Download Conservation approach

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
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Monitoring
Research
Protection - legislation
Protect Habitat
Population Manipulation
- captive breeding/release
- predator/ competitor control
- habitat enhancement/creation
Introductions – purposefully
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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 Goals
Atlantic 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 loss
Due 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/specie
slist.htm
• Species General Status in Nova Scotia
http://www.gov.ns.ca/natr/wildlife/genstatus/
• COSEWIC http://www.cosewic.gc.ca/index.htm