Environmental Correlates of Diurnal and Nocturnal Foraging Patterns of Nonbreeding Shorebirds

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[edit] Author(s)

  • Dodd, S. L.
  • Colwell, M. A.

[edit] Journal

Wilson Bulletin 110.2 (1998): 182-89.

[edit] Keywords

non-breeding season northeastern venezuela pluvialis-squatarola numenius-phaeopus energy-intake humboldt bay banc-darguin habitat use behavior plovers

[edit] Abstract

Knowledge of abiotic factors influencing the foraging ecology of nonbreeding shorebirds (Charadriiformes: Charadrii) is based on research conducted almost exclusively during the day. Consequently, we examined the relative contributions of environmental variables to diurnal and nocturnal foraging patterns (presence/absence) of nonbreeding shorebirds at Humboldt Bay, California, USA from January 1992 to January 1993. The influence of environmental variables on foraging patterns differed between day and night. Most notably, the diurnal presence of birds increased with: (1) shorter daylength [Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola), dowitchers (Limnodromus spp.), and small sandpipers (Calidris mauri and C. minutilla)]; and (2) shorter durations of mud flat exposure [American Avocet (Recurvirostra americana), Marbled Godwit (Limosa fedoa), and Dunlin (Calidris alpina)]. By contrast, the nocturnal presence of most species increased during the fall [Marbled Godwit, dowitchers, Black-bellied Plover, Semipalmated Plover (Charaedrius semipalmatus), and Dunlin] and on nights with a visible moon [Marbled Godwit, Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus), dowitchers, Semipalmated Plover, and Dunlin]. Our results suggest that interspecific variation in diurnal and nocturnal feeding patterns of shorebirds is associated mostly with variation in tidal, seasonal, and moonlight conditions. Furthermore, our findings suggest that nocturnal foraging by most shorebird species at a northern temperate, intertidal site did not increase during periods of short daylength.

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