A Video Surveillance System to Monitor Breeding Colonies of Common Terns (Sterna Hirundo)

Jennifer Lynn Wall; Paul R. Marbán; David F. Brinker; Jeffery D. Sullivan; Mia Zimnik; Jennifer L. Murrow; Peter C. McGowan; Carl R. Callahan; Diann J. Prosser

doi:10.3791/57928

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Method Article

A Video Surveillance System to Monitor Breeding Colonies of Common Terns (Sterna Hirundo)

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DOI:

10.3791/57928

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July 22nd, 2018

Jennifer Lynn Wall^*¹ , Paul R. Marbán^*² , David F. Brinker³ , Jeffery D. Sullivan⁴ , Mia Zimnik⁵ , Jennifer L. Murrow⁶ , Peter C. McGowan⁷ , Carl R. Callahan⁷ , Diann J. Prosser⁸

¹Chesapeake Conservation Corps, Chesapeake Bay Trust, ²Department of Marine, Estuarine, and Environmental Science, University of Maryland, ³Natural Heritage Program, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, ⁴Natural Systems Analyst, ⁵Department of Biology, Hood College, ⁶Department of Environmental Science and Technology, University of Maryland, ⁷U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Chesapeake Bay Field Office, ⁸U.S. Geological Survey Patuxent Wildlife Research Center

^* These authors contributed equally

Summary

This paper describes a protocol that uses a remote video monitoring surveillance system to continuously monitor breeding colonies of ground-nesting waterbirds. The system includes five cameras monitoring individual nests and one camera monitoring the colony as a whole, and is powered by car batteries that are recharged via solar panels.

Abstract

Many waterbird populations have faced declines over the last century, including the common tern (Sterna hirundo), a waterbird species with a widespread breeding distribution, that has been recently listed as endangered in some habitats of its range. Waterbird monitoring programs exist to track populations through time; however, some of the more intensive approaches require entering colonies and can be disruptive to nesting populations. This paper describes a protocol that utilizes a minimally invasive surveillance system to continuously monitor common tern nesting behavior in typical ground-nesting colonies. The video monitoring system utilizes wireless cameras focused on individual nests as well as over the colony as a whole, and allows for observation without entering the colony. The video system is powered with several 12 V car batteries that are continuously recharged using solar panels. Footage is recorded using a digital video recorder (DVR) connected to a hard drive, which can be replaced when full. The DVR may be placed outside of the colony to reduce disturbance. In this study, 3,624 h of footage recorded over 63 days in weather conditions ranging from 12.8 °C to 35.0 °C produced 3,006 h (83%) of usable behavioral data. The types of data retrieved from the recorded video can vary; we used it to detect external disturbances and measure nesting behavior during incubation. Although the protocol detailed here was designed for ground-nesting waterbirds, the principal system could easily be modified to accommodate alternative scenarios, such as colonial arboreal nesting species, making it widely applicable to a variety of research needs.

Introduction

Common terns (Sterna hirundo, hereafter COTE), a waterbird species with a widespread breeding distribution, have become a flagship example of the need for conservation and monitoring programs¹. Once harvested to near extirpation for the millinery trade, federal legislation in the 1900s enabled populations to rebound. However, declining population trends in the Chesapeake Bay have prompted increased concern over COTE, in addition to many other waterbirds². COTE are currently listed as a Maryland state endangered species due to reductions in both breeding numbers and active breeding colonies³