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Great egret (Ardea alba) habitat selection and foraging behavior in a temperate estuary: Comparing natural wetlands to areas with shellfish aquaculture.

ABSTRACT: Movement by animals to obtain resources and avoid predation often depends on natural cycles, and human alteration of the landscape may disrupt or enhance the utility of different habitats or resources to animals through the phases of these cycles. We studied habitat selection by GPS/accelerometer-tagged great egrets (Ardea alba) foraging in areas with shellfish aquaculture infrastructure and adjacent natural wetlands, while accounting for tide-based changes in water depth. We used integrated step selection analysis to test the prediction that egrets would express stronger selection for natural wetlands (eelgrass, tidal marsh, and other tidal wetlands) than for shellfish aquaculture areas. We also evaluated differences in foraging behavior among shellfish aquaculture areas and natural wetlands by comparing speed travelled (estimated from distance between GPS locations) and energy expended (Overall Dynamic Body Acceleration) while foraging. We found evidence for stronger overall habitat selection for eelgrass than for shellfish aquaculture areas, with results conditional on water depth: egrets used shellfish aquaculture areas, but only within a much narrower range of water depths than they used eelgrass and other natural wetlands. We found only slight differences in our metrics of foraging behavior among shellfish aquaculture areas and natural wetlands. Our results suggest that although great egrets appear to perceive or experience shellfish aquaculture areas as suitable foraging habitat during some conditions, those areas provide less foraging opportunity throughout tidal cycles than natural wetlands. Thus, expanding the footprint of shellfish aquaculture into additional intertidal areas may reduce foraging opportunities for great egrets across the range of tidal cycles. Over longer time scales, the ways in which natural wetlands and shellfish aquaculture areas adapt to rising sea levels (either through passive processes or active management) may change the ratios of these wetland types and consequently change the overall value of Tomales Bay to foraging great egrets.

SUBMITTER: Jennings S

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8719746 | biostudies-literature |

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Project description:Human-induced climate change and ocean acidification (CC-OA) is changing the physical and biological processes occurring within the marine environment, with poorly understood implications for marine life. Within the aquaculture sector, molluskan culture is a relatively benign method of producing a high-quality, healthy, and sustainable protein source for the expanding human population. We modeled the vulnerability of global bivalve mariculture to impacts of CC-OA over the period 2020-2100, under RCP8.5. Vulnerability, assessed at the national level, was dependent on CC-OA-related exposure, taxon-specific sensitivity and adaptive capacity in the sector. Exposure risk increased over time from 2020 to 2100, with ten nations predicted to experience very high exposure to CC-OA in at least one decade during the period 2020-2100. Predicted high sensitivity in developing countries resulted, primarily, from the cultivation of species that have a narrow habitat tolerance, while in some European nations (France, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, and Spain) high sensitivity was attributable to the relatively high economic value of the shellfish production sector. Predicted adaptive capacity was low in developing countries primarily due to governance issues, while in some developed countries (Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom) it was linked to limited species diversity in the sector. Developing and least developed nations (n = 15) were predicted to have the highest overall vulnerability. Across all nations, 2060 was identified as a tipping point where predicted CC-OA will be associated with the greatest challenge to shellfish production. However, rapid declines in mollusk production are predicted to occur in the next decade for some nations, notably North Korea. Shellfish culture offers human society a low-impact source of sustainable protein. This research highlights, on a global scale, the likely extent and nature of the CC-OA-related threat to shellfish culture and this sector enabling early-stage adaption and mitigation.

Dataset Information

Great egret (Ardea alba) habitat selection and foraging behavior in a temperate estuary: Comparing natural wetlands to areas with shellfish aquaculture.

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