4.4 Terrestrial Communities
• Develop long-term monitoring to identify population trends and to assess performance of conservation actions. Monitoring plans should be coordinated with other existing monitoring programs where feasible. • Design an ecological monitoring system that can measure how the beach ecosystem responds to human pressures particular to the coastline. Use long-term monitoring to measure the changing health of the beach in response to long-term and cumulative pressures (Peterson and Manning 2001) . • Conduct ecological monitoring before, during, and after construction of shoreline hardening structures and beach renourishment projects to best understand the extent to which the beach ecosystem changes. Monitoring should also continue well after project completion to understand long-term efects of this anthropogenic disturbance, as well as cumulative efects of multiple nourishment projects. Scientists should use a scientifcally and statistically robust monitoring design that looks at multiple indicators of beach ecosystem health. Analysis of data should include a test of statistical power (Peterson and Manning 2001) . Research. Research topics that facilitate appropriate conservation actions include habitat use and preferences, reproductive behavior, fecundity, population dynamics and genetics, feeding, competition, and food web dynamics. Increased understanding of life histories and status helps determine the vulnerability of priority species to further imperilment, in addition to identifying possibilities for improved management and conservation. All stud- ies should provide recommendations for mitigation and restoration. Formal descriptions for known or putative undescribed species and investigations aimed at resolving taxo- nomic status are needed. • Research to facilitate appropriate conservation actions includes habitat use/prefer- ences, spawning location and timing, fecundity, population dynamics, population genetics, feeding, competition, and predation. Management Practices. Management practices that reduce impacts and work synergis- tically with other conservation actions are needed to enhance the resilience of natural resources. Particular needs include preserving biodiversity, protecting native populations and their habitats, and improving degraded habitats. • Minimize the negative efects on beach ecology from beach renourishment projects by following a set of BMPs that include proper sediment choice, timing, spatial implemen- tation, site-based design, ecological monitoring, and minimizing conficts of interest (Hennessey et al. 2011) .
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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