Remote sensing and foraging data illustrate landscape-scale considerations for coastal restoration and avian...

As coastal restoration projects around the world continue to grow in scale and frequency, it is critical to consider how modified landscapes support wildlife species of concern and broader ecosystem function. In the northern Gulf of Mexico, particularly coastal Louisiana, maintenance of barrier islands serves to protect inland human settlements, and provide critical breeding habitat for many waterbird populations. To remain productive, colonies must also be linked to high-quality marine foraging areas, though these relationships are rarely evaluated in active restoration areas. To demonstrate how this linkage can be evaluated in dynamic environments at a regional scale, we coupled remote sensing and stable isotope data to generate maps of energetic importance for Gulf menhaden (Brevoortia patronus), one of the most ecologically and economically important fish species in the northern Gulf. We then overlaid these maps with foraging movement data from brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) nesting at three of the largest remaining colonies in the state to assess how a novel characterization of their prey distribution matched individual bird movements. We found that the quality of foraging habitat (i.e., menhaden resource quality) had a significant influence on space use decisions of pelicans over space, time, and multiple scales of movement, as well as strong spatial segregation between colonies, highlighting the importance of island placement when considering restoration priorities and wildlife response. Our results show the considerable potential that "E-scapes" hold as a valuable tool for future restoration planning, with utility in assessment of coastal ecosystem function from a spatially explicit, multi-trophic perspective.