parameters and conducted a sensitivity analysis to diagnose the most important sources of variation in the model. Our results indicated that at estimated mean levels of supply (2.34 × 109 kcal) and cumulative demand (3.4 × 109 kcal), refuge resources were depleted before the end of the wintering season. However, at one standard error greater in supply and one standard error less in demand, 1.33 × 109 kcal remained on the landscape at the end of winter. Variation in model output appeared to be driven primarily by uncertainty in food abundance in high marsh habitats. This model allows for relative assessment of biases and uncertainties in carrying capacity modeling, and serves as a framework identifying critical science needs to improve local and regional waterfowl management planning.

scholarly journals Estimating Waterfowl Carrying Capacity at Local Scales: A Case Study From Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey1

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 106-116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin M. Ringelman ◽  
Christopher K. Williams ◽  
Paul M. Castelli ◽  
Mason L. Sieges ◽  
Rebecca A. Longenecker ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Food Availability ◽  
Carrying Capacity ◽  
Energy Demand ◽  
Temporal Trends ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Level Energy ◽  
National Wildlife Refuge ◽  
Activity Data ◽  
Time Activity ◽  
Wildlife Refuge

Abstract The management of wintering North American waterfowl is based on the premise that the amount of foraging habitat can limit populations. To estimate carrying capacity of winter habitats, managers use bioenergetic models to quantify energy (food) availability and energy demand, and use results as planning tools to meet regional conservation objectives. Regional models provide only coarse estimates of carrying capacity because habitat area, habitat energy values, and temporal trends in population-level demand are difficult to quantify precisely at large scales. We took advantage of detailed data previously collected on wintering waterfowl at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge and surrounding marsh, New Jersey, and created a well-constrained local model of carrying capacity. We used 1,223 core samples collected between 2006 and 2015 to estimate food availability. We used species-specific 24-h time–activity data collected between 2011 and 2013 to estimate daily energy expenditure, morphometrically corrected for site- and day-specific thermoregulatory costs. To estimate population-level energy demand, we used standardized monthly ground surveys (2005–2014) to create a migration curve, and proportionally scaled that to fit aerial survey data (2005–2014). Crucially, we also explicitly incorporated estimates of variance in all of these parameters and conducted a sensitivity analysis to diagnose the most important sources of variation in the model. Our results from an outlier-removed, a strict depletion model indicated that at estimated mean levels of supply (923 million kcal) and cumulative demand (3.4 billion kcal), refuge food resources were depleted before November. However, a constant-supply model that represented tidal replenishment of resources indicated that just enough energy was present to sustain peak winter populations. Variation in model output appeared to be driven primarily by uncertainty in population abundance during peak periods of use, emphasizing a new management focus on studying migration chronologies of waterfowl. This model allows for relative assessment of biases and uncertainties in carrying-capacity modeling, and serves as a framework identifying critical science needs to improve local and regional waterfowl management planning.

Tidal marsh restoration at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Maryland: A case study in thin-layer placement

Shore & Beach ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 13-20
Author(s):  
Albert McCullough ◽  
David Curson ◽  
Erik Meyers ◽  
Matthew Whitbeck
Keyword(s):  
Thin Layer ◽  
Sea Level Rise ◽  
Sea Level ◽  
Tidal Marsh ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Thin Layers ◽  
High Marsh ◽  
National Wildlife Refuge ◽  
Saltmarsh Sparrow ◽  
Wildlife Refuge

Tidal marsh loss at Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) has been a major concern of refuge managers in recent decades. The approximately 2,035 hectares (5,028 acres) of tidal marsh that have converted to open water in Blackwater NWR since 1938 (Scott et al. 2009) represent one of the most significant areas of marsh conversion within the Chesapeake Bay. In 2013, a suite of climate adaptation strategies focused on sea level rise was developed for Blackwater NWR and surrounding areas of Dorchester County by the Blackwater Climate Adaptation Project (BCAP). The BCAP is a collaboration of The Conservation Fund, Audubon Maryland-DC, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, assisted by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR), U.S. Geological Survey, and others. In 2016, the BCAP implemented a thin-layer placement (TLP) project at Shorter’s Wharf in Blackwater NWR on 16 hectares (40 acres) of subsiding and fragmenting tidal marsh dominated by Schoenoplectus americanus, Spartina alterniflora, and Spartina patens. The purpose of the project was to increase the 16 hectares’ (40 acres’) resiliency to climate-driven sea level rise and storm impacts. The project built up the marsh elevation by applying thin layers of sediment dredged from the adjacent Blackwater River. The sediment enhancement was designed to extend the longevity of the marsh and increase its resiliency by raising its surface elevation in relation to the tidal regime and to return the habitat to its prior high-marsh condition with S. patens dominating. The colonization of this site by saltmarsh sparrow would be an indicator of success in reaching this goal. Dredging operations in November and December 2016 placed approximately 19,900 cubic meters (26,000 cubic yards) of sediment on the project site. Post-restoration elevations obtained one year after material placement indicated that, although the target elevations were achieved in 78% of the surveyed placement area, the material was not distributed uniformly. Coarser material tended to stack up at the discharge location while the grain size declined and the slopes flattened toward the periphery of the discharge area. In 2017, natural vegetation had regenerated through the placed sediment with vigorous regrowth of S. americanus and S. alterniflora . This regrowth was supplemented with hand-planting of more than 200,000 plugs of S. patens. Vegetation monitoring is ongoing to determine the plant composition evolution within the placement site. Pre-dredge and post-dredge bathymetric surveys reveal 70% accretion nearly two years after dredging within the borrow area footprint.

Incidence of ozone symptoms on vegetation within a National Wildlife Refuge in New Jersey, USA

2006 ◽  
Vol 143 (3) ◽  
pp. 555-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donald D. Davis ◽  
Teodora Orendovici
Keyword(s):  
New Jersey ◽  
National Wildlife Refuge ◽  
Wildlife Refuge

scholarly journals Optimization of salt marsh management at the Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey, through use of structured decision making

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilary A. Neckles ◽  
James E. Lyons ◽  
Jessica L. Nagel ◽  
Susan C. Adamowicz ◽  
Toni Mikula ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
New Jersey ◽  
Salt Marsh ◽  
Marsh Management ◽  
National Wildlife Refuge ◽  
Structured Decision Making ◽  
Wildlife Refuge

scholarly journals Recreational Carrying Capacity of Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge

2010 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 175-182 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Manning ◽  
William Valliere ◽  
Jeffrey Hallo
Keyword(s):  
New Hampshire ◽  
Carrying Capacity ◽  
Normative Theory ◽  
Quality Monitoring ◽  
Visitor Experience ◽  
National Wildlife Refuge ◽  
Wildlife Refuge ◽  
Management Actions ◽  
Indicator Variables

Abstract Recreational carrying capacity addresses the issue of how much and what types of recreation can be accommodated in parks and related areas without unacceptable impacts. Contemporary approaches to carrying capacity rely on formulation, monitoring, and management of indicators and standards of quality. Recreational carrying capacity of Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge, located in northern New Hampshire and Maine, was analyzed using visitor surveys that employed normative theory and methods and visual simulations of a range of recreation-related conditions. Study findings suggest that indicators of quality for the visitor experience include the number of boats seen on Lake Umbagog and associated rivers, the size of boating groups, the minimum acceptable chance of seeing selected types of wildlife, and the minimum acceptable chance of catching selected types of fish. Study findings also suggest a range of standards of quality for these indicators. Recreational carrying capacity of Lake Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge can be managed by using study findings to guide formulation of indicators and standards of quality, monitoring indicator variables, and taking management actions to ensure that standards of quality are maintained.

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