 Anthropogenic climate change is rapidly altering environmental conditions that influence the distribution of earth’s biota and define its zoogeographic realms; the effect is most pronounced in the arctic. To better understand current habitat preferences, I monitored nests and investigated nesting habitat composition for Semipalmated Sandpiper, (Calidris pusilla, n = 326), Dunlin (C. alpina, n = 41), Pectoral Sandpiper (C. melanotos, n = 54), Red Phalarope (Phalaropus fulicarius, n = 60), Red-necked Phalarope (P. lobatus, n = 42), Ruddy Turnstone (Arenaria interpres, n = 13), and Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola, n = 20) on the Colville River Delta, Alaska, USA, between 2015 and 2016. I assessed a suite of in situ habitat composition variables at nests and random sites. I utilized these data to ground truth an unsupervised classification of remote-sensing imagery (1.8 m2 resolution) and model habitat and social variables ascertained ex situ to explain shorebird nest site selection.
Preliminary Results/Conclusions:
Semipalmated Sandpipers, the most abundant shorebird on the delta, disproportionately selected mesic graminoid herbaceous habitats (77%) compared to availability. Key habitat characteristics that explain variability in shorebird nest sites include dominant plant species cover-abundance, soil moisture, and micro-elevation. My goal is to illustrate the variable needs and preferences of different Arctic-breeding shorebirds at a finer scale than established in shorebird ecoloy literature, and to better inform modelling of potential climate change influences and management strategies for these species and their habitat.