Substrate-Level Nest Site Selection of Sympatric Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) and American Oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus) in New Jersey, USA

Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus) and American Oystercatchers (Haematopus palliatus) are shorebird species of conservation concern that breed sympatrically along the U.S. Atlantic coast, facing substantial anthropogenic habitat loss and disturbance. Interspecific aggression has been increasingly observed in overlapping habitat, potentially resulting in diverting time and energy that would be available for breeding activities. Because nests are...