Laying the groundwork for science-based management of colonial waterbirds
Dates
Start Date
2018-01-01
End Date
2020-05-31
Summary
Colonial nesting seabirds and long-legged wading birds (herein inclusively waterbirds) of the eastern United States span geographic boundaries and jurisdictions of conservation agencies in 19 states, as well as adjacent provinces in maritime Canada. Colonial nesting waterbirds are particularly susceptible to disturbance, which may lead to nest destruction and predation, and site abandonment (Carney and Sydeman 1999). In addition, they are highly visible and often occur in multiple-use areas such as beaches and coastlines. Therefore, waterbirds often require monitoring and active management to ensure that human uses such as recreation, energy production, and fishing do not negatively affect their populations (Burger et al. 2010, Furness [...]
Summary
Colonial nesting seabirds and long-legged wading birds (herein inclusively waterbirds) of the eastern United States span geographic boundaries and jurisdictions of conservation agencies in 19 states, as well as adjacent provinces in maritime Canada. Colonial nesting waterbirds are particularly susceptible to disturbance, which may lead to nest destruction and predation, and site abandonment (Carney and Sydeman 1999). In addition, they are highly visible and often occur in multiple-use areas such as beaches and coastlines. Therefore, waterbirds often require monitoring and active management to ensure that human uses such as recreation, energy production, and fishing do not negatively affect their populations
(Burger et al. 2010, Furness et al. 2012, Borneman et al. 2016, Dierschkea et al. 2016, Buxton et al. 2017). Waterbird populations also are likely to be affected by anthropogenic climate change. Waterbirds in particular face threats of inundation and habitat loss from rising sea levels that are expected to rise 0.26-0.63 m by 2100 (global mean under RCP2.6–RCP4.5 scenarios; Church et al. 2013) and from alterations in coastal geomorphology owing to increased frequency of tropical storms such as recent hurricanes Sandy and Isabel (Shulte and Simons 2016, Mainwaring et al. 2017). These potential threats are recognized, yet conservation of these species at population scales is hindered by differences in conservation priorities and goals across jurisdictional boundaries and incomplete information about colony distributions and species numbers and trends.
Despite many management concerns for colonial nesting waterbirds, broad, coordinated annual surveys similar to those for waterfowl, American Woodcock, and Sandhill Crane are not conducted, and colonial seabirds were singled out explicitly as poorly sampled by creators of the Breeding Bird Survey (BBS; Robbins et al. 1986, Sauer et al. 2017). There have been efforts to bring together stakeholders to conserve waterbirds, and following the creation of the Waterbird Conservation for the Americas Initiative, the North American Waterbird Conservation Plan was created (Kushlan et al. 2002). The plan emphasizes the importance of understanding effects of data gaps in conservation status assessments, evaluating population trends, and quantifying effects of habitat changes across regions and scales. Additionally, it recognizes that survey methods should be standardized and survey data stored in a centralized location so they are readily available to provide scientific support to management decisions and actions. The Colonial Waterbird Monitoring Database (CWBD) was initiated by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and partners to provide a centralized location for housing data from waterbird (terns, skimmers, pelicans, gulls, cormorants, puffins, gannets, petrels, shearwaters, herons, egrets, and ibis) survey and monitoring efforts throughout the Americas (https://www.pwrc.usgs.gov/cwb/). It is the most comprehensive repository of waterbird data for the Atlantic and Gulf coast states. The CWBD includes data from coordinated breeding surveys conducted in 2008 and 2013 as part of the Mid-Atlantic/New England/Maritimes (MANEM) “stepdown” plan (2006), and state-led surveys conducted from Maine to Georgia in the mid-1990s. It also contains relevant information from the Cornell Waterbird Register and results from waterbird surveys carried out at locations around the Gulf of Mexico. Despite the initial intensive effort to develop the CWBD, it is no longer being actively managed, and the data are neither readily accessible nor current.
In 2013, several Atlantic and Gulf Coast state agencies coordinated surveys of a broad selection of colonial nesting birds. Although there was broad participation across the region, the objectives of the effort were not fully realized. Not all data were uploaded into the CWBD, and there were no comprehensive summaries of the survey data across the region to broadly quantify waterbird population trends for evaluating conservation status and informing management decisions. Recently, there is renewed interest in conducting broad, coordinated surveys, in part because 2018 is within the 5-year survey interval recommended in the MANEM plan. Collection of coordinated survey data in 2018 renews the need for common and accessible data storage across state boundaries, better data archiving, and data summaries for multiple species (as documented in the 26 April 2017 minutes of the Seabird Colonies and Adjacent Waters Working Group [SCAW-WG] meeting; see “Priority” section below). However, there continues to be no centralized repository of information about each state’s survey plans, no universally accepted standardized survey and data recording protocols, no active and centralized data storage location or data sharing agreements, no general plan to examine species’ population trends with the new and archived data, and no plan for disseminating these findings. Additionally, there has been no pre-survey guidance to ensure that the gathered data will meet requirements for species’ assessments, particularly those listed as species of greatest conservation need, state endangered or threatened, or with potential for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act. Similarly, although managers have permitted actions (e.g., take permits) to reduce effects of species such as gulls (Family Laridae) and Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus) on natural resources, human health and safety, and economic loss, assessments of species’ responses to control efforts may be based on incomplete data.
Implications of the work:
Our proposed research addresses 2018 USGS-SSP Theme #4 Revitalization of the Colonial Waterbirds Database & Coordination of 2018 Waterbird Surveys. There is a pressing need to plan colonial waterbird surveys for 2018. Although there is common interest in coordinating survey methodologies, data storage and sharing, and post-survey data summaries to inform species conservation and management needs (as documented in 26 April 2017 minutes of the SCAW-WG meeting; see “Priority” section below), there are no current plans or resources identified to support development of coordinated survey protocols, common data collection and storage, or population-level trend analysis. Coordinated surveys and shared access to a centralized database will enable federal, state, and provincial agencies to better inform management actions for colonial waterbirds and address threats that span political boundaries. Additionally, a publically accessible database will enable data-sharing among all conservation agencies and organizations that contribute survey data, thus increasing data resolution for trend analysis, and provide a platform for disseminating species trends and conservation needs information to a broader audience (e.g., Avian Knowledge Network).
Objectives:
The goal of our project is to increase our knowledge about current limitations in survey and monitoring, and associated data storage needs for colonial waterbirds in the Atlantic and Gulf Coast, and to better understand distributions, population trends, and threats to these species in this area. In addition, the project aims to resurrect and improve the colonial waterbirds database (CWBD) for improving data archiving and accessibility for informing species conservation and management across the area. Our research is proposed in stages, to identify limitations of and make improvements to the CWBD, provide assistance to states with 2018 colonial waterbird survey planning and assessment so that their data are appropriate for post-survey inclusion in the CWBD, and to assess dataset discrepancies and evaluate species trends with the data archived in the CWBD. Ultimately, our efforts will increase understanding of the status and trends of these species’ populations, improve the data archive with a standardized protocol, inform future surveys, inform regulatory decisions involving authorized take for conflict species, and evaluate threats to their conservation. Specific project objectives are:
Evaluate contents of the USGS-managed CWBD database and update it with data collected within the eastern US since the database became inactive (~2013 to present), including archived data not in the CWBD but made available by state, federal, provincial, and NGO partners.
Provide guidance on coordinated surveys in the eastern US in 2018 for selected species and regions based on consultation with stakeholders and preliminary assessment of the CWBD.
Evaluate and revise CWBD user access, data security and quality, meta-data content and quality, and data entry and viewing formats, as well as facilitate data export for stakeholder use, and work with partners to compile information to inform future development of a geospatial user interface for viewing, summarizing, manipulating, and analyzing CWBD contents.
Update the revised CWBD with completed 2018 survey data provided by project partners.
Provide guidance for future surveys by standardizing survey methodologies and data recording format based on review of published and currently used protocols and our CWBD assessment.
Display species trends for select focal species (e.g., Black Skimmer, Laughing Gull) graphically within the CWBD user interface, and evaluate trends and conservation goals of the species in peer-reviewed publications.
