| | Accession Number | 5004030 |
| | Title | Assessment of impacts of a Shoreline Protection Project on endangered Roseate Terns |
| | at the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge |
| | Project Description | The construction in two phases, with Phase 1 (north end construction) now set to begin in |
| | September 2000 and the start of Phase 2 (south end construction) yet to be determined, of a |
| | Shoreline Protection Project (SPP) - a rock revetment on the eastern side and wrapping around |
| | the north and south ends of Falkner Island, CT - will impact the nesting habitat used by all the |
| | endangered Roseate Terns (Sterna dougallii) and most of the Common Terns (S. hirundo) that |
| | nest on this unit of the Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge. The revetment may impact |
| | both the distribution and productivity of the Roseate Terns, and also several research studies |
| | integrated within a long-term research/monitoring project (hereafter, the Metapopulation Project, |
| | see Accession #5001795) that are producing much useful information towards the recovery of this |
| | species. While some impacts on the terns of the revetment construction will be assessed as part |
| | of the ongoing Metapopulation Project, additional research on habitat use and behavior is needed |
| | before Phase 2 begins to determine (1) how adult Roseate Terns select nest sites in different |
| | habitats, (2) how the revetment constructed in Phase 1 affects the movements and use of |
| | microhabitats and hiding places by Roseate Tern chicks, and (3) how the revetment affects the |
| | survival of chicks to fledging. The additional fieldwork for this 3-year study will be done as part of a |
| | Masters Degree Thesis by a graduate student at the Amherst campus of the University of |
| | Massachusetts. The objective of this overall Assessment Project, therefore, is to collect baseline |
| | information on selected aspects of behavior and ecology that influence the distribution and |
| | productivity of Roseate Terns nesting in different habitats at Falkner Island, and then to assess |
| | what impacts construction of the SPP may have (1) on both tern species, and (2) secondarily on |
| | Patuxents ongoing Metapopulation Project and other related studies of tern reproductive ecology |
| | and behavior being done at this site. |
| | Keywords | construction impacts, habitat modification, habitat use, impact assessment, long-term monitoring, |
| | long-term research, productivity, restoration ecology, roseate tern, species-at-risk, |
| | Principal | Jeffrey A Spendelow, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research Center: Jeff_Spendelow@usgs.gov; |
| | Investigators | Corey M Grinnell, University of Massachusetts, Department of Natural Resources Conservation: |
| | coreyg@forwild.umass.edu; Peter D Vickery, University of Massachusetts; and Massachusetts |
| | Audubon Society: pvickery@massaudubon.org; Jeff S Hatfield, USGS Patuxent Wildlife Research |
| | Center: Jeff_Hatfield@usgs.gov; |
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