1. Effects of Predator Exclusion on the Reproductive Success of the Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus). By Krista Schmidt

2. The Piping Plover Breeds in summer along the Atlantic Coast, in the Great Lakes, and in the northern Mid- West Listed as endangered in 1985 Main threats to continued survival include: loss and degradation of breeding and wintering habitat, disturbance by beach goers and their pets, motorized vehicles, beach cleaners, pollution, and...

3. Predation!!! Human introduced predators such as dogs, and cats and human practices that increase predator populations, blackbirds and gulls for instance, are a major problem. Nests and young are particularly vulnerable to predation To combat this, different types of predator control, mainly by predator exclusion, are used in piping plover recovery plans.

4. The Question Are predator exclusion devices effective for increasing the reproductive rate of piping plovers?

5. Methods Collected findings from predator exclusion studies on piping plover nesting success Compared nesting success, fledge, daily survival rate of different predator exclusion methods:  No protection  Exclosure only  Electric fence only  Exclosure and electric fence Used a fledge rate of at least 1.5 chicks/pair for predator exclusion method to be successful

6. Types of Predator Exclusion Devices Exclosures (with electric fence as well in this case) Electric fencing Chick shelters

7. Results From 11 different studies analyzed, there were 20 different mean nest success values, 22 fledge rates and 9 mean daily survival rates were reported No protection: 6 failures Exclosure only: 3 successes, 4 failures Electric fence only: 4 failures Exclosure and electric fence: 6 successes Chick shelters were not used by chicks

8. Discussion Using predator exclusion devices has both pros and cons Pro: better nesting success and fledge rates Con:cost of materials and labor to create, time and labor to set up, maintain and take down, higher risk of predation of adults at exclosures, small predators can still get in The use of electric fences and exclosures has mixed results It is important to know the predator community of the area to make predator management decisions

9. Conclusion Using electric fences along with exclosures is the best option for protecting piping plover nests and chicks Some caution that using exclosures and electric fences is only a temporary solution Others say that with increases in conservation efforts, it is possible to reverse the downward population growth trend of the piping plover Knowing the predator community is key!

10. Acknowledgments

11. Questions?