A rising threat: Climate change exacerbates challenges for Great Lakes piping plover - WOODTV.com

A rising threat: Climate change exacerbates challenges for Great Lakes piping plover | WOODTV.com

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — While conservationists have made some notable strides to save the Great Lakes piping plover, a rising threat exacerbates the challenges for the critically endangered bird.

The researchers leading the effort to save the piping plover say they are concerned about the impact of climate change.

Francie Cuthbert, a conservation biology professor who leads the Great Lakes Piping Plover Conservation Team, told the Great Lakes Echo that the bird’s coastline habitat is quite limited, and rising lake levels would only make things worse.

“The traditional habitat where they nest is simply not there,” Cuthbert told the Great Lakes Echo. “It’s underwater.”

The Great Lakes piping plover is a pocket-sized bird, growing to about 7 inches long. The average adult weighs 2 ounces, making it a savory snack for lakeshore predators like snakes, raccoons, opossums and even other birds.

The Great Lakes piping plover is extremely picky when it comes to making a nest. They prefer beaches with a lot of pebbles and rocks, and if they ever feel threatened, they will abandon the nest. Losing even more coastline to rising lake levels only makes things harder for the bird with less than 100 estimated breeding pairs still in the wild.

A study by researchers at Michigan Technological University in 2022 estimates Lake Michigan will rise between 7 and 19 inches by 2050 as a direct result of climate change. Smaller beaches mean the plovers are forced to nest closer to the trees that provide cover for predators.

Habitat loss isn’t the only issue exacerbated by climate change. Warmer conditions in the Great Lakes mean better conditions for botulism toxins.

The Great Lakes have seen periodic outbreaks of avian botulism for decades now. But warmer conditions allow the bacteria to live longer and spread, potentially leading to more frequent outbreaks. It makes its way through the food chain, as fish and other lake organisms accumulate the bacteria and they are then eaten by birds or other animals.