Factors affecting Western Atlantic red knots (Calidris canutus rufa) and their prey during spring migration on Virginia's barrier islands
Understanding factors that influence a species' distribution and abundance across their annual cycle is needed for range-wide conservation planning. Every year during spring migration, thousands of federally threatened (U.S.A.) and endangered (Canada) migratory Western Atlantic red knots (Calid...
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ftvirginiatec:oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/99099 2024-05-19T07:38:36+00:00 Factors affecting Western Atlantic red knots (Calidris canutus rufa) and their prey during spring migration on Virginia's barrier islands Heller, Erin Leigh Fish and Wildlife Conservation Karpanty, Sarah M. Fraser, James D. Cohen, Jonathan B. Walters, Jeffrey R. Catlin, Daniel H. 2020-06-24 ETD application/pdf http://hdl.handle.net/10919/99099 en eng Virginia Tech vt_gsexam:26759 http://hdl.handle.net/10919/99099 In Copyright http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ blue mussels climate change diet DNA metabarcoding mid-Atlantic red knots stable isotope Virginia Dissertation 2020 ftvirginiatec 2024-05-01T00:20:14Z Understanding factors that influence a species' distribution and abundance across their annual cycle is needed for range-wide conservation planning. Every year during spring migration, thousands of federally threatened (U.S.A.) and endangered (Canada) migratory Western Atlantic red knots (Calidris canutus rufa, 'red knot') use Virginia's barrier islands as stopover habitat to regain the fat required to continue flights to breeding grounds. Because the red knot completes one of the longest avian migrations in the world and relies on variable prey resources at its stopover grounds, the red knot exemplifies the challenges faced by long-distance migrant shorebirds. These challenges may be exacerbated by climate change, as long-distance migrants may be unable to adapt quickly to changing prey ranges and abundances, resulting in spatial and temporal mismatches between predators and prey. More specifically, as climate change causes ocean temperatures near Virginia's barrier islands to rise, organisms that live within the intertidal zone, like blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), are experiencing range shifts. Here, we 1) confirmed what prey red knots select in Virginia, 2) addressed the factors that affect red knot site selection, red knot flock size, and prey abundances across Virginia's barrier island intertidal shoreline during 2007 2018, and 3) predicted the origin of juvenile blue mussels, a key prey resource for red knots in Virginia. To determine which prey are most available to red knots in Virginia, we collected sand and peat substrate core samples from Virginia's ocean intertidal zone and counted the number of prey in each sample. We compared these prey availability data to prey DNA data obtained from fecal DNA metabarcoding analyses on red knot feces (n = 100) collected on peat and sand substrates between 2017 2019. Red knots consumed prey from Orders Veneroida (clams), Mytiloida (mussels), Diptera (flies), and Amphipoda/Calanoida (crustaceans). While crustaceans were the most abundant prey on both sand (70.80% of ... Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis Calidris canutus Red Knot VTechWorks (VirginiaTech) |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
VTechWorks (VirginiaTech) |
op_collection_id |
ftvirginiatec |
language |
English |
topic |
blue mussels climate change diet DNA metabarcoding mid-Atlantic red knots stable isotope Virginia |
spellingShingle |
blue mussels climate change diet DNA metabarcoding mid-Atlantic red knots stable isotope Virginia Heller, Erin Leigh Factors affecting Western Atlantic red knots (Calidris canutus rufa) and their prey during spring migration on Virginia's barrier islands |
topic_facet |
blue mussels climate change diet DNA metabarcoding mid-Atlantic red knots stable isotope Virginia |
description |
Understanding factors that influence a species' distribution and abundance across their annual cycle is needed for range-wide conservation planning. Every year during spring migration, thousands of federally threatened (U.S.A.) and endangered (Canada) migratory Western Atlantic red knots (Calidris canutus rufa, 'red knot') use Virginia's barrier islands as stopover habitat to regain the fat required to continue flights to breeding grounds. Because the red knot completes one of the longest avian migrations in the world and relies on variable prey resources at its stopover grounds, the red knot exemplifies the challenges faced by long-distance migrant shorebirds. These challenges may be exacerbated by climate change, as long-distance migrants may be unable to adapt quickly to changing prey ranges and abundances, resulting in spatial and temporal mismatches between predators and prey. More specifically, as climate change causes ocean temperatures near Virginia's barrier islands to rise, organisms that live within the intertidal zone, like blue mussels (Mytilus edulis), are experiencing range shifts. Here, we 1) confirmed what prey red knots select in Virginia, 2) addressed the factors that affect red knot site selection, red knot flock size, and prey abundances across Virginia's barrier island intertidal shoreline during 2007 2018, and 3) predicted the origin of juvenile blue mussels, a key prey resource for red knots in Virginia. To determine which prey are most available to red knots in Virginia, we collected sand and peat substrate core samples from Virginia's ocean intertidal zone and counted the number of prey in each sample. We compared these prey availability data to prey DNA data obtained from fecal DNA metabarcoding analyses on red knot feces (n = 100) collected on peat and sand substrates between 2017 2019. Red knots consumed prey from Orders Veneroida (clams), Mytiloida (mussels), Diptera (flies), and Amphipoda/Calanoida (crustaceans). While crustaceans were the most abundant prey on both sand (70.80% of ... |
author2 |
Fish and Wildlife Conservation Karpanty, Sarah M. Fraser, James D. Cohen, Jonathan B. Walters, Jeffrey R. Catlin, Daniel H. |
format |
Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis |
author |
Heller, Erin Leigh |
author_facet |
Heller, Erin Leigh |
author_sort |
Heller, Erin Leigh |
title |
Factors affecting Western Atlantic red knots (Calidris canutus rufa) and their prey during spring migration on Virginia's barrier islands |
title_short |
Factors affecting Western Atlantic red knots (Calidris canutus rufa) and their prey during spring migration on Virginia's barrier islands |
title_full |
Factors affecting Western Atlantic red knots (Calidris canutus rufa) and their prey during spring migration on Virginia's barrier islands |
title_fullStr |
Factors affecting Western Atlantic red knots (Calidris canutus rufa) and their prey during spring migration on Virginia's barrier islands |
title_full_unstemmed |
Factors affecting Western Atlantic red knots (Calidris canutus rufa) and their prey during spring migration on Virginia's barrier islands |
title_sort |
factors affecting western atlantic red knots (calidris canutus rufa) and their prey during spring migration on virginia's barrier islands |
publisher |
Virginia Tech |
publishDate |
2020 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/10919/99099 |
genre |
Calidris canutus Red Knot |
genre_facet |
Calidris canutus Red Knot |
op_relation |
vt_gsexam:26759 http://hdl.handle.net/10919/99099 |
op_rights |
In Copyright http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
_version_ |
1799478055923613696 |