Document Type
Article
Publication Date
4-2-2010
Abstract
Piping plovers are a shoreline bird found along the Atlantic coast. In the State of Maine, Plover populations are listed as endangered due to stressors like the development and human traffic that accompany the recreational use of beaches. The Maine Audubon Society is taking up efforts to protect piping plovers by setting up exclosures and erecting fence and twine on select beaches. To aid Maine Audubon in its protective efforts, this project maps piping plover habitats along Maine's shorelines and determines their proximity to human development areas. Based on the layout of beach terrain, the project also determines which habitats have are ideal for nesting, feeding, and rearing young. Finally the project examines which habitats are the most at risk from storm surge waters. A series of maps will be made 34 using the following GIS data layers for Maine's coastlines: roads, storm surge, human development, beach land cover, and plover populations. Ranking plover habitats based on these criteria will help Maine Audubon determine which habitats should be the focus of their protection efforts.
Recommended Citation
Hutton, Kyle, "Threats to Piping Plovers in Maine" (2010). Mapping and GIS. 7.
https://scarab.bates.edu/mapping_gis/7