Characteristics of Piping Plover Nesting Habitat in the Canadian Maritime Provinces

Abstract

To better understand and compare regional habitat characteristics for the endangered Charadrius melodus (Piping Plover) in the Canadian Maritime provinces, we surveyed transects on nesting beaches along the Gulf of St. Lawrence and Atlantic coasts of the Canadian Maritime provinces. The beaches along the Gulf of St. Lawrence were flatter, were wider and had a higher proportion of mixed substrate than those on the Atlantic coast. While habitat use by breeding Piping Plovers was largely consistent with other studies, significant differences were found between the two regions. Piping Plovers along the Gulf of St. Lawrence were found nesting in flatter areas with a high proportion of mixed substrate and less wrack. On the Atlantic coast, Piping Plovers preferred wider and flatter sections of beach. Future conservation efforts aimed to maintain or increase populations should recognize the importance of fine-scale habitat characteristics in nest-site selection.