{"id":{"repo_id":"gsu","oai_identifier":"oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-1732"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/gsu/oai:digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu:etd-1732","repository":{"repo_id":"gsu","name":"Georgia Southern University","base_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Impacts of Human Disturbance on the Behavior of Sanderlings on the Georgia Coast","abstract":"Habitat loss has a serious impact on wildlife. However, even when humans do not destroy habitat, their activity can have negative impacts on behavior. The purpose of my study was (1) to test whether the presence of humans altered the behavior of Sanderlings (Calidris alba), (2) to quantify the impacts of staged human encounters on Sanderlings, and (3) to assess whether Sanderlings on high-disturbance beaches habituate to the presence of humans. The study was conducted on two Georgia barrier islands with varying levels of human disturbances, Tybee Island and Sapelo Island. I found that Sanderlings on a high-disturbance beach had lower foraging success than those on a low-disturbance beach. Across sites, Sanderling foraging success decreased with increasing number of people. Staged encounters on a low-disturbance beach reduced Sanderling foraging activity to that of a Sanderling on a high-disturbance beach. There was no evidence of habituation to people on high-disturbance beaches.","abstract_html":"Habitat loss has a serious impact on wildlife. However, even when humans do not destroy habitat, their activity can have negative impacts on behavior. The purpose of my study was (1) to test whether the presence of humans altered the behavior of Sanderlings (Calidris alba), (2) to quantify the impacts of staged human encounters on Sanderlings, and (3) to assess whether Sanderlings on high-disturbance beaches habituate to the presence of humans. The study was conducted on two Georgia barrier islands with varying levels of human disturbances, Tybee Island and Sapelo Island. I found that Sanderlings on a high-disturbance beach had lower foraging success than those on a low-disturbance beach. Across sites, Sanderling foraging success decreased with increasing number of people. Staged encounters on a low-disturbance beach reduced Sanderling foraging activity to that of a Sanderling on a high-disturbance beach. There was no evidence of habituation to people on high-disturbance beaches.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Gray, Amy Catherine"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Biology (M.S.)","degree_level":"Thesis (open access)","degree_discipline":"Department of Biology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Steve Vives","John Parrish"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2006,"date_issued":"2006-05-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2006-05-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:27:26Z","subjects":["ETD","Sanderlings","Calidris alba","Human disturbance","Georgia","Calidris"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/732","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Steve Vives","John Parrish"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Gray, Amy Catherine"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2013-10-17T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Biology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis (open access)"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Biology (M.S.)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ETD","Sanderlings","Calidris alba","Human disturbance","Georgia","Calidris"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/732"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["Habitat loss has a serious impact on wildlife. However, even when humans do not destroy habitat, their activity can have negative impacts on behavior. The purpose of my study was (1) to test whether the presence of humans altered the behavior of Sanderlings (Calidris alba), (2) to quantify the impacts of staged human encounters on Sanderlings, and (3) to assess whether Sanderlings on high-disturbance beaches habituate to the presence of humans. The study was conducted on two Georgia barrier islands with varying levels of human disturbances, Tybee Island and Sapelo Island. I found that Sanderlings on a high-disturbance beach had lower foraging success than those on a low-disturbance beach. Across sites, Sanderling foraging success decreased with increasing number of people. Staged encounters on a low-disturbance beach reduced Sanderling foraging activity to that of a Sanderling on a high-disturbance beach. There was no evidence of habituation to people on high-disturbance beaches."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Impacts of Human Disturbance on the Behavior of Sanderlings on the Georgia Coast"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Steve Vives","John Parrish"],"dc:creator":["Gray, Amy Catherine"],"dc:date.available":["2013-10-17T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["Habitat loss has a serious impact on wildlife. However, even when humans do not destroy habitat, their activity can have negative impacts on behavior. The purpose of my study was (1) to test whether the presence of humans altered the behavior of Sanderlings (Calidris alba), (2) to quantify the impacts of staged human encounters on Sanderlings, and (3) to assess whether Sanderlings on high-disturbance beaches habituate to the presence of humans. The study was conducted on two Georgia barrier islands with varying levels of human disturbances, Tybee Island and Sapelo Island. I found that Sanderlings on a high-disturbance beach had lower foraging success than those on a low-disturbance beach. Across sites, Sanderling foraging success decreased with increasing number of people. Staged encounters on a low-disturbance beach reduced Sanderling foraging activity to that of a Sanderling on a high-disturbance beach. There was no evidence of habituation to people on high-disturbance beaches."],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/732"],"dc:subject":["ETD","Sanderlings","Calidris alba","Human disturbance","Georgia","Calidris"],"dc:title":["Impacts of Human Disturbance on the Behavior of Sanderlings on the Georgia Coast"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Biology"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis (open access)"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Biology (M.S.)"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:27:26Z"}