Managing the Hooded Plover in Victoria: A site by site assessment of threats and prioritisation of management investment on Parks Victoria managed land. Dr Grainne Maguire, Dr Meghan Cullen and Renee Mead Contents Executive Summary ......................................................................................... 6 Species Description ...................................................................................................... 8 Taxonomy ................................................................................................................... 9 Hooded Plover ecology .................................................................................................. 10 Habitat .......................................................................................................................... 10 Diet and foraging behaviour .............................................................................................. 11 Movements and social distribution...................................................................................... 12 Breeding ecology ............................................................................................................. 14 Generation Length ........................................................................................................... 15 Population size and Conservation Status.......................................................................... 15 A population in decline .................................................................................................. 16 Probability of Extinction ................................................................................................. 18 Latest Research Findings ............................................................................................... 19 Current knowledge gaps and research priorities ............................................................... 29 Chapter 2 – Importance of the Parks Victoria Estate ............................................ 31 Important populations ................................................................................................... 31 Importance of the Parks Victoria Estate for Hooded Plovers ............................................... 32 Land reservation status ................................................................................................. 39 Regional Hooded Plover breeding success ........................................................................ 41 Nest fates .................................................................................................................... 45 Breeding success rates on Parks Victoria managed land .................................................... 46 Chapter 3 – Threats to Hooded Plovers ............................................................... 52 Human-related threats .................................................................................................. 57 Coastal development ....................................................................................................... 57 Oil spills ......................................................................................................................... 58 Vehicles – illegal and legal access ...................................................................................... 58 Weeds – Marram Grass, Sea Spurge, Sea Wheat-grass ......................................................... 59 Beach cleaning and kelp harvesting .................................................................................... 60 Dogs on beaches – dogs off and on lead ............................................................................. 61 Foxes ............................................................................................................................ 64 Recreationists – static and mobile ...................................................................................... 65 Superabundant native predators – Ravens, Silver Gulls and Magpies ....................................... 66 Horses ........................................................................................................................... 67 Stock (cattle, sheep, goats) .............................................................................................. 67 Feral deer ...................................................................................................................... 68 Cats (feral and domestic) ................................................................................................. 68 Dune stabilization works ................................................................................................... 69 Litter ............................................................................................................................. 70 Driftwood Removal .......................................................................................................... 70 Rodents – introduced and native ........................................................................................ 70 Vehicles (air) .................................................................................................................. 71 Vehicles (water) .............................................................................................................. 71 Sea level rise .................................................................................................................. 72 Natural threats ............................................................................................................. 72 High Tides ...................................................................................................................... 72 Storms and extreme weather ............................................................................................ 73 Avian predators ............................................................................................................... 73 Birds of prey ................................................................................................................... 73 Other birds ..................................................................................................................... 74 Reptilian Predators .......................................................................................................... 75 Spatial variation of threats ............................................................................................ 75 Park by Park threat profiles ............................................................................................... 75 Intensity of human and dog use ................................................................................................ 80 2 Dominant recreational activities ................................................................................................ 81 Within park threat variation – site by site considerations ....................................................... 84 Chapter 4 – Management of Hooded Plovers ....................................................... 116 Prioritisation of management investment across the Parks Victoria Estate............................ 116 Detailed management prescriptions ................................................................................ 119 Scale of investment ...................................................................................................... 122 Landscape scale management options ............................................................................. 126 Predator control ............................................................................................................ 126 Weed control ................................................................................................................ 128 Land Reservation Status and a statewide regulatory framework ........................................... 128 Vehicle access protocols ................................................................................................. 130 Horse access management strategy ................................................................................. 130 Dog access management strategy .................................................................................... 132 Steps to reviewing dog access and improving compliance ........................................................... 133 Case Study: Dog access within the Mornington Peninsula National Park ....................................... 134 Event management ....................................................................................................... 137 Recommended event protocols ............................................................................................... 138 Education ..................................................................................................................... 142 Coastal flagship .................................................................................................................... 142 BirdLife Australia’s Beach-nesting Birds Education Program ........................................................ 142 Parks Victoria and BirdLife Australia education activities to date .................................................. 144 Park Notes ........................................................................................................................... 146 Interpretive or permanent access point signage 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