SHOREBIRD CONSERVATION AND MONITORING
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
RESOURCES
US SHOREBIRD CONSERVATOIN PLAN
http://www.fws.gov/shorebirdplan
WATERFOWL MANAGEMENT HANDBOOK http://www.nwrc.usgs.gov/wdb/pub/wmh/contents.html
MANOMET CENTER FOR CONSERVATION SCIENCES
http://www.manomet.org/ & http://www.shorebirdworld.org
International Shorebird Survey (ISS)– Migratory Only
Program for Regional and International Shorebird
Montiroting (PRISM) – Breeding and Migratory
Western Hemisphere Shorebird Preserve Network
(WHSRN) – Significant Breeding and Migratory Stop- over
Sites
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
OVERVIEW
• INTRODUCTION TO SHOREBIRDS
• MANAGEMENT FOR SHOREBIRDS
• TVA REGIONAL SHOREBIRD PROJECT
• ESTIMATING SHOREBIRD NUMBERS
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
1
WHAT ARE SHOREBIRDS?
•
•
•
•
•
•
Sandpipers
Dowitchers
Plovers
Oystercatchers
Avocets
Stilts
214 SPECIES WORLDWIDE
50 REGULARLY OCCUR IN U.S.
31 OCCUR IN TN RIVER VALLEY
Painting by James Coe
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
MIGRATORY SPECIES
RED KNOT
20,000 MILES IN 1 YEAR
BAR-TAILED GODWIT
6,000 MILES NON-STOP
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
NICHE PARTITIONING
AMERICAN GOLDEN PLOVER
AVOCET
VARING BILL SHAPES AND LENGTHS
ALLOW MULTIPLE SPECIES TO FORAGE
IN SAME AREA
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
2
EXAMPLES OF SHOREBIRDS IN TN RIVER VALLEY
KILLDEER
GLEANS PREY FROM MUD TO UPLAND ZONES
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER
SIMILAR FORAGING STRATEGY AS KILLDEER
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
PECTORAL SANDPIPER
FORAGES WITHIN VEGETATION
AND MUD ZONE INCLUDING
VERY SHALLOW WATER
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
3
GREATER YELLOWLEGS
PRIMARILY FORAGES IN WATER
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
SNIPE
SHALLOW WATER AND MUD ZONE, OFTEN AROUND VEGETATION
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
DUNLIN
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER
WADES IN DEEPER WATER, NOTE LONG BILL
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
4
MANAGEMENT OF SHOREBIRD HABITAT-BREEDING
PROMOTE NATIVE GRASSLANDS – SHOREBIRDS PREFER TO NEST IN
GRASSLAND HABITATS. USE OF THESE HABITATS VARIES BY SPECIES,
SOME (AVOCETS) PREFER SPARSELY VEGETATED HABITATS. OTHER
SPECIES (UPLAND SANDPIPER) PREFER GRASSLANDS WITH MORE
VERTICAL STRUCTURE.
PRESCRIBED BURNING - A USEFUL TOOL FOR DEVELOPING SHOREBIRD
NESTING HABITAT.
ESTABLISH BREEDING SITES NEAR FOOD SOURCE – NECESSARY
FOR MOST SPECIES, ALTHOUGH NOT
NEEDED FOR PLOVERS, AS THEY ACTIVELY
FEED IN VEGETATIVE ZONE.
RED KNOT
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
MANAGEMENT FOR SHOREBIRDS - MIGRATION
MOIST MUD FLAT HABITAT WITH <20% VEGETATIVE COVER
SHALLOW WATER <20 CM DEEP
LARGER FLATS ARE BETTER – REDUCES IMPACTS FROM
DISTURBANCES.
TIMING IS CRITICAL -
HABITAT MUST BE AVAILABLE WHEN BIRDS ARE
PASSING THROUGH. MIGRATORY PERIOD BEGINS MID-JULY-OCTOBER,
ADULTS MOVE THROUGH AREA BEFORE JUVENILES. ALSO PROVIDE
HABITAT FOR WINTERING SPECIES (DUNLIN, LEAST SANDPIPERS).
MANAGED SUB-IMPOUNDMENTS – SHOULD BE DRY IN SUMMER, DISK
VEGETATION, FILL AND SLOWLY DRAIN. EXOTIC VEGETATION CAN BE
PROBLEMATIC.
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
HOW DID TVA GET INVOLVED WITH SHOREBIRDS?
TVA’S RIVER OPERATION
STUDY
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
5
Regional Assessment and Management of Inland Stopover
Habitats for Shorebirds in the Tennessee Valley
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
Partnerships
Tennessee Valley Authority
Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources
Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources
University of Tennessee, Knoxville
US Army Corps of Engineers
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
Overview
Construction of TVA dams over the past 60+ years has created extensive inland
mudflat habitats in the Tennessee river valley through fall drawdown of the
reservoir system
There have been several major changes in the way TVA manages fall
drawdown:
•1970’s, 1980’s saw major changes system wide
•Other, smaller-scale changes on individual reservoirs
•Latest change: Reservoir Operations Study (ROS), an extensive study of
environmental impacts caused by different reservoir management
scenarios
•One area of special concern in the ROS was the impact of extended summer
reservoir levels, delaying the creation of mudflat habitats used by migrating
shorebirds.
There has never been a valley-wide, systematic study of shorebird habitat use.
No evidence that any of the past reservoir management scenarios has been
optimal for creating shorebird habitat.
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
6
Project Goals
As part of the ROS record of decision, TVA will fund a 5 year study of shorebird
resources across the Tennessee River Valley. Primary objectives of the study:
•What shorebird species migrate through the valley, and in what numbers?
•When do they migrate through? Look at individual species and total number of
individuals in all species.
•Where do shorebirds stopover in the valley? Do mudflats on TVA managed
reservoirs play a key role in long-term migration stability?
•How does TVA management of the river system affect stopover habitats?
Can we identify an ideal river management scenario that provides the best
combination of timing and extent of habitat availability?
Key point: Although we are tasked with assessing management impacts of ROS, the
scientists involved in the study are most interested in an overall assessment of
shorebird resources both on and off TVA lands, in cooperation with other state and
federal agencies and public interest groups.
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
Tennessee River Valley
•TVA manages 9 mainstem reservoirs and 40 tributary reservoirs.
•Multiple use management system.
•Tributary reservoirs provide little habitat due to local geomorphology—steep sided,
deep lakes with few mudflats.
•Mainstem reservoirs are shallow and provide a lot of habitat. Of these Kentucky and
Wheeler reservoirs encompass the most. Douglas and Chickamauga provide key
habitat in the eastern valley.
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
Reservoir Operations Study
Five year study to examine all aspects of TVA’s management of the Tennessee River
System. ROS results guide daily management of the river system.
•Multiple use: Navigation, flood control, power production, recreation, resource
conservation.
•Key public concern was to keep docks and marinas open through Labor Day.
Extension of summer pool was accepted on some reservoirs, rejected on others.
•No change on Kentucky lake, which has a majority of valley shorebird habitat.
Changes in the 1990s were evaluated by TVA and other agencies, and determined
harmful to habitat and flood control.
•River Operations Group
continues to evaluate
ROS. Our study will
provide valuable
information on shorebird
habitats and timing, and
help make better
decisions.
ROS is an adaptive
management plan.
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
7
Changes in reservoir levels under ROS
Kentucky Lake
Mudflats Start
Lots of Mudflats
Wheeler Lake
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
Changes in reservoir levels under ROS
Chickamauga Lake
Douglas Lake
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
Regional habitat assessment
•Collaborative effort, with TVA helping to organize surveys identify areas to monitor.
•May 2005: first regional meeting with TVA, TWRA, USFWS, KYFWS and other
interested parties to begin organizing this valley-wide effort. Other, regional
meetings to follow. Includes identification workshops, protocol review,
identification of habitats.
International Shorebird Survey protocol:
•Survey sites each third of the month starting in July
and ending in October
•Conduct surveys throughout the valley on the same
day as weather and logistics permit
•Alternative guidelines for less intensively monitored
sites. Monitoring by agencies on key sites, citizen
scientists on other sites
•Periodic monitoring to gauge overwintering
possibilities.
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
8
Techniques to identify and assess key habitats
•Expert opinion captured as valley-wide map series, identifying both on and off
reservoir habitats
•Historic maps showing pre-impoundment elevations to highlight locations where
unknown mudflats may exist
•Cooperative work with Corps of Engineers for bathymetry and aerial photography
•LIDAR and aerial photography on key flats to quantify mudflat availability at different
reservoir levels
•Vegetation study to quantify habitat suitability for overwintering waterfowl
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
Habitat Mapping
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
Habitat Mapping
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
9
How much habitat
•A critical question is how much exposed mudflat is required to support the number of
birds migrating through at any given time
•Trying to identify the best scenario to provide ideal habitat to the highest number of
birds and species: When is habitat exposed, and how much is exposed at any given
elevation? Is this best for birds?
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
LIght Detection and Ranging (LIDAR)
• Laser Data Acquisition Technology
• Airborne system for rapid coverage of difficult
terrain and applications
• Laser points are positioned by highly accurate GPS
and Inertial Measurement System
• Produce very precise digital elevation models
(DEMs)
•Acquires 15,000 points per second , 1 point every
square meter on the ground
•Typical vertical accuracy + 4-6 inches
•Typical horizontal accuracy + 12-30 inches
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
Systematic Shorebird Surveys
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
10
Reservoir Level 990
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
Reservoir Level 987
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
Reservoir Level 985
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
11
Reservoir Level 983
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
Reservoir Level 980
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
Reservoir Level 975
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
12
Reservoir Level 970
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
Historic Patterns & Citizen scientists
August
(n=2465 birds, 19 visits)
Semipalmat ed
Solit ary
Spot t ed
Sandpiper
Sandpiper
3.4%
2.0%
Dunlin
0.0%
Great er
Yellowlegs
2.3%
Plover
1.5%
Killdeer
27.1%
Septem ber
Solitary (n=1552 birds, 14 visits)
Spotted
Sandpiper
Greater
Sandpiper
0.2%
Yellow legs
1.1%
Semipalmat
0.5%
ed Plover
6.7%
Killdeer
34.2%
Peeps
33.7%
Peeps
38.1%
October
Solitary
(n=544 birds, 9 visits)
Sandpiper
Spotted
0.2%
Sandpiper
0.4%
Peeps
Pectoral 11.2%
Sandpiper
7.5%
Other
0.4%
Lesser
Yellow legs
1.5%
Dunlin
43.4%
Lesser Yellowlegs
7.0%
Ot her
Pectoral
Sandpiper
11.1%
2.8%
Pect oral
Sandpiper
Novem ber
(n=1756 birds, 7 visits)
Pect or al
Sandpiper
Lesser Yellowlegs
0.6%
Ot her
0.5%
Other
5.2%
Lesser
Yellow legs
3.0%
Killdeer
34.6%
Greater
Yellow legs
0.9%
Decem ber
(n=166 birds, 2 visits)
Peeps
Peeps
22.3%
3.0%
Solit ar y
Sandpiper
0.2%
0.1%
Killdeer
12.9%
Pectoral
Sandpiper
0.6%
Gr eat er
Yellowlegs
1.8%
Dunlin
Killdeer
77.1%
81.0%
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
Migration Timing
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
13
Migration Timing
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
University studies
TVA is funding university studies on specific habitat questions:
•University of Tennessee, Department of Geography: role of mudflat
shape and reservoir level in creating mudflat habitats during fall
migration.
•University of Tennessee, Department of Forestry, Wildlife and
Fisheries: waterbird use of mudflats in east Tennessee. Examining
vegetation development, abundance of invertebrates, and seasonal
use of flats by shorebirds and waterfowl.
Other studies as funding and needs warrant:
•Similar waterbird study in west TN.
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
What have we learned?
1. Historical shorebird data does not adequately depict presence of
species throughout fall migration. We need data to be acquired
systematically, throughout migratory period.
2. Approximately 150 mud flats exist throughout the Valley, only a
fraction provide optimal habitat for shorebirds.
3. Delaying drawdown results in an overall reduction in vegetative
biomass and species diversity.
4. Reservoir drawdown should be slow and steady, dramatic drawdowns
result in poorly developed vegetative communities; limiting the
establishment of moist soil species.
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
14
Questions?
Contact information:
Roger Tankersley, Jr.: GIS and habitat assessment
<rdtankersley@tva.gov>
Travis H. (Hill) Henry: Shorebird monitoring
<thhenry@tva.gov>
Michael Roedel: Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency
<Michael.Roedel@state.tn.us>
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
APPLICATION OF DRAWDOWN MODEL
A MODEL TO DETERMINE SHOREBIRD
HABITAT AVAILABILITY UNDER
DIFFERENT DRAWDOWN REGIMES.
Tennessee Valley Shorebird Assessment Project
15