Hurricane Sandy induced changes to piping plover nesting habitat on Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge, New Jersey

The barrier islands and coastal beaches along the Atlantic Coast are dynamic systems continuously affected and shaped by tides and weather events (Davidson-Arnott 2010). Occasionally weather events are large enough to generate or expand beach overwash areas and may inundate all or part of the islands. Nor'easters, are known to play a significant role in shaping beach morphology along the Mid-Atlantic and New England coasts (Leatherman et al. 1977, Hapke et al. 2010), but hurricanes are also recognized drivers of change in this region (Donnelly et al. 2001, Donnelly et al. 2004, Buynevich and Donnelly 2006, Boldt et al. 2010).
The federally threatened Atlantic Coast piping plover (Charadrius melodus melodus) is dependent upon coastal beaches and overwash areas for nesting and brooding habitat (USFWS 1996). Nests are generally located on open beaches, sandspits, and low sloping dunes with little or no vegetation (Cairns 1982). Storm generated wave action maintains these habitats by resetting beach succession (i.e., decrease herbaceous and woody vegetation cover within dunes) and creating and improving nesting and foraging habitat (Loegering and Fraser 1995, Schupp et al. 2013). 
On October 29, 2012, Hurricane Sandy made landfall near Brigantine, New Jersey. It was the largest Atlantic hurricane on record, with winds extending out 1,800 km (Blake et al. 2013). The storm eroded and flattened shorelines, breached barrier islands, altered sand volume on beaches, washed dunes to the backside of barrier islands, and created overwash habitat on marshes (American Littoral Society 2012, Blake et al. 2013, Sopkin et al. 2014). These changes directly affected the piping plover nesting habitat on coastal New Jersey, but the extent of the effect was not known. 
We documented the change in potential piping plover nesting habitat at Edwin B. Forsythe National Wildlife Refuge from 2011 to 2015 (2 years pre- and 3 years post-Hurricane Sandy). Mapping efforts focused on the Holgate and Little Beach Island management units of the refuge where piping plovers are known to nest.
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Tags: charadrius-melodus-melodus, edwin-b-forsythe-national-wildlife-refuge, hurricane-sandy, hurricanes, nesting-habitat, new-jersey, piping-plover, usgs-5ce85225e4b0b06920370539
Organization: Department of the Interior