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Manomet Researchers Set to Embark on Largest Breeding Shorebird Survey

The Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge is thought to support one of the largest and most diverse populations of breeding shorebirds in the Western Hemisphere. However, there has never been a complete survey to measure breeding populations there—until now.   This May, Manomet’s Stephen Brown and Brad Winn will join five scientists from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to immerse themselves in this immense wetland wilderness and implement the largest survey of breeding shorebirds ever conducted. The full survey will take two seasons to complete and is part of the Program for Regional and International Shorebird Monitoring (PRISM) which plans to cover all prime shorebird habitats in the North American Arctic.                  An aerial shot...

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation 2014 Annual Report: Long-term Investments Reverse Population Decline

This is a segment of the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation's 2014 Annual Report. Access the full report here. Just a few years ago, the future looked bleak for the American oystercatcher. The charismatic shorebird with a red-orange beak and striking, red-rimmed yellow eyes was once fairly common along the Eastern Seaboard. But by 2008, less than 11,000 remained, scattered along the shore between Maine and Texas. Biologists were projecting a 12-percent drop in oystercatcher numbers over 10 years. Coastal development, human disturbance and predation at nesting sites had taken a toll. More threats loomed, including sea-level rise and contamination of the species’ primary food source, its namesake shellfish. “They were not quite on the brink of extinction, but they were...

South Jersey volunteers work to save horseshoe crabs at East Point Lighthouse

This article was originally published on NJ.com  on March 29, 2015. The article was written by Caitlyn Stulpin . View the original article here. On the northern side of the Delaware Bay, down the winding back roads of Cumberland County, the East Point Lighthouse stands proudly where it's stood for more than a century, guiding boats and mariners involved with the oyster trade. The lighthouse has served as a landmark, a guide and an icon for Maurice River, but lately, it's served as the focal point of an issue in the community. Just beyond the iconic lighthouse sits a heavily-used boat ramp. Due to strong currents and rough weather, a one-foot gap has formed between the piling as the concrete of the ramp. While the gap...

Nothing Rotten About Deadwood

This article was originally published by Northern Woodlands in The Outside Story on March 9, 2015. The article was written by Joe Rankin. View the original article here. A guy down the road has been working in his woods for the last couple of years. He’s cleaning them up. And I mean cleaning. He cuts the underbrush. Takes out the dead trees, the downed logs, the dead branches. Okay, I confess. The neatnik in me is envious. Part of me would like my 70 acres of woods to look like a park. But that’s the problem. A park is not a forest. And the forest is more than the trees. It’s an entire suite of complex systems, merging and interacting. An ecological orchestra in the woods. Dead...

Workshop on Alewives Inspires Hope Within Downeast Fisheries Community

Optimism filled the room last month during a Downeast Fisheries Partnership (DFP) workshop on alewives—an unassuming little fish unknown to the average consumer, but possibly the key ingredient to the revival of fisheries in Eastern Maine.   Alewives live in the ocean, but spawn in freshwater and are an important component of the nutrient cycle that connects terrestrial, freshwater and marine ecosystems. Also known as ‘river herring,’ alewives have been a staple of the economic and cultural fabric of Downeast Maine, for hundreds of years. However, as one participant remarked during the workshop, “Kids in East Machias don’t even know what alewives are anymore.”   The workshop was full of enthusiastic visionaries who represent different facets of the community, including...

115 Years of Counting Birds: What Have We Learned?

National Audubon’s 2015 Christmas Bird Count (CBC), the longest running citizen science project in the world, came to a close last week.  The event, which initially began in 1900 as an alternative to a traditional holiday hunt, drew tens of thousands of volunteers this year who collectively counted over 20 million birds across the Western Hemisphere.     Manomet’s Banding Director, Trevor Lloyd-Evans, was the coordinator for the count in Plymouth, MA, a tradition he has led for 40 years.   “The Christmas Bird Count not only provides ornithologists with valuable data about wintering bird populations, but has continued to be a great opportunity for us to keep in touch with our local birding community,” said Lloyd-Evans.     The CBC occurs every...

Red knot gains threatened status

This article was originally published in The Cape Codder on December 21, 2014. It was written by Rich Eldred. View the original article here.     Move over piping plover. There’s a new federally listed bird on Cape Cod.   On Tuesday the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designated red knots as threatened. Specifically, just the rufa subspecies was so designated but that happens to be the one subspecies that visits Monomoy Island and nearby towns each summer.   “There’s a staging area Chatham, Orleans, Eastham that’s very important for red knots migrating south, far less important for northern migrants, but very important for southern migration from July to October,” Stephanie Koch, a biologist at the Eastern Massachusetts National Wildlife Refuge, which oversees Monomoy Island. “They have a short breeding season (in northern Canada)....

Red Knot Subspecies Receives U.S. Federal Protection

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s listing of Red Knot as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act has come at a crucial time for this rapidly declining subspecies.    Manomet has a long history in Red Knot research and conservation. In the early 1970s, Manomet Senior Scientist Emeritus, Brian Harrington, began ground-breaking discoveries about knot migration that contributed to the vision and creation of the Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN). Manomet’s Shorebird Recovery Program, currently directed by Stephen Brown Ph.D. continues to lead significant partnership-oriented efforts in the study and conservation of Red Knots.   Red Knots of the Atlantic Flyway, (subspecies rufa), one of longest-distance migrants in the animal kingdom, have experienced over a 75% decline since the 1980s and as...

Red Knot Subspecies To Receive U.S. Federal Protection

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's listing of Red Knot as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act has come at a crucial time for this rapidly declining subspecies. The Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences (MCCS) has a long history in Red Knot research and conservation.  In the early 1970's, MCCS Senior Scientist Emeritus Brian Harrington, began ground-breaking discoveries about knot migration that contributed to the vision and creation of The Western Hemisphere Shorebird Reserve Network (WHSRN) and Manomet's Shorebird Recovery Program (SRP).  Currently SRP is led by Director, Stephen Brown, Ph.D. and continues to lead significant partnership-oriented efforts in the study and conservation of Red Knots. Red Knots of the Atlantic Flyway, (subspecies rufa), one of longest-distance migrants in the animal...

Downeast Fisheries Partnership Releases First Founding Document

Recent assessments indicate that cod stocks are at 3% of the level considered necessary to sustain the iconic New England fishery. In eastern Maine the problem is especially acute as the local population has been too low for any cod fishing in the region to have occurred for 20 years.   Downeast Fisheries Partnership (DFP) is a new initiative that is taking a novel approach to tackle the immense challenge of rebuilding and sustaining fisheries.   By empowering local fishermen to participate in management, the partnership looks to bring their knowledge of local conditions to bear on the problem of protecting local spawning grounds and associated sub-populations.   The goal is to create a future where communities in eastern Maine can sustain...