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  • The Early Shorebird Will Catch Fewer Invertebrates on Trampled Sandy Beaches

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    schlacherPUB2348.PDF (9.087Mb)
    Author(s)
    Schlacher, Thomas A
    Carracher, Lucy K
    Porch, Nicholas
    Connolly, Rod M
    Olds, Andrew D
    Gilby, Ben L
    Ekanayake, Kasun B
    Maslo, Brooke
    Weston, Michael A
    Griffith University Author(s)
    Connolly, Rod M.
    Year published
    2016
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    Abstract
    Many species of birds breeding on ocean beaches and in coastal dunes are of global conservation concern. Most of these species rely on invertebrates (e.g. insects, small crustaceans) as an irreplaceable food source, foraging primarily around the strandline on the upper beach near the dunes. Sandy beaches are also prime sites for human recreation, which impacts these food resources via negative trampling effects.We quantified acute trampling impacts on assemblages of upper shore invertebrates in a controlled experiment over a range of foot traffic intensities (up to 56 steps per square metre) on a temperate beach in Victoria, ...
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    Many species of birds breeding on ocean beaches and in coastal dunes are of global conservation concern. Most of these species rely on invertebrates (e.g. insects, small crustaceans) as an irreplaceable food source, foraging primarily around the strandline on the upper beach near the dunes. Sandy beaches are also prime sites for human recreation, which impacts these food resources via negative trampling effects.We quantified acute trampling impacts on assemblages of upper shore invertebrates in a controlled experiment over a range of foot traffic intensities (up to 56 steps per square metre) on a temperate beach in Victoria, Australia. Trampling significantly altered assemblage structure (species composition and density) and was correlated with significant declines in invertebrate abundance and species richness. Trampling effects were strongest for rare species. In heavily trafficked plots the abundance of sand hoppers (Amphipoda), a principal prey item of threatened Hooded Plovers breeding on this beach, was halved. In contrast to the consistently strong effects of trampling, natural habitat attributes (e.g. sediment grain size, compactness) were much less influential predictors. If acute suppression of invertebrates caused by trampling, as demonstrated here, is more widespread on beaches it may constitute a significant threat to endangered vertebrates reliant on these invertebrates. This calls for a re-thinking of conservation actions by considering active management of food resources, possibly through enhancement of wrack or direct augmentation of prey items to breeding territories.
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    Journal Title
    PLoS One
    Volume
    11
    Issue
    8
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0161905
    Copyright Statement
    © 2016 Schlacher et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
    Subject
    Marine and Estuarine Ecology (incl. Marine Ichthyology)
    Publication URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/10072/100507
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