Ecology of a threatened shorebird in an altered habitat: Bristle-thighed Curlews (Numenius tahitiensis) on Palmyra Atoll
Abstract/Contents
- Abstract
- Palmyra Atoll, USA has remained mostly uninhabited since construction and abandonment of a US naval base during World War II. However, the effects of Navy modifications made to the land and lagoons have persisted, affecting the extent, physical conditions, and benthic habitat quality of Palmyra’s lagoon sand flats. Sand flats provide critical non-breeding habitat for Bristle-thighed Curlews (Numenius tahitiensis) and the atoll hosts one of the largest wintering populations of curlews of any central Pacific island. N. tahitiensis are listed as “vulnerable” by the IUCN due to loss of non-breeding winter foraging grounds and predation by introduced mammals. Thus, Palmyra – an uninhabited island recently devoid of invasive predators – provides an appropriate setting for studying how land alterations have changed the availability of preferred lagoon flat habitat for curlews. Using camera trapping, observations of focal individuals, and quantification of prey availability and sediment characteristics to monitor curlew habitat selection across a gradient of different levels of historical anthropogenic impact, I found that curlew habitat preferences were not determined by the degree of Navy impact on lagoon flat habitat. Curlew abundance was most strongly correlated with availability of prey, such as spionid polychaetes (Malacoceros spp.), and coarse sediment composition. These findings provide new ecological information on a shorebird species of conservation concern and have implications, such as habitat loss, for land management at Palmyra Atoll and other curlew wintering grounds.
Description
| Type of resource | text |
|---|---|
| Date created | December 2013 |
Creators/Contributors
| Author | Guerra, Ana Sofia |
|---|---|
| Primary advisor | Micheli, Fiorenza |
| Advisor | Dirzo, Rodolfo |
Subjects
| Subject | Stanford Biology Department |
|---|---|
| Subject | Palmyra Atoll |
| Subject | Bristle-thighed Curlews |
| Subject | Numenius tahitiensis |
| Subject | habitat selection |
| Genre | Thesis |
Bibliographic information
| Related Publication | Guerra, A.S., F. Micheli, and C.L. Wood. 2016. Ecology of a vulnerable shorebird across a gradient of habitat alteration: Bristle-thighed Curlews (Numenius tahitiensis) (Aves: Charadriiformes) on Palmyra Atoll. Pacific Science 70:159-174. |
|---|---|
| Location | https://purl.stanford.edu/sp155kg7383 |
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Preferred citation
- Preferred Citation
- Guerra, Ana (2013). Ecology of a threatened shorebird in an altered habitat: Bristle-thighed Curlews (Numenius tahitiensis) on Palmyra Atoll. Stanford Digital Repository. Available at: http://purl.stanford.edu/sp155kg7383
Collection
Hopkins Marine Station of Stanford University Honors Theses
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