| Titre : | The influence of habitat, tidal stage, temperature, and breeding status on the flight behavior of piping plovers (Charadrius melodus) (2018) |
| Auteurs : | Michelle L. Stantial, Auteur ; Jonathan B. Cohen, Auteur |
| Type de document : | Article |
| Dans : | Journal of Ornithology (159(3) 2018/07/01) |
| Article en page(s) : | 723-732 |
| Langues: | Anglais |
| Résumé : | Collision with wind turbines is an increasing conservation concern for migratory birds that are already facing many threats. A proliferation of proposals for single-turbine wind projects on U.S. Atlantic beaches where piping plovers nest poses a potential threat to this species. Understanding collision risk requires knowledge of aspects of the flight behavior of species that might be affected by turbines. We studied flight behavior of a threatened shorebird, the piping plover (Charadrius melodus), at six study sites along the Atlantic coast of the USA. We observed a total of 1689 diurnal, non-courtship flights in 2012 and 2013. According to our best-fitting model, flight frequency increased during low tidal stages and during the chick-rearing phase, was higher where nesting and foraging habitat were separate than when they were contiguous, and increased with air temperature at some locations. Additionally, flight frequency through risk areas ≥ 10 m differed by study site. We found that the center points of piping plover flight paths were clustered by territory, indicating that birds tended to commute to foraging areas using pair-specific routes. Our results suggest that habitat configuration should be the most important consideration when conducting assessments of wind turbine proposals at or near piping plover breeding areas. |
| En ligne : | https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10336-018-1536-1 |



