In advance of large-scale development of offshore wind energy facilities throughout the U.S. Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), information on the migratory ecology and routes of federally threatened Atlantic Coast Piping Plovers (Charadrius melodus melodus) is needed to conduct risk assessments pursuant to the Endangered Species Act. We tagged adult Piping Plovers (n = 150) with digitally coded VHF transmitters at 2 breeding areas within the southern New England region of the U.S. Atlantic coast from 2015 to 2017. We tracked their migratory departure flights using a regional automated telemetry network (n = 30 stations) extending across a portion of the U.S. Atlantic Bight region, a section of the U.S. Atlantic coast, and adjacent waters of the Atlantic Ocean extending from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Most adults departed within a 10-day window from July 19 to July 29, migrated nocturnally, and over 75% of individuals departed within 3 hr of local sunset on evenings with supportive winds. Piping Plovers migrated offshore directly across the mid-Atlantic Bight, from breeding areas in southern New England to stopover sites spanning from New York to North Carolina, USA, over 800 km away. During offshore migratory flights, Piping Plovers flew at estimated mean speeds of 42 km hr⁻¹ and altitudes of 288 m (range of model uncertainty: 36–1,031 m). This study provides new information on the timing, weather conditions, routes, and altitudes of Piping Plovers during fall migration. This information can be used in estimations of collision risk that could potentially result from the construction of offshore wind turbines under consideration across large areas of the U.S. Atlantic OCS.

中文翻译：

---

辅助性风况影响秋季迁移期间大西洋海岸配管员的近海运动

在大规模开发整个美国大西洋外大陆架（OCS）的海上风能设施之前，需要有关联邦受到威胁的大西洋海岸配管种（Charadrius melodus melodus）的迁徙生态学和路线的信息，以便根据濒危物种法》。我们 从2015年至2017年在美国大西洋沿岸新英格兰南部地区的2个繁殖区使用数字编码的VHF发射器为成年的管道测绘者（n = 150）进行了标记。我们使用区域自动遥测网络（n = 30个站点），从美国马萨诸塞州的科德角一直延伸到北卡罗来纳州的哈特拉斯角，横跨美国大西洋海岸线地区的一部分，美国大西洋海岸的一部分以及大西洋的相邻水域。从7月19日至7月29日，大多数成年人在10天的窗口内出发，夜行性迁徙，晚上，超过75％的人在傍晚带有辅助性风的地方于当地日落3小时内出发。管道钳工直接从大西洋沿岸迁移到大西洋中部，从新英格兰南部的繁殖区到中途停留地，从纽约到美国北卡罗来纳州，相距800多公里。在离岸迁徙飞行中，管道大佬以估计的平均时速42 km hr ^-1飞行海拔288 m（模型不确定性范围：36–1,031 m）。这项研究提供了有关秋季迁徙期间管道lov子的时间，天气状况，路线和海拔高度的新信息。该信息可用于估算碰撞风险，该风险可能是由考虑中的横跨美国大西洋OCS广大地区的海上风力涡轮机的建造引起的。