LONG-TERM STUDY OF APPARENT SURVIVAL IN PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVERS AT A WINTERING GROUND ON OAHU, HAWAIIAN ISLANDS

Abstract

Abstract We monitored the apparent survival of territorial and nonterritorial Pacific Golden-Plovers (Pluvialis fulva) for 20 consecutive nonbreeding seasons at a wintering ground within Bellows Air Force Station (BAFS) on the eastern shore of Oahu, Hawaii. Territorial birds were especially site-faithful from season to season, and each surviving individual reoccupied the same territory held in previous seasons. On average, territorial birds were resighted for about twice as many postbanding seasons (4.2) as nonterritorial birds (1.8). Open-population modeling indicated that apparent survival varied by age and territorial status. Our most parsimonious model estimated apparent annual survival rates in territorial plovers as 0.90 for young birds (age determined from retained juvenal primaries) from their first through their second wintering season, and 0.80 for adults over numerous seasons. For nonterritorial plovers, the corresponding values were 0.82 and 0.67, respectively. Despite lower apparent survival ...