Earlier this year, Dr. Betsy von Holle and her colleagues published a study in the Journal of Wildlife Management about the effects of sea-level rise on coastal nesting species. The paper is open access, so you can read it for free here: https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.21633. The study shows that sea-level rise is increasing the vulnerability of the South Atlantic coastline to erosion, putting many seabirds and sea turtles at risk.
This work was funded by the South Atlantic LCC, and the underlying survey data was used to produce the beach birds indicator used in the South Atlantic Blueprint. You can watch an video about the study below. It’s about five years old, but still a great summary:
A couple of media outlets have also picked up the publication, if you’d like to read more about the findings:
- United Press International (UPI): Sea level rise threatens bird habitats along Atlantic Coast, study says, by Paul Brinkmann
- University of Central Florida (UCF) Today: U.S. Southeast Atlantic Coast Facing High Threat of Sea-Level Rise in Next 10 Years, by Robert Wells
Featured image photo: American oystercatcher at Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge. Photo by Felicia Sanders, SC DNR.
