The Atlantic Coast and Northern Great Plains populations of the piping plover were listed as federally threatened in 1985. The Atlantic coast population is managed in three regional recovery units, or regions: New England, which includes Massachusetts and Rhode Island; Mid-Atlantic, which includes New York and New Jersey; and Southern, which includes Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina.
While the Atlantic populations are growing, piping plovers have not recovered as well in the Mid-Atlantic and Southern regions as they have in the New England region. The habitat differences uncovered by the study may be a factor in the unequal recovery.
“Knowing piping plovers are choosing different habitat for nesting up and down the Atlantic Coast is key information that resource managers can use to refine recovery plans and protect areas most needed for further recovery of the species,” said Sara Zeigler, a USGS research geographer and the lead author of the study. “It will also help researchers predict how climate change impacts, such as increased storm frequency, erosion and sea-level rise, could affect habitat for this high-profile shorebird.”
The researchers found that piping plovers breeding in the New England region were most likely to nest on the portion of the beach between the high-water line and the base of the dunes. By contrast, plovers in the Southern region nested farther inland in areas where storm waves have washed over and flattened the dunes – a process known as ‘overwash.’ In the Mid-Atlantic region plovers used both habitats but tended to select overwash areas more frequently.
