Piping Plover - U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

documented from two locations in northwest Florida, but one site disappeared after
erosional storm events. The landowner of the other site has indicated an intention to
eradicate the plant, but follow through is unknown (R. Farley, PBS&J, Inc., pers. comm.
2009). Task forces formed in North and South Carolina in 2004-05 have made great
strides to remove this plant from their coasts. To date, about 200 sites in North Carolina
have been treated, with 200 additional sites in need of treatment. Similar efforts are
underway in South Carolina.
Unquantified amounts of crowfootgrass (Dactyloctenium aegyptium) grow invasively
along portions of the Florida coastline. It forms thick bunches or mats that may change
the vegetative structure of coastal plant communities and alter shorebird habitat.
The Australian pine (Casuarina equisetifolia) changes the vegetative structure of the
coastal community in south Florida and islands within the Bahamas. Shorebirds prefer
foraging in open areas where they are able to see potential predators, and tall trees
provide good perches for avian predators. Australian pines potentially impact shorebirds,
including the piping plover, by reducing attractiveness of foraging habitat and/or
increasing avian predation.
The propensity of these exotic species to spread, and their tenacity once established,
make them a persistent threat, partially countered by increasing landowner awareness and
willingness to undertake eradication activities.
Wrack removal and beach cleaning
Wrack on beaches and baysides provides important foraging and roosting habitat for
piping plovers (Drake 1999, Smith 2007, Maddock et al. 2009, Lott et al. 2009; see also
discussion of piping plover use of wrack substrates in section 2.2.1.4) and many other
shorebirds on their winter, breeding, and migration grounds.
There is increasing popularity in the Southeast, especially in Florida, for beach
communities to carry out “beach cleaning” and “beach raking” actions. Beach cleaning
occurs on private beaches, where piping plover use is not well documented, and on some
municipal or county beaches that are used by piping plovers. Most wrack removal on
state and federal lands is limited to post-storm cleanup and does not occur regularly.
Man-made beach cleaning and raking machines effectively remove seaweed, fish, glass,
syringes, plastic, cans, cigarettes, shells, stone, wood, and virtually any unwanted debris
(Barber Beach Cleaning Equipment 2009). These efforts remove accumulated wrack,
topographic depressions, and sparse vegetation nodes used by roosting and foraging
piping plovers. Removal of wrack also eliminates a beach’s natural sand-trapping
abilities, further destabilizing the beach. In addition, sand adhering to seaweed and
trapped in the cracks and crevices of wrack is removed from the beach. Although the
amount of sand lost due to single sweeping actions may be small, it adds up considerably
over a period of years (Neal et al. 2007).
37