Migratory Shorebirds & Horseshoe Crabs in Jamaica Bay: 7 Years of Data

December 3-4, 2015 Debra Kriensky, NYC Audubon

Harbor Herons Annual Meeting

Why Horseshoe Crabs & Shorebirds?

Photo Credit: Debra Kriensky

Jamaica Bay

Shorebird monitoring sites

Horseshoe crab

monitoring sites

Plumb Beach East & West

Bay Dunes

Dead Horse Bay

JBWR

Big Egg Marsh

Horseshoe Crab Monitoring 2009-2015

0

0.05

0.1

0.15

0.2

0.25

0.3

0.35

0.4

0.45

0.5

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Fem

ale

s/Sq

uar

e M

ete

r

Year

Female Spawning Activity (ISA) 2009-2015 - Jamaica Bay

Plumb East

Big Egg

Dead Horse

Plumb West

Horseshoe Crab Monitoring 2009-2015

0

0.5

1

1.5

2

2.5

3

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Fem

ale

s/Sq

uar

e M

ete

r

Year

Female Spawning Activity (ISA) 2009-2015 - Jamaica Bay & Delaware Bay

Plumb East

Big Egg

Dead Horse

Plumb West

Kimbles (NJ)

Pickering (DE)

Delaware Bay

Smith, D. R., & Robinson, T. J. (2015). Horseshoe Crab Spawning Activity in Delaware Bay, USA, After Harvest Reduction: A Mixed-Model Analysis. Estuaries and Coasts, 38(6), 2345–2354. http://doi.org/10.1007/s12237-015-9961-3

Horseshoe Crab Monitoring Tagging 2015

• 869 horseshoe crabs tagged • 80 tag re-sightings

• 63 were ours (55 from this year, 6 from 2014, 1 from 2013, 1 from 2012

• 17 were tagged by other orgs – some from Long Island and Sandy Hook, NJ INCLUDING 1 FROM BELMAR, NJ TAGGED IN 2008!!

Report tags at http://www.fws.gov/crabtag/ and reTURN the favor!

Red Knot

Short-billed Dowitcher

Black-bellied Plover

Willet

Ruddy Turnstone

Sanderling

Dunlin

Ruddy Turnstone

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Semipalmated Plover

• Large declines in many species 1980s & 1990s • Red Knot listed as Threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2014 • What’s happening in wintering grounds, breeding grounds, and in between?

Shorebird Monitoring

2015 Spring Migration Shorebird Survey

Observer Date Location Weather (temp/precip/wind) __________________________ Start time End time Tide ______ Water Level ________ Disturbance______________________________________________________ Tidal (coastal sites): 1 = high, 2 = near high&rising, 3 = near high&falling, 4 = half&rising, 5 = half&falling, 6 = near low&rising, 7 = near low&falling, 8 = low, 9 = unknown Water Level (non-tidal sites): N = normal, H = higher than normal, L = lower than normal, X = not observed Disturbance: During this survey, shorebirds were: A=undisturbed, B=disturbed 1-2 times, C=3-4 times, D=5-10 times, E=>10 times, X=unknown. Please note what caused the disturbance (e.g. joggers, fisherman, walkers, vehicles, dogs, boats, etc.)

Accuracy: Please indicate in the ‘est or count?’ column whether your number is: C a true count, E an extrapolated estimate or G a “guesstimate”

Comments: please write any additional comments on the reverse side.

Species total # est or count?

# feeding

# roosting

# flying other

est or count?

Black-bellied plover

Semipalmated plover

Killdeer

American oystercatcher

Greater yellowlegs

Lesser yellowlegs

Yellowlegs sp.

Willet

Ruddy turnstone

Red Knot

Sanderling

Semipalmated sandpiper

Least sandpiper

White-rumped sandpiper

"Peep"

Dunlin

Short-billed dowitcher

add others below

TOTAL

Shorebird Monitoring

• International Shorebird Surveys (ISS): • Once every ~10 days April - June • Environmental data! • Behavior! • Disturbance!

ISS Portal

Shorebird Monitoring Spring

0

50

100

150

200

250

300

350

400

450

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Maximum Counts - Red Knots

Bay Dunes

Big Egg

Dead Horse Bay

JBWR

Plumb Beach

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

3000

3500

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Maximum Counts - Semipalmated Sandpipers

Bay Dunes

Big Egg

Dead Horse Bay

JBWR

Plumb Beach

Shorebird Monitoring Spring

Note: Overlaps in data

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Maximum Counts - Sanderling

Bay Dunes

Big Egg

Dead Horse Bay

JBWR

Plumb Beach

Shorebird Monitoring Spring

BIG QUESTIONS:

• How many shorebirds are utilizing Jamaica Bay each year? Where are important foraging areas and when?

• More comprehensive monitoring Spring and Fall • NYC Shorebird Blitz (all of NYC!)

Photo Credit: Don Riepe • Where are they going? Where are they coming from

(spillover from Delaware Bay)? How long do they stay? Do ‘our’ birds return here?

• Banding • VHF radio transmitters - NanoTags

• How dependent are shorebirds on horseshoe crab eggs in Jamaica Bay? Are birds in good enough condition to make it to breeding grounds?

• Taking morphometrics during spring migration • Test blood, feathers, etc. for stable isotope signature of

horseshoe crab eggs, or analyze stomach contents

• What density of female horseshoe crabs provides sufficient density of eggs for migrating shorebirds?

• Expand egg coring study to Big Egg and Dead Horse Bay

Questions?