Study of Common Eiders and Leach's Storm Petrels receives HabCon funding
The Nova Scotia Department of Natural Resources (DNR) has been conducting nesting, banding and vegetation surveys in the Eastern Shore Islands Wildlife Management Area (ESI WMA) since 1977. Dr. Mark Mallory, Department of Biology, has been examining the population of Common Eiders within the Area and has been collaborating on seabird work at nearby Country Island for the past several years. Several areas of concern have come to light from the recent studies: islands which had eider nest shelters on them experienced less of a decline in breeding populations than islands that did not have nest shelters; there was evidence that voles were eating eggs of Leach’s Storm-petrels on at least one island, although the extent of this practice has not been determined; and, work on soils has suggested that biotransport of contaminants by birds has led to >75% of the islands having soils above the recommended guidelines for the protection of environmental health for arsenic and selenium.
Through this funding, Dr. Mallory and his students will undertake three research efforts: a) deployment of nesting structures for Common Eiders in the Eastern Shore Islands Wildlife Management Area (ESI WMA); b) assessment of dietary overlap, specialization, and contaminants in ESI WMA breeding marine birds; and c) analysis of predation by voles on Leach’s Storm-petrels on Country Island. This research project has been supported by Nova Scotia's hunters and trappers via the Province of Nova Scotia’s Habitat Conservation Fund.
More information on this important funding is available here