Sources/Usage: Public Domain. View Media Details

Summary: For listed species, understanding population structure can be critically important for successfully managing populations towards recovery. Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) breeding in the northern Great Plains, listed as Threatened since 1985, have been managed as a metapopulation consisting of four separate breeding groups with assumed infrequent movements among groups. Earlier simulation studies incorporating this assumption predicted low extinction risk for the species. In this talk, we will provide an overview of a large multi-agency study on the rates of movements (i.e., connectivity) of Piping Plovers throughout the northern Great Plains. Our results demonstrate that Piping Plovers move between the northern Missouri River and the U.S. Alkali Wetlands at a rate that is substantially higher than previously assumed. Further, movement rates were unbalanced and varied between hatch-year and adult Piping Plovers. We will conclude by presenting recent research on an updated analysis of extinction risk based on this novel demographic information to better understand the consequences of high connectivity within this region for Piping Plover population viability and management.