Martin Bulla1,2,3, Clemens Küpper4,5, Silvia Plaschke6, Medardo Cruz-López7, Salvador Gómez Del Ángel7. 1. Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Str., 82319, Seewiesen, Germany. bulla.mar@gmail.com. 2. NIOZ Royal Netherlands Institute for Sea Research, Department of Coastal Systems and Utrecht University, P.O. Box 59, 1790, AB, Den Burg, The Netherlands. bulla.mar@gmail.com. 3. Department of Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, 165 21, Prague, Czech Republic. bulla.mar@gmail.com. 4. Institute for Biology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010, Graz, Austria. ckuepper@orn.mpg.de. 5. Max Planck Institute for Ornithology, Eberhard-Gwinner-Str., 82319, Seewiesen, Germany. ckuepper@orn.mpg.de. 6. Institute for Biology, University of Graz, Universitätsplatz 2, 8010, Graz, Austria. 7. Posgrado en Ciencias del Mar y Limnología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510, Cd. México, Mexico.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Marine and intertidal organisms face the rhythmic environmental changes induced by tides. The large amplitude of spring tides that occur around full and new moon may threaten nests of ground-nesting birds. These birds face a trade-off between ensuring nest safety from tidal flooding and nesting near the waterline to provide their newly hatched offspring with suitable foraging opportunities. The semi-lunar periodicity of spring tides may enable birds to schedule nest initiation adaptively, for example, by initiating nests around tidal peaks when the water line reaches the farthest into the intertidal habitat. We examined the impact of semi-lunar tidal changes on the phenology of nest flooding and nest initiation in Snowy Plovers (Charadrius nivosus) breeding at Bahía de Ceuta, a coastal wetland in Northwest Mexico. RESULTS: Using nest initiations and fates of 752 nests monitored over ten years we found that the laying season coincides with the lowest spring tides of the year and only 6% of all nests were flooded by tides. Tidal nest flooding varied substantially over time. First, flooding was the primary cause of nest failures in two of the ten seasons indicating high between-season stochasticity. Second, nests were flooded almost exclusively during the second half of the laying season. Third, nest flooding was associated with the semi-lunar spring tide cycle as nests initiated around spring tide had a lower risk of being flooded than nests initiated at other times. Following the spring tide rhythm, plovers appeared to adapt to this risk of flooding with nest initiation rates highest around spring tides and lowest around neap tides. CONCLUSIONS: Snowy Plovers appear generally well adapted to the risk of nest flooding by spring tides. Our results are in line with other studies showing that intertidal organisms have evolved adaptive responses to predictable rhythmic tidal changes but these adaptations do not prevent occasional catastrophic losses caused by stochastic events.
BACKGROUND: Marine and intertidal organisms face the rhythmic environmental changes induced by tides. The large amplitude of spring tides that occur around full and new moon may threaten nests of ground-nesting birds. These birds face a trade-off between ensuring nest safety from tidal flooding and nesting near the waterline to provide their newly hatched offspring with suitable foraging opportunities. The semi-lunar periodicity of spring tides may enable birds to schedule nest initiation adaptively, for example, by initiating nests around tidal peaks when the water line reaches the farthest into the intertidal habitat. We examined the impact of semi-lunar tidal changes on the phenology of nest flooding and nest initiation in Snowy Plovers (Charadrius nivosus) breeding at Bahía de Ceuta, a coastal wetland in Northwest Mexico. RESULTS: Using nest initiations and fates of 752 nests monitored over ten years we found that the laying season coincides with the lowest spring tides of the year and only 6% of all nests were flooded by tides. Tidal nest flooding varied substantially over time. First, flooding was the primary cause of nest failures in two of the ten seasons indicating high between-season stochasticity. Second, nests were flooded almost exclusively during the second half of the laying season. Third, nest flooding was associated with the semi-lunar spring tide cycle as nests initiated around spring tide had a lower risk of being flooded than nests initiated at other times. Following the spring tide rhythm, plovers appeared to adapt to this risk of flooding with nest initiation rates highest around spring tides and lowest around neap tides. CONCLUSIONS: Snowy Plovers appear generally well adapted to the risk of nest flooding by spring tides. Our results are in line with other studies showing that intertidal organisms have evolved adaptive responses to predictable rhythmic tidal changes but these adaptations do not prevent occasional catastrophic losses caused by stochastic events.
Authors: Liam D Bailey; Bruno J Ens; Christiaan Both; Dik Heg; Kees Oosterbeek; Martijn van de Pol Journal: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci Date: 2017-06-19 Impact factor: 6.237
Authors: Martin Bulla; Mihai Valcu; Adriaan M Dokter; Alexei G Dondua; András Kosztolányi; Anne L Rutten; Barbara Helm; Brett K Sandercock; Bruce Casler; Bruno J Ens; Caleb S Spiegel; Chris J Hassell; Clemens Küpper; Clive Minton; Daniel Burgas; David B Lank; David C Payer; Egor Y Loktionov; Erica Nol; Eunbi Kwon; Fletcher Smith; H River Gates; Hana Vitnerová; Hanna Prüter; James A Johnson; James J H St Clair; Jean-François Lamarre; Jennie Rausch; Jeroen Reneerkens; Jesse R Conklin; Joanna Burger; Joe Liebezeit; Joël Bêty; Jonathan T Coleman; Jordi Figuerola; Jos C E W Hooijmeijer; José A Alves; Joseph A M Smith; Karel Weidinger; Kari Koivula; Ken Gosbell; Klaus-Michael Exo; Larry Niles; Laura Koloski; Laura McKinnon; Libor Praus; Marcel Klaassen; Marie-Andrée Giroux; Martin Sládeček; Megan L Boldenow; Michael I Goldstein; Miroslav Šálek; Nathan Senner; Nelli Rönkä; Nicolas Lecomte; Olivier Gilg; Orsolya Vincze; Oscar W Johnson; Paul A Smith; Paul F Woodard; Pavel S Tomkovich; Phil F Battley; Rebecca Bentzen; Richard B Lanctot; Ron Porter; Sarah T Saalfeld; Scott Freeman; Stephen C Brown; Stephen Yezerinac; Tamás Székely; Tomás Montalvo; Theunis Piersma; Vanessa Loverti; Veli-Matti Pakanen; Wim Tijsen; Bart Kempenaers Journal: Nature Date: 2016-11-23 Impact factor: 49.962
Authors: Orsolya Vincze; Tamás Székely; Clemens Küpper; Monif Alrashidi; Juan A Amat; Araceli Argüelles Ticó; Daniel Burgas; Terry Burke; John Cavitt; Jordi Figuerola; Mohammed Shobrak; Tomas Montalvo; András Kosztolányi Journal: PLoS One Date: 2013-04-17 Impact factor: 3.240
Authors: Brooke Maslo; Thomas A Schlacher; Michael A Weston; Chantal M Huijbers; Chris Anderson; Ben L Gilby; Andrew D Olds; Rod M Connolly; David S Schoeman Journal: PeerJ Date: 2016-09-13 Impact factor: 2.984
Authors: Martin Bulla; Thomas Oudman; Allert I Bijleveld; Theunis Piersma; Charalambos P Kyriacou Journal: Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci Date: 2017-11-19 Impact factor: 6.237