Population estimates and land cover use of wintering Mountain Plovers in Texas
Conservation of migratory birds throughout the full annual cycle requires a comprehensive understanding of abundance and distribution in interconnected breeding, migration, and wintering habitats. The Mountain Plover ( Anarhynchus montanus ) is a rare endemic breeder of the Rocky Mountain and Great...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Resilience Alliance
2025-03-01
|
| Series: | Journal of Field Ornithology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journal.afonet.org/vol96/iss1/art1 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850062429880320000 |
|---|---|
| author | James E. Lyons Brad Andres Kelli L. Stone Allison K Pierce Kammie Kruse |
| author_facet | James E. Lyons Brad Andres Kelli L. Stone Allison K Pierce Kammie Kruse |
| author_sort | James E. Lyons |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Conservation of migratory birds throughout the full annual cycle requires a comprehensive understanding of abundance and distribution in interconnected breeding, migration, and wintering habitats. The Mountain Plover ( Anarhynchus montanus ) is a rare endemic breeder of the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains regions that migrates to wintering grounds in the southwestern USA and northern Mexico. Information regarding its wintering abundance and distribution, particularly in Texas, is limited. This study provides the first population estimate for Mountain Plovers wintering in Texas and examines factors influencing their land cover use. Through distance sampling surveys in six ecoregions of Texas, we estimated an annual wintering population of 3096 (95% CI 1464–6547) Mountain Plovers during 2019–2020, with the greatest abundances in the Southern Texas Plains and Western Gulf Coastal Plain ecoregions. The highest plover densities were in the Southern Texas Plains and Central Great Plains ecoregions. Most plovers were found in cultivated crops, particularly tilled fields and sod farms, and plovers preferentially selected crop fields without residual vegetation or stubble. Grass/hay fields were used less, perhaps because of tall vegetation. Our findings highlight the significance of Texas as a wintering area for Mountain Plovers and emphasize the importance of specific cropland habitats for this species. These results provide crucial insights for conservation and management efforts aimed at protecting Mountain Plovers throughout their annual cycle. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-2190383208a44d6fbc36d78c8042e41d |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 1557-9263 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-03-01 |
| publisher | Resilience Alliance |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journal of Field Ornithology |
| spelling | doaj-art-2190383208a44d6fbc36d78c8042e41d2025-08-20T02:49:55ZengResilience AllianceJournal of Field Ornithology1557-92632025-03-01961110.5751/JFO-00583-960101583Population estimates and land cover use of wintering Mountain Plovers in TexasJames E. Lyons0Brad Andres1Kelli L. Stone2Allison K Pierce3Kammie Kruse4U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center at the Patuxent Research Refuge, Laurel, MD, USAU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Migratory Bird Program, Lakewood, CO, USAU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Birds, Albuquerque, NM, USAUniversity of Colorado Denver, Department of Integrative Biology, Denver, CO, USAU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Division of Migratory Birds, Albuquerque, NM, USAConservation of migratory birds throughout the full annual cycle requires a comprehensive understanding of abundance and distribution in interconnected breeding, migration, and wintering habitats. The Mountain Plover ( Anarhynchus montanus ) is a rare endemic breeder of the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains regions that migrates to wintering grounds in the southwestern USA and northern Mexico. Information regarding its wintering abundance and distribution, particularly in Texas, is limited. This study provides the first population estimate for Mountain Plovers wintering in Texas and examines factors influencing their land cover use. Through distance sampling surveys in six ecoregions of Texas, we estimated an annual wintering population of 3096 (95% CI 1464–6547) Mountain Plovers during 2019–2020, with the greatest abundances in the Southern Texas Plains and Western Gulf Coastal Plain ecoregions. The highest plover densities were in the Southern Texas Plains and Central Great Plains ecoregions. Most plovers were found in cultivated crops, particularly tilled fields and sod farms, and plovers preferentially selected crop fields without residual vegetation or stubble. Grass/hay fields were used less, perhaps because of tall vegetation. Our findings highlight the significance of Texas as a wintering area for Mountain Plovers and emphasize the importance of specific cropland habitats for this species. These results provide crucial insights for conservation and management efforts aimed at protecting Mountain Plovers throughout their annual cycle.https://journal.afonet.org/vol96/iss1/art1agriculturebird densitydistance samplinggrasslandnon-breedingshorebirds |
| spellingShingle | James E. Lyons Brad Andres Kelli L. Stone Allison K Pierce Kammie Kruse Population estimates and land cover use of wintering Mountain Plovers in Texas Journal of Field Ornithology agriculture bird density distance sampling grassland non-breeding shorebirds |
| title | Population estimates and land cover use of wintering Mountain Plovers in Texas |
| title_full | Population estimates and land cover use of wintering Mountain Plovers in Texas |
| title_fullStr | Population estimates and land cover use of wintering Mountain Plovers in Texas |
| title_full_unstemmed | Population estimates and land cover use of wintering Mountain Plovers in Texas |
| title_short | Population estimates and land cover use of wintering Mountain Plovers in Texas |
| title_sort | population estimates and land cover use of wintering mountain plovers in texas |
| topic | agriculture bird density distance sampling grassland non-breeding shorebirds |
| url | https://journal.afonet.org/vol96/iss1/art1 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jameselyons populationestimatesandlandcoveruseofwinteringmountainploversintexas AT bradandres populationestimatesandlandcoveruseofwinteringmountainploversintexas AT kellilstone populationestimatesandlandcoveruseofwinteringmountainploversintexas AT allisonkpierce populationestimatesandlandcoveruseofwinteringmountainploversintexas AT kammiekruse populationestimatesandlandcoveruseofwinteringmountainploversintexas |