Cooperative Agreement for affiliated Partner with Alaska Cooperative Ecosystem Studies Unit

The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research to develop an integrated population model (IPM) and conduct a Bayesian Population Viability Analysis (BPVA) for the Atlantic Coast population of Piping Plovers. Listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 1986, the Atlantic Coast population comprises four recovery units (Atlantic Canada, New England, Mid-Atlantic, and Southern states). Although intensive management has contributed to population growth, recovery has been uneven among units, and some have not grown despite years of targeted management and monitoring. Ongoing threats include habitat loss and degradation, predation, and human disturbance. Emerging challenges include habitat alteration driven by environmental change, including sea level rise and increased storm frequency. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service requires reliable quantitative tools to assess the effects of these threats on the resilience, redundancy, and adaptive capacity of the Atlantic Coast population.