A 20-Yr Study Documenting the Relationship Between Turtle Decline and Human Recreation

Abstract

This study documents the detrimental effects of human recreation on the North American wood turtle (Clemmys insculpta) in Connecticut. We chronicled the dynamics of two allopatric wood turtle populations in a protected southern New England wildlife reserve for 20 yr (1974-1993). Both wood turtle populations were reproductively isolated from one another, physically separated ≈\approx100 yr ago when a 1.5 km long human-made pond was constructed. We conducted a mark-and-recapture study on a 1000-ha section of a protected watershed in south-central Connecticut (New Haven County). During this study we monitored 133 different wood turtles, observing them a total of 1176 times. Human and wood turtle demographics were recorded throughout this period. The data support the following conclusions: (1) following a period of apparent stability, two populations of wood turtles declined; (2) the declines were more or less synchronous in both populations; (3) the beginning of each decline corresponded to the opening of the habitat for recreation; (4) an increase in mean turtle age suggests a failure of recruitment; however, (5) a simultaneous reduction in numbers of adult females suggests that the failure of recruitment alone is not sufficient to explain the declines. Throughout our study the size of the forest remained the same, road building was restricted, and the quality of the air and water were constant. The wood turtle populations remained stable when people were denied access to the property. When this area was opened to human recreation (hiking, fishing) the two discrete wood turtle populations declined steadily; the total number of turtles in both populations declined by 100% in 10 yr. As wilderness areas become mixed-use recreation areas, wood turtle populations may suffer. We conclude that without proper management, the increasing recreational use of parks, reservoirs, and wildlife reserves will adversely affect the long-term survival of the North American wood turtle.

Full text

Twenty-eight Year Study of
Upland Sandpiper Breeding Population
in New York
Steven D. Garber
Department of Ecology
Evolution and Nat. Resources
Rutgers University
Piscataway, NJ 08855-1059
Sammy Chevalier
P.O. Box 356
Ingram, TX 78025
Jay Richard Cohen
133 Broome Avenue
Atlantic Beach, NY 11509
INTRODUCTION
The United States Fish and Wildlife Service de-
scribes the Upland Sandpiper (Bartramia
Iongicauda) as a migratory non-game bird of man-
agement concern in the Northeast (Carter 1992).
Upland Sandpiper populations have declined sig-
nificantly from Ohio through the northeastern states
since the 1940s (Peterjohn and Rice 1991). In New
York, according to the North American Breeding
Bird Survey, Upland Sandpiper numbers declined
by 83 percent during the past 30 years (from 1966
to 1996), representing a decline of 5.73% per year
(P=.3645, N=28; N = the total number of breeding
bird survey routes where Upland Sandpipers were
detected in New York). These numbers were cal-
culated from unpublished data provided by
Pardieck and Peterjohn (pers. com. 1997).
At John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK),
located on the east shore of Jamaica Bay in New
York City, there is a significant Upland Sandpiper
population about which we have collected data for
decades (Garber and Chevalier 1996), creating a
valuable source of information useful to those in-
terested in managing this species on or off airports.
Efforts to attract breeding Upland Sandpipers from
the JFK population to establish a satellite popula-
tion at Floyd Bennett Field, on the west shore of
Jamaica Bay, have been unsuccessful. Upland
Sandpipers have done well at JFK, and we recently
documented a breeding population at Newark Air-
port in Newark, New Jersey, where we are man-
aging for them based on what we have learned
from the methods used at JFK. We have worked
with bird populations at JFK, LaGuardia, and New-
ark airports in an ongoing effort to reduce the risk
Jul. - Sep. 1997
of a plane crash from birds getting sucked through
airplane engines. Whenever possible, we conduct
our wildlife management methods in ways that
enable us to protect both people and birds. One of
our many efforts to protect birds at JFK is reported
here, where we have documented an Upland Sand-
piper population living at one of the biggest, busi-
est airports in the world in the middle of New York '
City.
Upland Sandpipers did not occur on the habitat
where the airport is presently located before the
airport was constructed. Originally, most of the over
5,000 acres that currently comprise JFK were a
mixture of fresh and saltwater wetlands. The near-
est population of Upland Sandpipers that histori-
cally occurred in the area was found on the
Hempstead Plains of Long Island, which formerly
comprised approximately 60,000 acres (Garber
1997). Hempstead Plains was one of the best re-
maining habitats for Upland Sandpipers in the John
F. Kennedy International Airport area until the first
part of the century, before the region was devel-
oped and before the airport was built. In the 1920s
John T. Nichols estimated at least 25 pairs bred
on the Hempstead Plains (Bull 1975,1985); but by
the early 1940s, the Hempstead Plains population
had only four to six remaining pairs (Cruickshank
1942); afterward the population disappeared. Cur-
rently, JFK has approximately 20 breeding pairs of
Upland Sandpipers.
JFK is very close to where the Hempstead Plains
used to extend. Much of JFK's habitat is created
artificially from primarily sandy dredge spoils, which
North Amerfcan Bird Bander Page 109

were built approximately six feet above sea level
(Garber 1995). The airport was built in stages,
primarily in the 1930s and 1940s, with one last run-
way extension added on in the 1960s. The goals
were to make a flat, dry region suitable for taxi-
ways, runways, and buildings. Although upland
meadow habitat was created where there used to
be wetlands, to some extent, it appears these up-
land meadows replaced the original natural upland
meadows of the Hempstead Plains. It could be that
the birds breeding at JFK are descendants of the
birds that used to breed at Hempstead Plains, and
the birds moved to JFK when the Hempstead Plains
were fragmented and reduced in size, while simul-
taneously, JFK was increasing in size. Today, Up-
land Sandpipers breed only at a relatively small
number of discrete, local sites, and these sites
usually have a small number of birds.
Throughout their entire range, which includes North
and South America, the total number of breeding
pairs is quite small. For these reasons, and be-
cause JFK has one of the largest breeding popu-
lations in the East, as well as one of the most sig-
nificant long-term data bases on the species, we
continue to monitor the species at the airport. In
North America, it breeds as far south as Virginia.
To date, this species has not represented a signifi-
cant hazard to aircraft in light of the low number of
individuals that have been struck at JFK over the
years. Even though there has been just one strike
from January 1979 through February 1997 (it oc-
curred on 30 August 1996, without any damage to
the aircraft), we are making every effort possible
to record relevant information about the birds at
the airport so others interested in this species' man-
agement might benefit from our experience.
Most of the research on breeding habits, repro-
ductive success, habitat requirements, home
range, movements, coloniality, and effects of graz-
ing was done on midwestern Upland Sandpiper
populations. Studies of the species' breeding biol-
ogy have been conducted (Higgins and Kirsch
1975, Kirsch and Higgins 1976, Ailes 1979, Ailes
1980), and their home range and daily movements
were studied elsewhere (Ailes and Toepfer 1977).
In addition, coloniality, reproductive success, and
habitat interactions have been studied in the Mid-
west (Bowen 1976), as have the effects of grazing
Page 110
on nesting Upland Sandpipers in south-central
North Dakota (Bowen and Kruse 1993).
METHODS
From 1969 through 1997, bird banding has been
conducted at JFK under the permits held by Jay
Richard Cohen, Sammy Chevalier, and Steven
Garber. From 1969 through 1987, 410 Upland
Sandpipers were banded at JFK; all were banded
by Cohen and Chevalier on aeronautical parts of
the airport (near runways and taxiways). The Up-
land Sandpipers that were caught and banded were
primarily young that could not fly. Juvenile birds
were chased down and captured by hand. Adults
that could be caught because they were more likely
to come close enough to a person when protect-
ing their young were chased down and captured
by net. The effort was not equal each year, so the
yearly numbers primarily represent relative effort.
Population estimates were made using the spot
mapping method. Banding data and observations
by biologists at the airport are presented in an ef-
fort to determine the history of this species at the
airport during our tenures here.
RESULTS
Two of the Upland Sandpipers banded here were
recovered subsequently, both at the airport. Each
was banded at JFK when they were too young to
fly. The first was banded on 6 July 1976 and was
recovered 8 May 1978. The second was banded
12 June 1981 and recovered 28 May 1990. We
believe the latter bird is a longevity record for the
species; the hiatus between times captured was
nine years.
The total number of Upland Sandpipers banded
and recovered at JFK each year is as follows:
1969-2; 1970-9; 1971-19; 1972-12; 1973-6;
1974-13; 1975-8; 1976-22; 1977-22; 1978-36;
1979-39; 1980-30; 1981-7; 1982-32; 1983-48;
1984-6; 1985-0; 1986-14; 1987-2; 1990-1.
All were banded when they were too young to fly
except for one adult in 1971, one adult in 1977,
two adults in 1978, one adult in 1979, and one adult
in 1990. The number banded appears to drop off
markedly after 1983, which may be a result of the
grassland management at the airport. It has been
suggested that it was after 1983 that the grass was
North Ame#can Bird Bander Vol. 22 No. 3

Figure 1.
UPLAND SANDPIPER BANDING DATES
If the bird was banded and recaptured, it is followed by an R. The number of birds banded or
recaptured is in parentheses, if there is no number in parentheses, then the number banded was 1
1969 June 22, 1977 June 25, 1981 (2)
July 2, 1969 (2) June 26, 1977 June 29, 1981
1970 June 28, 1977 (2) July 27, 1981
June 11, 1970 (6) June 29, 1977 1982
June 24, 1979 July 6, 1977 (2) May 31, 1982 (2)
June 26, 1970 1978 June 1, 1982 (2)
July 8, 1970 May 5, 1978 R June 2, 1982 (5)
1971 June 1, 1978 (2) June 6, 1982
June 11, 1971 June 6, 1978 (2) June 8, 1982 (6)
June 14, 1971 June 14, 1978 (3) June 9, 1982
June 15, 1971 June 15, 1978 (2) June 10, 1982 (3)
June 16, 1971 (5) June 16, 1978 (3) June 11, 1982
June 18, 1971 (3) June 19, 1978 June 14, 1982 (3)
June 22, 1971 June 20, 1978 (6) June 16, 1982 (2)
June 23, 1971 (2) June 21, 1978 (3) June 19, 1982
June 25, 1971 (2) June 24, 1978 (3) June 20, 1982 (2)
June 27, 1971 (3) June 28, 1978 (2) June 23, 1982
1972 June 29, 1978 (2) June 25, 1982
June 7, 1972 (2) June 30, 1978 (3) June 26, 1982
June 9, 1972 July 5, 1978 1983
June 15, 1972 (7) July 8, 1978 June 8, 1983 (3)
June 19, 1972 July 24, 1978 June 9, 1983 (7)
June 20, 1972 1979 June 10, 1983 (3)
1973 June 3, 1979 (2) June 13, 1983 (3)
June 25, 1972 June 7, 1979 (3) June 14, 1983 (5)
June 26, 1972 (3) June 12, 1979 June 16, 1983 (3)
July 5, 1972 June 14, 1979 (4) June 17, 1983 (4)
July 11, 1973 June 16, 1979 (6) June 22, 1983
1974 June 17, 1979 June 26, 1983
June 12, 1974 (3) June 20, 1979 (5) June 27, 1983 (2)
June 13, 1974 (3) June 21, 1979 June 30, 1983 (5)
June 14, 1974 (4) June 22, 1979 (4) July 1, 1983 (5)
June 18, 1974 (2) June 25, 1979 (3) July 3, 1983 (2)
June 26, 1974 June 26, 1979 July 4, 1983
1975 June 27, 1979 (4) July 9, 1983
June 24, 1975 June 28, 1979 July 11, 1983
June 25, 1975 July 3, 1979 (2) July 27, 1983
July 7, 1975 (3) July 4, 1979 1984
July 8, 1975 (3) 1980 June 9, 1984
1976 June 2, 1980 (3) June 10, 1984
June 6, 1976 (4) June 4, 1980 June 25, 1984
June 13, 1976 (2) June 7, 1980 (2) July 11, 1984
June 14, 1976 June 10, 1980 July 13, 1984
Junw 16, 1976 (2) June 12, 1980 (2) July 20, 1984
June 17, 1976 (3) June 16, 1980 (3) 1986
June 18, 1976 (2) June 17, 1980 (3) June 3, 1986 (1)
June 19, 1976 (2) June 18, 1980 June 5, 1986 (3)
June 20, 1976 (3) June 19, 1980 (2) June 6, 1986
June 24, 1976 June 20, 1980 June 10, 1986 (2)
June 25, 1976 June 21, 1980 June 14, 1986
July 6, 1976 June 22, 1980 June 16, 1986 (3)
•1977 June 23, 1980 (3) July 1, 1986
June 1, 1977 June 24, 1980 (3) July 9, 1986
June 3, 1977 (3) June 25, 1980 July 14, 1986
June 8, 1977 (3) June 27, 1980 1987
June 14, 1977 July 4, 1980 June 20, 1987
June 17, 1977 1981 July 23, 1987
June 19, 1977 (4) June 23, 1981 1990
June 21, 1977 (2) June 24, 1981 (2) May 28, 1990 R
Jul. - Sep. 1997 North American Bird Bander Page 111

allowed to grow high during the summer; whereas
during previous years, it was always kept shorter
during the summer months. Although the longer
grass does not appear to hinder the Upland Sand-
pipers' success at JFK, it does affect the success
of those trying to locate and capture them so they
can be banded. No new birds were banded in 1988,
1989, 1990, 1991, or 1992. Each of these years
Chevalier was busy during the summer with other
chores at the airport and was not able to devote
time to banding. He retired in October 1992, and
Garber began working at JFK in December 1994.
(See Figure 1 for banding dates.)
Figure 2. Number of Upland Sandpipers observed at JFK
Airport on each date during 1994 and 1995.
1994
May 11, 1994 (1)
May 19, 1994 (1)
May 23, 1994 (2)
May 24, 1994 (1)
May 25, 1994 (1)
June 8, 1994 (2)
June 14, 1994 (6, of which 2 were chicks)
1995
May 22, 1995 (1)
May 25, 1995 (1)
June 1, 1995 (4)
June 5, 1995 (3)
June 7, 1995 (2)
June 10, 1995 (4 adults, 1 juvenile)
June 15, 1995 (1)
June 16, 1995 (4)
June 17, 1995 (3)
June 19, 1995 (1)
July 14, 1995 (4)
August 4, 1995 (2)
The hiatus between Figures 1 and 2 reflects the
time between when Chevalier worked at the air-
port and when Garber began. Dates during 1994
and 1995 do not represent birds banded; rather,
they represent Upland Sandpiper observations at
JFK during the following days. In 1994, 14 Upland
Sandpipers were seen from 11 May through 14
June. In 1995, 31 were seen from 22 May through
4 August. In 1996, over 100 were seen because
we spent a great deal of time in the field each day
conducting a falconry program to scare gulls from
Page 112 North American
the airport (Garber 1996). During the years 1991
through 1993 no Upland Sandpipers were banded
or recorded at JFK.
DISCUSSION
From the banding and observation dates listed in
Figures 1 and 2, Upland Sandpipers are here dur-
ing the months of May, June, July, and August;
therefore, one might conclude that the earliest date
the birds are back at JFK was 8 May and the latest
they were here was 4 August. However, most
banding dates start at the end of May and begin-
ning of June, which may be more representative
of when the birds are on their nests and when they
have young in the area.
From the above observation data, it appears that
many Upland Sandpipers arrive at JFK through
May, but eggs do not hatch until the end of May
and in June, and some may hatch as late as July.
As stated earlier, there are as many as 20 pairs of
Upland Sandpipers breeding at JFK. This popula-
tion has been utilizing air-side grassland habitats
for many years. The Upland Sandpiper will not con-
tinue breeding in an area when its fragmentation
reaches a certain critical threshold; therefore, con-
tinued divisions of the air-side habitat with more
taxiways and open blacktop areas could lead to
an eventual decline of this species at JFK.
LaGuardia Airport and Newark International
Airport - Upland Sandpipers do not occur at
LaGuardia Airport, which is much smaller than both
JFK and Newark airports and without the vast ex-
panses of potential Upland Sandpiper habitat.
Because we felt Newark had appropriate Upland
Sandpiper habitat, we looked for them in 1996 and
for the first time found six breeding pairs there.
LITERATURE CITED
Ailes, I.W. and J.E. Toepfer. 1977. Breeding biol-
ogy and habitat use of the Upland Sand-
piper in central Wisconsin. Inland Bird
Banding News 49:203-212.
Ailes, I.W. 1980. Breeding biology and habitat use
of the Upland Sandpiper in central Wiscon-
sin. Passenger Pigeon 42:53-63.
Bird Bander Vol, 22 No. 3

Ailes, M. 1979. A shore bird at home on the range.
Animal Kingdom Aug/Sept: 21-25.
Bowen, D.E. 1976. Coloniality, reproductive suc-
cess, and habitat interactions in Upland
Sandpipers (Bartramia Iongicauda). Ph.D.
dissertation. Kansas State Univ. Manhat-
tan, KS.
Bowen, B.S. and A.D. Kruse. 1993. Effects of graz-
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south-central North Dakota. J. Wildl. Man-
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Schneider and D.M. Pence, eds. Migratory
nongame birds of management concern in
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Cruickshank, A.D. 1942. Birds around New York
City. American Museum of Natural History.
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