Abstract
Trends in abundance of the 28 most common species of coastal birds on Mustang Island, Texas, were assessed for a 29-year period (1979–2007) during which the study area experienced a substantial increase in human activity. Ten of the 28 species examined declined significantly (P < 0.05) over the study period. Six of these were larids (herring gull, Forster’s tern, royal tern, gull-billed tern, Caspian tern, black skimmer), which exhibited declines in mean abundance of 53% to 88%. Other significant species declines were the great blue heron (39% decline) and the shorebirds Wilson’s plover (63%), red knot (54%), and black-bellied plover (34%). Four species showed significant increases in local abundance. Mean number of people on the beach increased fivefold during the study period. This unique dataset allows for an extremely rare assessment of bird populations in direct relation to human disturbance and may have implications for managing coastal birds worldwide.
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Acknowledgments
The authors thank Drs. G. J. Holt, K. H. Dunton, and A. F. Ojanguren for their helpful suggestions and critical review of earlier drafts of this manuscript. We also thank two anonymous reviewers and an associate editor for their helpful comments. C. R. F. would like to thank his wife and family for their encouragement. Funding for analysis of the data was provided by the Sibyl Ranfranz and Kenneth F. Wells Endowed Excellence Fund in Marine Science. Contribution 1511 of The University of Texas Marine Science Institute.
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Foster, C.R., Amos, A.F. & Fuiman, L.A. Trends in Abundance of Coastal Birds and Human Activity on a Texas Barrier Island Over Three Decades. Estuaries and Coasts 32, 1079–1089 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-009-9224-2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-009-9224-2