摘要 : The Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) is a federally listed species with three distinct breeding populations, including Great Plains (threatened), Great Lakes (endangered), and Atlantic Coast (threatened), all of which winter alo... 展开 The Piping Plover (Charadrius melodus) is a federally listed species with three distinct breeding populations, including Great Plains (threatened), Great Lakes (endangered), and Atlantic Coast (threatened), all of which winter along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States. The spatial distribution and site fidelity of wintering Piping Plovers was investigated on Little St. Simons Island (LSSI), Georgia, from 2003-2006, with emphasis on the conservation significance of this site for the endangered Great Lakes population. Of the individually recognizable color-banded plovers observed on LSSI during 2003-2004 (N = 39), 31% (N = 12) were observed the following year; 69% (N = 9) of plovers that wintered in 2003-2004 returned to winter in 2004-2005. Although good winter survival in 2003-2004 was estimated, survival estimates dramatically declined in 2004-2005. Even with low survival estimates for 2004-2005, 44% of these wintering individuals returned to winter in 2005-2006. Wintering plovers on LSSI were site faithful to particular sections of beaches and occupied small home-ranges. These data on site fidelity and home-range suggest that relatively small areas on LSSI may be of disproportionate importance to wintering Piping Plovers. Critical habitat designations should take account of this within-island variation, and modest detection rates suggest plover numbers could be underestimated by single-visit surveys throughout their winter range. 收起