Chapter 4 Habitats
4.4.18.3 Problems Affecting Habitats Development. Development along shorelines and other coastal waterfronts often results in use of bulkheads and other protective barriers meant to protect buildings and infrastructure from wave action and inundation hazards. Seawalls and groins built to protect beaches from erosion result in narrower intertidal zones and altered wrack assemblages, which in turn contribute to reduced numbers of invertebrate forage needed by shorebirds (Dugan and Hubbard 2006) . Bulkheads and wave breaks can impede turtle access to nesting and foraging sites or reduce the amount of sandy areas that is accessible for nesting (Wnek et al. 2013, Roosenburg 1990) . Beaches near residential and commercial developments may be subject to raking or grooming to remove debris and trash or to improve aesthetics, especially during busy summer seasons. Beach grooming is likely to result in decreased species abundance and biomass because it damages or removes foraging resources (Dugan et al. 2003, Hubbard et al. 2013) . Nordstrom et al. (2012) noted there is less natural swale and dune development on beach areas subject to raking because wrack materials were removed. Beach Nourishment. Beach nourishment is often used as a coastal management strategy to restore shoreline, combat coastal erosion, protect coastal infrastructure, and to widen the beach to increase recreation opportunities. Dredge materials pumped from offshore marine sands or maintenance of boating lanes and inlets is often the source of material for nourishment projects. Adding sand to the beach is often considered an ecologically preferred option for erosion defense, but there are associated detrimental ecological effects (Speybroeck et al. 2006; Manning et al. 2013; Viola et al. 2013) when materials are randomly mixed sediments that do not match the particle size and content of the receiving areas; sediments have high concentrations of organic solids; marine sediments have a high salt content; or there are high levels of contaminants in the material (Wnek et al . 2013) . Pollution. Pollution of aquatic systems has been linked to deformities in Snapping Turtle hatchlings and is suspected to be a contributing factor in nest failures (Wnek et al. 2013) . Onshore vehicles are also a source of fuel and oil contaminants that introduce pollution to small areas of sand and the subsurface invertebrate community. Onshore Driving. Vehicle use on the beach was found to have a significant negative effect on invertebrate abundance and diversity through compaction of the sand and interstitial habitats (Schlacher et al. 2008) . Vehicles driven on sandy beaches leave vehicle tracks that make it difficult for female sea turtles and hatchlings to travel between the water and nesting sites (Schlacher and Lucrezi 2010) . Inattentive drivers can kill turtles on the beach by running over them and illegal access by drivers into restricted beach areas can destroy shorebird nesting sites by crushing them or by disrupting nesting behavior. Unattended pets and children allowed to enter shorebird nesting areas also can destroy or disrupt nests.
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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