HOW DO HUMAN DISTURBANCE, BEACH CHARACTERISTICS, AND COASTAL ENGINEERING AFFECT SNOWY PLOVER (CHARADRIUS ALEXANDRINUS) HABITAT SELECTION ON THE FLORIDA PANHANDLE? By

Habitat selection during the breeding season has important consequences for reproductive success and, in seasonal and heterogeneous environments, most likely occurs on several temporal and spatial scales. I examined several possible topographical, substrate and vegetation, as well as anthropological effects on snowy plover (Charadrius alexandrinus) habitat selection across pre-breeding and breeding stages to better understand the factors that affect snowy plover habitat selection on the Florida Panhandle. To allow for intraseasonal movements and stage-specific habitat selection, I used multi-season occupancy modeling. I hypothesized that seasonal changes in human disturbance and stage-specific resource requirements would drive occupancy, colonization, and emigration patterns of snowy plovers. I found that high human use and high vegetation density were the main factors tested that discourage snowy plover habitat selection during all time periods. Other factors, such as the amount of debris on a beach, dune sinuosity, and access to the bay, increased the probability of occupancy during the nesting period. These results indicate that human disturbance may be preventing plovers from using otherwise suitable habitat and that plovers select habitat based on beach characteristics that provide stagespecific resource needs.