ELUCIDATING RECRUITMENT STRESSORS FOR THE MARYLAND STATE ENDANGERED COMMON TERN (Sterna hirundo) THROUGH USE OF A MINIMALLY INVASIVE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM ...

• Main Author: Marban, Paul Ramon
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Digital Repository at the University of Maryland 2018
• Subjects: Wildlife conservation; Wildlife management; Ecology; FOS Biological sciences; common tern; island loss; Maryland; waterbird; wildlife conservation; Tern Island; Common tern; Sterna hirundo
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.13016/g5kh-tp08; http://drum.lib.umd.edu/handle/1903/21666

In this thesis, I monitored two breeding colonies of the Maryland state endangered common tern (Sterna hirundo) using a surveillance system composed of video cameras and temperature loggers. This system was coupled with an in-depth image analysis of Landsat scenes to quantify island loss in the Chesapeake Bay and coastal bays of Maryland and Virginia from 1986 to 2016. Incubation duration was determined through analysis of both in-nest temperature and video footage. Incubation trends varied between colonies but an overall trend of nighttime desertion was observed on Skimmer Island as a result of predator presence. Island loss was documented in the region since 1986. Area of beach habitat, key for breeding populations of this species, increased in 1996 and 2011 as a result of sand accretion on coastal islands and the construction of Poplar Island. All other habitat types declined. This thesis is the first to document island loss in the Chesapeake Bay beyond 2011 and the first to quantify the impact of Poplar ...