Evaluation of procedures for monitoring productivity of piping plovers and least terns on the Missouri River

Reliable ongoing monitoring of piping plover and least tern nests is crucial to assuring that protection efforts are contributing effectively and efficiently to recovery of these species. An annual inventory of the numbers, location, and productivity of breeding pairs will provide information on population trends, changes in distribution, recruitment, and other population parameters. Additionally, data collected at unsuccessful nests will provide insights to the causes of failures. These data will provide measures of overall progress towards recovery and facilitate identification of areas where additional management or protection needs to be applied. Monitoring to identify factors that may be limiting the species’ abundance and /or [...]