Geology topics

R.G. Weber

Publications and source records attributed to R.G. Weber.

4 recordsLinked to original sources

USGS2011

Beach characteristics mitigate effects of onshore wind on horseshoe crab spawning: Implications for matching with shorebird migration in Delaware Bay

Disruption of food availability by unfavorable physical processes at energetically demanding times can limit recruitment of migratory species as predicted by the match–mismatch hypothesis. Identification and protection of disruption‐resistant habitat could contribute to system resilience. For example, horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus spawning and shorebird stopover must match temporally in Delaware Bay for eggs to be available to shorebirds. Onshore winds that generate waves can create a mismatch by delaying horseshoe crab spawning. We examined effects of beach characteristics and onshore winds on spawning activity at five beaches when water temperatures were otherwise consistent with early spawning activity. Onshore winds resulted in reduced spawning activity during the shorebird stopover, when spawning typically peaks in late May. During the period with high onshore wind, egg density was highest on the foreshore exposed to the lowest wave heights. Onshore wind was low in early June, and spawning and egg densities were high at all sites, but shorebirds had departed. Beaches that can serve as a refuge from wind and waves can be identified by physical characteristics and orientation to prevailing winds and should receive special conservation status, especially in light of predicted increases in climate change‐induced storm frequency. These results point to a potential conservation strategy that includes coastal management for adapting to climate change‐induced mismatch of migrations.

Delaware↗

USGS2007

Stable isotope and pen feeding trial studies confirm the value of horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus eggs to spring migrant shorebirds in Delaware Bay

We used stable isotope (SI) methods in combination with pen feeding trials to determine the importance of eggs of the Atlantic horseshoe crab Limulus polyphemus to migratory fattening of red knots Calidris canutus rufa and ruddy turnstones Arenaria interpres morinella during spring stopover in Delaware Bay. By manifesting measurable fractionation (ca +3‰) and rapid turnover, blood plasma δ 15 nitrogen proved a functional marker for SI diet tracking during the short 3-week stopover. Blood samples from free-ranging knots (3 data sets) and turnstones (1 data set) produced similar convergence of plasma δ 15 N signatures with increasing body mass that indicated highly similar diets. Asymptotes deviated slightly (0.3‰ to 0.7‰) from that of captive shorebirds fed a diet of only crab eggs during stopover, thus confirming a strong crab egg-shorebird linkage. The plasma δ 15 N crab-egg diet asymptote was enriched ca +4.5‰ and therefore readily discriminated from that of either blue mussels Mytilus edulis or coquina clams Donax variabilis , the most likely alternative prey of knots in Delaware Bay. Crab eggs were highly palatable to captive knots and turnstones which achieved rates of mass gain (3–11 g/d) comparable to that of free-ranging birds. Peak consumption rates during hyperphagic events were 23,940 and 19,360 eggs/bird/d, respectively. The empirical conversions of eggs consumed to body mass gained (5,017 eggs/g for knots and 4,320 eggs/g for turnstones) indicate the large quantities of crab eggs required for the maintenance of these shorebird populations during stopover.

Delaware↗

USGS2006

Transport of horseshoe crab eggs by waves and swash on an estuarine beach: Implications for foraging shorebirds

The abundance of horseshoe crab eggs in the swash zone and remaining on the beach after tide levels fall was evaluated to identify how numbers of eggs available to shorebirds differ with fluctuations in spawning numbers of horseshoe crabs, wave energies and beach elevation changes. Field data were gathered 1-6 June 2004 at Slaughter Beach on the west side of Delaware Bay, USA. Counts of spawning crabs and process data from a pressure transducer and an anemometer and wind vane were related to number of eggs, embryos and larvae taken at depth and on the surface of the foreshore and in the active swash zone using a streamer trap. Beach elevation changes and depths of sediment activation were used to determine the potential for buried eggs to be exhumed by waves and swash. Mean significant wave heights during high water levels ranged from 0.08 to 0.40 m. Spawning counts were low (50-140 females km-1) when wave heights were low; no spawning occurred when wave heights were high. Vegetative litter (wrack) on the beach provides local traps for eggs, making more eggs available for shorebirds. Accumulation of litter on days when wave energy is low increases the probability that eggs will remain on the surface. High wave energies transport more eggs in the swash, but these eggs are dispersed or buried, and fewer eggs remain on the beach. Peaks in the number of eggs in the swash uprush occur during tidal rise and around time of high tide. The number of eggs in transport decreases during falling tide. Many more eggs move in the active swash zone than are found on the beach after water level falls, increasing the efficiency of bird foraging in the swash. Greater numbers of eggs in the swash during rising tide than falling tide and fewer eggs at lower elevations on the beach, imply that foraging becomes less productive as the tide falls and may help account for the tendency of shorebirds to feed on rising tides rather than on falling or low tides on days when no spawning occurs. ?? 2006 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science↗

USGS2002

Horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) reproductive activity on Delaware Bay beaches: Interactions with beach characteristics

We used results from a survey of horseshoe crab reproductive activity that was conducted in 1999 throughout Delaware Bay to examine the relationship between estimates of spawning females and egg deposition and analyze how that relationship varies with geography, time within a spawning season, beach morphology, and wave energy. We found that beach morphology and wave energy interacted with density of spawning females to explain variation in the density and distribution of eggs and larvae. For example, the quantity of eggs in surface sediment (i.e., eggs that are potentially available to foraging shorebirds) was associated with the density of spawning females, beach morphology, and wave energy. The association between beach morphology and live eggs in surface sediment was strong especially in late May (Percent Reduction in Error = 86% from regression tree model) where egg density was an order of magnitude higher on beaches <15 m wide (3.38*105 m-2; 90% CI: 2.29*105, 4.47*105) compared to wider beaches (1.49*104 m-2; 90% CI: 4.47*103, 2.53*104). Results also indicate that, among bay-front beaches, horseshoe crabs prefer to spawn on narrow beaches, possibly because of reduced wave energy. At peak periods of spawning activity, density of spawning females was inversely related to foreshore width on mid-latitude beaches within Delaware Bay (t = -2.68, 7 df, p = 0.03). Because the distribution of eggs across the foreshore varied with beach morphology and widened as the spawning season progressed, methods used to sample eggs need to be robust to variation in beach morphology and applicable regardless of when the samples are taken. Because beach morphology and wave energy were associated with the quantity of eggs in surface sediment, certain beach types may be critical to the conservation of shorebird foraging habitat.

Journal of Coastal Research↗