ABSTRACT
Predation has shaped many facets of the ecology of plovers, including their life history traits, behaviors, and demography. Moreover, conservation often emphasizes managing predators to increase population size. I reviewed literature addressing impacts of predation on survivorship and reproductive success of plovers, as well as four management approaches to ameliorate the negative effects of predation on population growth; most evidence comes from a few species that are threatened or endangered. Three of the four approaches seek to increase productivity by decreasing risk of predation of eggs and chicks by managing: (1) humans, attractants they provide, and disturbance of plovers; (2) habitat to increase availability and quality; (3) predator abundance or behavior using lethal or nonlethal methods; and (4) plover population size directly through captive propagation. The success of predator management is rarely monitored using vital rate data. For the threatened population segment of the Snowy Plover, data suggest that lethal removal has had a strong positive effect on productivity and population growth; even where lethal control is not used, populations are growing owing to immigration from areas where lethal removal of predators is routinely practiced.
