Importance and Function of Foraging and Roost Habitat for Wintering American Oystercatchers

With changing climate and increased human populations, oyster reefs have been negatively affected by excessive wave action; contamination; overharvesting; decreased fieshwater inputs; and shifts in oxygen, salinity, and turbidity regimes. In Florida's Big Bend, intertidal reefs dominated by the...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Estuaries and coasts 2017-01, Vol.40 (1), p.286-295
Main Authors: Brush, Janell M., Schwarzer, Amy C., Frederick, Peter C.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Brackish
Climate change
Coastal Sciences
Crassostrea virginica
Earth and Environmental Science
Ecology
Environment
Environmental Management
Freshwater & Marine Ecology
Habitats
Haematopus palliatus
Human populations
Limiting factors
Marine
Oysters
Reefs
Turbidity
Water and Health
Wave action
Wildlife
Winter
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:With changing climate and increased human populations, oyster reefs have been negatively affected by excessive wave action; contamination; overharvesting; decreased fieshwater inputs; and shifts in oxygen, salinity, and turbidity regimes. In Florida's Big Bend, intertidal reefs dominated by the eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) have experienced a net decline in area of 66 % since the 1980s, a loss likely to have substantial impacts on reef-dependent wildlife. Our study examined the use of intertidal oyster reefs by wintering American oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus) in this area. The minimum foraging time required to meet daily caloric needs was conservatively estimated at 37 min per adult oystercatcher, indicating that at present, foraging habitat is not a limiting factor within our study area. We found high-tide roosts to be away from all vegetation and limited in number. They were located in offshore oyster reef habitat, which has experienced an 88 % decline in area over the past 30 years. We suggest that offshore, high-tide roost habitat is a limiting factor and worthy of further attention.
ISSN:1559-2723
1559-2731
DOI:10.1007/s12237-016-0137-6