Page 28 - ARUBA TODAY

A28 SCIENCE
Wednesday 19 June 2019

Overflowing Great Lakes pose new threat for endangered bird

By JOHN FLESHER Piping plovers are a migra-
AP Environmental Writer tory species, breeding dur-
GLEN HAVEN, Mich. (AP) — ing summers in the north-
Peering through a spotting ern U.S. and Canada and
scope mounted on a tri- heading south to winter in
pod, researcher Alice Van coastal areas from the Car-
Zoeren notices a piping olinas to Texas.
plover skittering across a Once settled in, they spend
sandy, pebble-strewn Lake lots of time on the ground
Michigan beach and hop- — building nests, guard-
ping into a nest, swapping ing eggs, darting about
places with its mate. in search of food such as
“Nest exchange! Did you insects, spiders and crus-
see it?” Van Zoeren calls taceans. Their plumage, a
to colleagues. Male and mixture of light browns and
female plovers take turns grays with a black collar,
incubating their eggs, and provides camouflage.
this pair’s flawless changing At Sleeping Bear Dunes,
of the guard is a healthy home to nearly half of the
sign. Great Lakes plovers during
Yet trouble is brewing for spring and summer, breed-
them — and for other pip- ing grounds are roped off
ing plovers, already one of and posted with keep-out
the Great Lakes region’s signs. Nests are topped
most endangered species with cage-like enclosures
— as water levels surge that bar entry to predatory
during a rain-soaked spring merlins, gulls, raccoons, fox-
that has flooded large ar- es and coyotes but leave
eas of the Midwest. enough space between
Pools are forming be- the wires for the plovers to
hind several nests along enter and exit.
this beach at Michigan’s Unleashed dogs are the
Sleeping Bear Dunes Na- biggest problem, said Erica
tional Lakeshore. And the Adams, a National Park
big lake — gray and slightly In this May 30, 2019 photo, a sign warns visitors of a piping plover nesting area in Glen Haven, Service plover specialist.
rippling on an overcast, Mich. They’ve been known to
breezy morning — has Associated Press spook the birds so badly
crept within a few yards of worrisome development. have been swept away, he If so, the piping plovers’ that they abandon their
the plovers’ nesting zone. For piping plovers, it’s a said. situation could become nests.
Their home could be one mortal threat. Squeezed The Great Lakes generally more precarious. Their In addition to serving as se-
storm away from destruc- out of familiar turf, they rise with the snowmelt and numbers already have curity guards, professionals
tion. And this is one of the move closer to places rainstorms of spring and dip plummeted with shoreline and volunteers can per-
most hospitable spots for with trees and underbrush, during later dry spells. Those development. The federal form emergency rescues if
the plump, sparrow-sized where predators lurk, or minor fluctuations happen government lists them as flooding is imminent.
shorebirds. Conditions are even flee to urban areas. within larger high and low threatened in the northern Van Zoeren, a research
worse in some places. A pair recently took up periods that can last years. Great Plains and along the assistant with a University
The Great Lakes are reach- residence on one of Chica- But some scientists believe Atlantic coast, where ris- of Minnesota team that
ing some of their highest go’s busiest Lake Michigan climate change is caus- ing sea levels imperil their bands plovers, recently re-
levels since the U.S. Army beaches. ing more frequent and in- wintering grounds. But the moved eggs from a near-
Corps of Engineers began “The high water levels real- tense shifts. Lakes Huron Great Lakes population is by island as a storm rolled
keeping records 101 years ly put them in danger more and Michigan hit record endangered, hitting a low in. They were stored in an
ago. Streets, businesses than most other species low levels in 2013 amid a of just 12 breeding pairs in incubation machine at
and houses have flooded. because their habitat has lengthy slump. An abrupt 1990. the Sleeping Bear Dunes
Many beaches are shrink- been greatly diminished,” turnaround followed. Bitter Recovery projects are help- headquarters and returned
ing or submerged. For said Vince Cavalieri, pip- winters froze lake surfaces ing; 76 pairs were counted to the nest after the lake
tourist-oriented businesses ing plover coordinator for and limited evaporation, in 2017 and 67 last year. This calmed.
and waterfront homeown- the U.S. Fish and Wildlife while snowfall and spring year’s census is still under- Even if the birds aren’t
ers accustomed to wide Service. Some nests on the downpours got heavier. As way but expected to yield flooded out, the rising wa-
expanses of sand, that’s a Canadian side of the lakes parts of the nation’s mid- similar results, said Cavalieri ters make their lives harder.
section flooded this year, of the fish and wildlife ser- “It’s forcing them to use
the lakes filled to the brim. vice. the same areas as birds
University of Michigan hy- The next few weeks are they might not be used to
drologist Drew Gronewold crucial. Most of this year’s neighboring with,” Adams
and climate scientist Rich- eggs will hatch by the end said. “That increases com-
ard Rood concluded in a of June. If additional storms petition, especially for the
recent article that “rapid don’t wash away nests, a chicks that hatch this year.
transitions between ex- new batch of youngsters If they don’t have enough
treme high and low water may survive. food, enough space to
levels in the Great Lakes But long-term prospects will forage, they won’t have
represent the ‘new nor- be dicey until the waters enough calories to make
mal.’” recede. the journey down south.”q