Reproductive ecology of interior least tern and piping plover in relation to Platte River hydrology and sandbar dynamics

Historical and contemporary use of large, economically important rivers by threatened and/or endangered species in the United States is a subject of great interest to a wide range of stakeholders. In a recent study of the Platte River in Nebraska, Farnsworth et al. (2017) (hereinafter referred to as “the authors” or “Farnsworth et al.”) used distributions of nest initiation dates taken mostly from human-created, off-channel habitats and a model of emergent sandbar habitat to evaluate the hypothesis that least terns (Sternula antillarum) and piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) are physiologically adapted to initiate nests concurrent with the cessation of spring river flow rises. The authors conclude that (1) these species are not now, nor were they in the past, physiologically adapted to the hydrology of the Platte River, (2) habitats in the Platte River did not, and cannot support reproductive levels sufficient to maintain species subpopulations, (3) the gap in local elevation between peak river stage and typical sandbar height, in combination with the timing of the average spring flood, creates a physical environment which limits opportunities for successful nesting and precludes persistence by either species, and (4) the presence of off-channel habitats, including human-created sand and gravel mines, natural lakes, and a playa wetland, allowed the species to expand into the Platte River basin

Characterization of Kemp's Ridley Sea Turtles in the Florida Big Bend Area: Final report

The Kemp's ridley (Lepidochelys kempo is considered the most endangered of the seven extant marine turtle species (Ross et al. 1989). The US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) estimate the breeding population at 1,500 to 3,000 individuals. The nesting population has been reduced from approximately 40,000 on one day to no more than 700 annually (Magnuson et al. 1990, USFWS & NMFS 1992). Conservation measures for the species have focused on the protection of the nesting beach, captive rearing (head starting), and the implementation of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) on shrimp nets. Five hundred to 5,000 ridleys are still taken incidentally yearly by shrimp trawls (Magnuson et al. 1990). Lack of knowledge about early life stages of the Kemp's ridley sea turtle currently hinders recovery efforts for this federally listed species. (Document has 18 pages.

TR‐2014 ‐01 Fish Passage Workshop Training Manual (8/8/2014)

This Technical Report was assembled for, and disturbed during, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Fish Passage Workshop (Workshop) held in Hadley, Massachusetts on August 5 and 6, 2014. The Workshop, a two-day training course for engineers, biologists, hydrologists, environmental scientists, and practitioners involved in the design, operation and oversight of fish passage projects, was developed in partnership with the U.S. Geological Survey’s (USGS) S.O. Conte Anadromous Fish Research Center (Conte) and the University of Massachusetts Amherst’s Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering (CEE)

Biological Case Against Downlisting the Whooping Crane and for Improving Implementation under the Endangered Species Act

The Whooping Crane (Grus americana; WHCR) is a large, long-lived bird endemic to North America. The remnant population migrates between Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, USA, and Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada (AWBP), and has recovered from a nadir of 15-16 birds in 1941 to ~540 birds in 2022. Two ongoing reintroduction efforts in Louisiana and the Eastern Flyway together total ~150 birds. Evidence indicates the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) is strongly considering downlisting the species from an endangered to a threatened status under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We examined the current status of the WHCR through the lens of ESA threat factors, the USFWS’s Species Status Assessment (SSA) framework, and other avian downlisting actions to determine if the action is biologically warranted. Our research indicates that WHCRs are facing an intensification of most threat drivers across populations and important ranges. The AWBP is still relatively small compared to other crane species and most birds of conservation concern. To date, only one avian species has been downlisted from an endangered status with an estimated population of \u3c3,000 individuals. Representation in terms of WHCRs historic genetic, geographic, and life history variation remains limited. Also, the lack of spatial connectivity among populations, reliance of the reintroduced populations on supplementation, and continued habitat loss suggest that WHCR populations may not be resilient to large stochastic disturbances. Given that reintroduced populations are not self-sustaining, neither supplies true redundancy for the AWBP. Proposed downlisting before recovery plan population criteria have been met is objectively unwarranted 3 and reflects USFWS inconsistency across ESA actions. Only by incorporating basic quantitative criteria and added oversight into ESA listing decisions can we avoid an action as misguided as downlisting the Whooping Crane without consideration of its recovery plan criteria or ostensibly its population ecology

An Analysis of the EQIP program for Lesser Prairie Chickens in the Northern Texas Panhandle

The Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) for the Lesser Prairie Chicken provides monetary compensation to agricultural producers for species habitat development. The advantages and disadvantages of program enrollment, as well as the overall economic impact are evaluated for a typical ranch operation in the Northern Texas Panhandle from 2009-2013.Prairie Chicken, FARM Assistance, EQIP, Environmental Economics and Policy,

The Migratory Bird and Habitat Research Laboratory and the Accelerated Research Program

The Patuxent Wildlife Research Center (Patuxent) housed two important programs that were not supervised through the office of the Director of Patuxent during the 1960s and 1970s. Although they received administrative support from Patuxent, they were supervised from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) headquarters in Washington, D.C. One, the Migratory Bird Populations Station (MBPS), was established in 1961; the other, the Migratory Bird and Habitat Research Laboratory (MBHRL), was established in 1972 (Perry, 2004). This chapter briefly discusses MBPS and how some of its functions were transferred to MBHRL when this new laboratory was created

An assessment of the US endangered species act recovery plans: using physiology to support conservation

Applying physiology to help solve conservation problems has become increasingly prominent. It is unclear, however, if the increased integration into the scientific community has translated into the application of physiological tools in conservation planning. We completed a review of the use of animal physiology in the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Endangered Species Act (ESA) recovery plans released between 2005 and 2016. Over those 11 years, 135 of the 146 recovery plans mentioned physiology, with 56% including it as background information on the natural history of the species and not as part of the recovery process. Fish and bird species had the lowest proportion of recovery plans to include physiology beyond the description of the natural history. When considering multiple sub-disciplines of physiology, immunology and epidemiology were incorporated as part of the recovery process most often. Our review suggests a disconnect between available physiological tools and the potential role of physiology in developing conservation plans. We provide three suggestions to further guide conservation scientists, managers and physiologists to work synergistically to solve conservation problems: (1) the breadth of knowledge within a recovery plan writing team should be increased, for example, through increased training of federal scientists in new physiology methodologies and tools or the inclusion of authors in academia that have a background in physiology; (2) physiologists should make their research more available to conservation scientists and federal agencies by clearly linking their research to conservation and (3) communication should be enhanced between government conservation scientists and physiologists

A Landscape Perspective on Bird Beak Deformity: An Epizootic of Unknown Etiology

Although birds with beak deformities have been documented throughout the literature, the recent spike in occurrences in certain regions has caused concern in the scientific community. A major concern relates to the role of contaminants and environmental degradation in causing or exacerbating this epizootic. This study used spatial and statistical analyses to examine the problem from a landscape perspective. The objectives of this study were to 1) locate and compile a database of known bird beak occurrences, 2) conduct a preliminary assessment of the environmental correlates of this epizootic in order to identify patterns, and 3) make recommendations that could guide future research and data collection. Logistic regression models were generated using known occurrences of bird beak deformity as well as randomly generated points compared with spatial data on relevant environmental variables. Generalized linear models predicted high probability (p(deformity)=0.88) of deformity occurring when all environmental variables were present. With more collaboration among researchers and data sharing, this method could provide insight into the currently unknown etiology of bird beak deformity