Conservation Initiatives

Single Species Approach

If most species are rare, are they necessarily endangered?

How do we know that a population is in need of some form of intervention?

When should we step in and attempt to manage the situation?

Approaches

• Monitoring

• Research

• Protection - legislation

• Protect Habitat

• Population Manipulation- captive breeding/release

- predator/ competitor control

- habitat enhancement/creation

Introductions – purposefully

• White-tailed deer• Marten• Fisher• Moose

Introductions - accidental

• Coyotes• Mallards• pests

Hacking

• Bald eagle

Surrogate Mother

• Whooping Crane

Captive breeding

• Panda

Legislation

• Migratory Birds Convention Act of 1917• Protect migratory birds and their nests.

• Nova Scotia– Endangered Species Act - 1998

• Protect species at risk and their habitat (core habitat) in NS.

• Species at Risk Act (SARA) 2003• Protect endangered wildlife found on federal lands

as well as their critical habitat.

• 1917 Migratory Birds Convention Act

• 1978 The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) began assessing wildlife species and classifying their chances of survival.

• 1988 The Wildlife Ministers' Council of Canada established RENEW, or the committee on the Recovery of Nationally Endangered Wildlife.

• 1992 Canada signed the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and commits to protect endangered and threatened wildlife.

• 1996 The federal, provincial and territorial governments endorsed the Accord for the Protection of Species at Risk, agreeing to develop laws and programs that would work together to protect species at risk and their habitat throughout the country.

• 1998 Nova Scotia Endangered Species Act

• 1999 COSEWIC adopted updated criteria based on the criteria developed by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature to assess and classify wildlife species at risk.

• 2000 Budget committed $180 million over five years for a national strategy for species at risk.

• 2000 The Habitat Stewardship Program for Species at Risk became operational.

• 2002 The Species at Risk Act was passed by Parliament.

• 2003 Budget 2003 committed $33 million over two years for implementation of the Species at Risk Act (SARA). This amount was in addition to the $180 million allocated in Budget 2000.

• 2003 Two-thirds of the Species at Risk Act came into force. Sections 1, 134 to 136 and 138 to 141 of the Species at Risk Act came into force on March 24. Sections 2 to 31, 37 to 56, 62, 65 to 76, 78 to 84, 120 to 133 and 137 came into force on June 5.

• 2004 The remaining sections of the Act (32 to 36, 57 to 61, 63, 64, 77, and 85 to 119) come into force on June 1.

COSEWIC

• Group of experts who assess the conservation status of species that may be at risk in Canada.

• COSEWIC evaluations are based on the best scientific, community, and Aboriginal traditional knowledge available on the biological status of a species.

• Recognized as source of advice on the status of species at risk nationally.

http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/eng/sct5/index_e.cfm

Recovery Team

• Under the Recovery of Nationally Endangered Wildlife Program (RENEW)

• Recovery teams made up of governmental and non-governmental members.

• Meet annually.

• Provide recommendations and direction to conservation efforts.

The Piping Plover

Status

• Listed as threatened in 1978

• Designated as endangered in 1985 by The Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC).

• Two subspecies (both listed as endangered in 2001)

• Listed as endangered in 2000 by the province of Nova Scotia under the provincial Endangered Species Act.

Recovery GoalsAtlantic Canada

• To achieve a population of at least 670 adults (335 pairs)To achieve a productivity level above 1.5 chicks/pair/year.

• To achieve habitat protection objectives of a minimum of 65% of nesting plovers in Atlantic Canada protected.

• To evaluate the longer term goal of 800 adults (400 pairs) in relation to habitat availability.

Charadrius melodus

• Small, sparrow-sized shorebird.

• Primarily light grey.• Black band on its breast

and forehead and a partially black tail.

• White rump• Bright orange legs. • Orange bill with a black

tip, which becomes black in winter.

Distribution

• Subspecies melodus breeds along the Atlantic coast from Newfoundland to South Carolina.

• It winters from South Carolina to Florida, and in the Caribbean (Cuba, Bahamas).

• About 25% of Canada's Piping Plovers are found in the Atlantic provinces.

Distribution

• In Canada, the melodus subspecies breeds on the Magdalen Islands, NB, NS, PEI, and NL.

Populations (1991)

Population (2003)

• Eastern Canada population 549 (256 pairs) in 2003.

• 2005 – 444 individuals

• NS population 107 (48 pairs) in 2003.

• Censuses since 1996 suggest pop.

• Below recovery team goal (670 adults).

Habitat

• Nest above the normal high-water mark on gently sloping, exposed sandy or gravelly beaches.

• Nest among small cobble and other small beach debris.

Feeding

• They also forage for food on these beaches or sand flats.

• Feed on a variety of beach-dwelling invertebrates, including insects, small crustaceans, and marine worms.

Breeding

• Arrive in Eastern Canada in April or May.

• Males arrive first establish a territory.

• They attract females with dramatic aerial and ground displays.

• They scrape a shallow nest-site in sand or gravel.

• The female selects one of the scrapes.

Nesting

• Clutches usually contain 4 eggs.

• Eggs are laid every other day.

• Incubation lasts for approx. 27-31 days.

• Parents take turns incubating eggs.

Chicks

• Chicks are precocial• On their feet and

feeding within a few hours.

• 25 days before they can fly.

• Fledged young and adults head south from late July to early September.

What are the threats?

Why Threatened?

• Considered common during most of the 19th Century.

• Nearly extinct by 1900 due to hunting.

• Peaked in 1940s• Habitat loss

(development, recreation)

• Predation (nests and adults)

• Flooding (nests)

Monitoring Program

• Southern NS.• Three counties, 20-25

beaches.• 71% of NS population

• Field season from late

April to end of August

Monitoring

• Visited beaches weekly

• Monitored # of birds and activity, nesting success, and fledgling success.

• Monitored/measured foraging distances of chicks.

Nest Protection

• Place symbolic fencing and signs around nests.

• Place wire enclosures over nests to keep out predators.

• Enclosed nests visited more frequently.

Habitat lossDue to stabilization of beaches

PVA

Education

• Spoke to beach users about piping plover, its status, and minimizing their impact.

• Assisted with nature camps for Cape Sable Island IBA(2003).

Other Duties

• Beach cleanups• Identify nest

predators• Assist CWS staff

(banding) • Assist prov./federal

wildlife enforcement staff.

Other Programs

Banding Program (CWS)

• Each bird banded with USGS (US Geological Survey) band and a colour band.

• Adults have colour bands on the left leg, juveniles have colour band on the right leg.

Guardian Program

• Mostly volunteers• Purpose to decrease

human disturbance• Raise awareness

about the Piping Plover

Links

• Federal Species at Risk http://www.speciesatrisk.gc.ca/

• Nova Scotia Endangered Species List http://www.gov.ns.ca/natr/wildlife/endngrd/specieslist.htm

• Species General Status in Nova Scotia http://www.gov.ns.ca/natr/wildlife/genstatus/

• COSEWIC http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/index.htm