Abstract
Shoreline development and boating on lakes of the northern Great Plains of North America have increased due to recent economic prosperity. Few studies have examined the general characteristics of habitats used by foraging waterbirds and boats to determine levels of overlap. To address this issue, we conducted point count surveys of American White Pelicans (Pelecanus erythrorhynchos) and boats on two important recreational lakes in southern Saskatchewan, Canada. The majority of pelicans and boats detected used near-shore areas of the lakes, identifying the importance of shallow water habitats and providing evidence of significant overlap. The location of pelicans relative to the shore did not change in the presence of boats, and there was no significant relationship between boat numbers and pelican numbers. These analyses suggest that pelicans did not make major changes to their habitat use on the lakes as a result of boating activity. When pelicans and boats were present simultaneously at point count locations, pelicans appeared to avoid boats on one lake, but showed no detectable avoidance behavior on the other lake. The importance of interactions between recreational boating and foraging pelicans is currently unclear. Set-back distances to protect foraging pelicans from boating activity do not appear necessary based on our analyses.
Highlights
Human population growth and economic prosperity is causing increased recreational use of lakes on the Canadian Great Plains
Distance from shore influenced the location of pelicans and boats on both of our study lakes
On both LML and BPL, there was extensive habitat use overlap by pelicans and boats based on their locations relative to the shore
Summary
Human population growth and economic prosperity is causing increased recreational use of lakes on the Canadian Great Plains. Waterbirds in this region are potentially exposed to increased levels of human disturbance, including boating, shoreline development, and ecotourism. Little is known about interactions between waterbirds and recreational boaters on lakes of the North American Great Plains. Pelicans nest in many locations on lakes and wetlands throughout the Great Plains, including south-central Canada [4]. During the history of human settlement of the Great Plains, pelicans have been considered both a nuisance species because of their piscivorous diet [5], and a species of conservation concern due to widespread declines caused by human persecution ([4]; listed as ‘Threatened’ by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada until 1987).
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