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University of Florida Thesis Or Dissertation Formatting CONSERVATION AND MANGEMENT OF THE SNOWY PLOVER ALONG THE FLORIDA GULF COAST: HABITAT SELECTION AND THE CONSEQUENT REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE By RAYA ANN PRUNER A THESIS PRESENTED TO THE GRADUATE SCHOOL OF THE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE UNIVERSITY OF FLORIDA 2010 1 © 2010 Raya Ann Pruner 2 To my Grandma Francis who passed away during this study, but in life inspired me in her passion for birds 3 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I am grateful to Marvin Friel for his dedication, support, and assistance to this project in and out of the field. I thank my two dogs (Mazzy and Snowy) who were extraordinarily patient and understanding of the long hours I spent in the field. I thank my family who always encouraged me to follow my passions while stressing the importance of education. I am indebted to my advisers Steve Johnson and Rob Fletcher for providing me with this opportunity and for invaluable guidance and input during this study. I also thank my remaining committee member Debra Miller, for her interest and guidance particularly in detailing methods for tracking in coastal habitats. I have had many valuable and interesting discussions with my lab ‘space’ mates in addition to my fellow graduate students in the WEC department, and I am appreciative for their assistance and friendship. I am very grateful to Patty Kelly with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for providing financial support for this study. Thanks also to Rich Fischer with the Corp of Engineers for additional financial support. I would like to thank Janell Brush, John Himes, Shea Armstrong, Jeff Gore, and Chris Paxton with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) for providing much needed equipment and support. I would like to thank the Department of Environmental Protection (Florida State Parks) staff at both the Northwest regional office and St. Joseph State Park, particularly Harold Mitchell, Jared Zimmerman, Joe Mitchell, and Brian Addison. I would like to thank Wendy Jones and the remaining natural resource staff at Tyndall Air Force Base. Thanks also to the staff at St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge for providing access to and from the island for surveys. I am thankful to Steve Shea and Bill Lynn with the St. Joe Company for allowing me access to their properties. Barbara Eells, a volunteer with the St. Joe Company, provided invaluable assistance, 4 support and friendship for which I am very grateful. I would also like to thank John Andrews and Elisa Martinez for assistance with data entry. 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS .................................................................................................. 4 LIST OF TABLES ............................................................................................................ 9 LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................ 10 ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................... 11 CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .................................................................................................... 12 Coastal Animal Communities - Coastal Habitat ...................................................... 12 Habitat Selection Constraints .................................................................................. 13 Human Activity ................................................................................................. 14 Prey Availability ................................................................................................ 14 Predation .......................................................................................................... 15 Snowy Plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) in Florida ................................................ 16 Project Objectives ................................................................................................... 17 2 THE INFLUENCE OF HUMAN AND PREDATOR ACTIVITY, PREY AVAILABILITY AND PHYSICAL FEATURES OF THE HABITAT ON NEST- SITE SELECTION AND REPRODUCTIVE OUPUT, USING A SUBTROPICAL SHOREBIRD .......................................................................................................... 19 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 19 Methods .................................................................................................................. 23 Study Area ........................................................................................................ 23 Nest Monitoring ................................................................................................ 23 Available Habitat .............................................................................................. 25 Explanatory Variables ...................................................................................... 25 Statistical Analysis .................................................................................................. 28 Nest-Site Selection ........................................................................................... 28 Nest Survival .................................................................................................... 29 Model Selection ................................................................................................ 29 Results .................................................................................................................... 30 Nest-Site Selection ........................................................................................... 30 Nest Survival .................................................................................................... 30 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 31 Human Activity ................................................................................................. 32 Predator Activity ............................................................................................... 33 Physical Features ............................................................................................. 35 Prey Availability ................................................................................................ 37 Conclusions ...................................................................................................... 38 6 3 PREY AVAILABILITY AND PREDATOR ACTIVITY AS PREDICTORS OF SNOWY PLOVER BROOD-REARING SITE SELECTION AND SURVIVAL .......... 49 Introduction ............................................................................................................. 49 Methods .................................................................................................................. 52 Study Area ........................................................................................................ 52 Brood Monitoring .............................................................................................. 53 Explanatory Variables ...................................................................................... 54 Brood-Site Selection ......................................................................................... 57 Brood-Rearing Habitat Use .............................................................................. 58 Statistical Analysis .................................................................................................. 58 Prey Availability ................................................................................................ 58 Brood-Site Selection ......................................................................................... 59 Brood Survival .................................................................................................. 59 Model Selection ................................................................................................ 60 Results .................................................................................................................... 61 Prey Availability ................................................................................................ 61 Brood-Site Selection ......................................................................................... 61 Brood Survival .................................................................................................. 62 Discussion .............................................................................................................. 63 Prey Availability ................................................................................................ 63 Physical Features And Predator Activity .......................................................... 65 Human Activity ................................................................................................. 66 Conclusions ...................................................................................................... 67 4 SYNTHESIS, MANAGEMENT AND RECOMmENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH ............................................................................................................ 76 Human Disturbance ................................................................................................ 76 Predator Activity ...................................................................................................... 80 Beyond Productivity
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