Giacomini Wetland Restoration Project: Restoration: Giacomini Wetlands: A Haven for Ducks: Conclusions

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Conclusions

As with all biological species, increases and decreases from year-to-year cannot be evaluated without considering all the other potential factors that could affect these animals, such as climatic variation, impacts to non-wintering and other habitat, disease, and natural population dynamics or cycles. Bird use of the newly restored wetlands is dependent on a number of factors, including migratory birds finding the site and the site providing what the birds need to eat. The taxa observed so far have a wide range of dietary needs, from species that largely consume seeds and other plant matter to those such as Greater yellowlegs who eat fish and other aquatic prey. In general, the type of shorebirds that showed up during the early years were species that forage on the surface (e,g., Black-bellied plovers), shallow probers (e.g., Least sandpipers), and those that forage in the shallow water column (e.g., Greater yellowlegs; J. Evens, ARA, pers. comm.). Analysis of benthic invertebrate data suggests that numbers of benthic invertebrates within the restored wetlands are increasing, and this is perhaps borne out by the fact that, in fall 2011, Marbled godwits arrived for the first time in moderate numbers at the wetlands, signaling the presence of deeper substrate probers (J. Evens, ARA, pers. comm.). We are continuning to analyze changes in the zooplankton, benthic invertebrate, and fish communities in hopes of understanding how the prey base for many target organisms is changing with restoration.

To evaluate how much of an effect the restoration itself might be having on higher bird numbers in southern Tomales Bay, Kelly and Condeso (2011) conducted an analysis to adjust shorebird abundances to take into account inter-annual variation observed for these species in other areas of Tomales Bay. What they found was that overall shorebird numbers in Tomales Bay closely match what might have been predicted even without restoration (Kelly and Condeso 2011). However, abundances of particular shorebird species did appear to be higher than would be predicted without restoration, including numbers of Least sandpiper, Western sandpiper, Dowitchers, Black-bellied plovers, and Greater yellowlegs (Kelly and Condeso 2011). Read the accompanying article, "The effects of large-scale restoration on regional shorebird use: just because you built it, does it necessarily mean that they will come?" for more detail on the results.

In general, then, despite a slow start for shorebirds and some seasonal hiccups for all waterbirds, the restoration does appear to support higher numbers of birds after restoration (ARA 2011, Kelly and Condeso 2011). The future for bird use ultimately will depend on both extrinsic factors and intrinsic ones, including the trajectory taken by the marsh in its continued evolution, both from a physical and biological standpoint.

-- Content for these pages was composed by Lorraine Parsons, Project Manager, Giacomini Wetland Restoration Project, Point Reyes National Seashore

Special thanks to Galen Leed Photography for the wonderful photos!

Read Audubon Canyon Ranch's report "Shorebird Use of the Giacomini Wetlands Restoration area: 2011 Update." to learn more about the shorebird changes! (903 KB PDF)

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<-- Page 5. Year Three

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Giacomini Wetlands: A Haven for Ducks
Page 1. What's Going on at Giacomini--in a Nutshell
Page 2. Introduction
Page 3. Year One
Page 4. Year Two
Page 5. Year Three
Page 6. Conclusions
Page 7. Citations

 

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restoration includes:

Restoration Water, Water, and More Water How Long Will It Take For Tidal Wetlands To Develop? Two Years Later: Already Dramatic Improvements in Water Quality Giacomini Wetlands: A Haven for Ducks

Spring is in the Air--and in the Water Untangling the Food Web: Changes in Prey Base Following Restoration What's the Long-Term Future of the Restored Wetlands? How Can We Learn About the Restoration? How Can We Be A Part of the Restoration Process? Kids in Wetlands - Learning Through Experience Where Can We View the Restored Wetlands?

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