Cooperative Ecoystem Studies Unit, Great Plains CESU

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The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) is offering a funding opportunity to a CESU partner for research on refining monitoring techniques for sandbar habitats used by Interior Least Tern (Sterna antillarum athallassos) and Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) for nesting within the lower Platte River Basin. More specifically, the research will focus on a detailed sub-basin assessment of sandbar formation, persistence, and associated monitoring protocols at a larger spatial scale than used by USGS for its pilot study of this topic (Alexander et al. 2013). Research of primary interest includes refinement of rapid sandbar-monitoring techniques to (1) quantify with accuracy the field-determinations of nesting-habitat characteristics at sandbar formation/rejuvenation stage, and (2) evaluate habitat response to fluvial hydrogeomorphic processes and controls affecting sandbar persistence and fate. Unfortunately, adequate high-accuracy data are lacking at present to reliably inform resource-management decisions and resource-manager needs for (1) understanding river-channel conditions that favor persistence of high-quality tern and plover sandbar habitat, and (2) mapping and explaining the factors longitudinally that affect potential for high-quality tern and plover sandbar habitat formation in the lower Platte River.

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