Least tern disturbance observations and colony survey data

Coastal birds that rely on sandy beaches for breeding are vulnerable to catastrophic flooding events resulting from tropical cyclones. The effects of storm surge on annual productivity depend on the propensity and success of renesting attempts post-storm. From 2017-2021, I investigated the effects of storm surge on Least Tern (Sternula antillarum) annual productivity, renesting probability, and nest and chick survival after storms on Mississippi’s Gulf of Mexico Coast. Tropical cyclones made landfall during peak breeding period in three of these years, resulting in complete overwash of all colonies. Observers monitored daily nest survival, productivity (max fledge count/max nest count), and frequency of disturbance from avian predators at each colony. Total annual productivity (fledge count/ nest count across the study area) summed across colonies ranged from 0.00-0.07 in storm years and 0.29-0.66 in non-storm years. Probability of colony re-occupation declined as a function of storm da..., , , # Least Tern Disturbance Observations and Colony Survey Data

This dataset contains multiple raw data files as .csv format, .txt files with Bayesian models written in BUGS code used to estimate Least Tern nest and chick survival, and the R script used to clean, collate, and analyze the data.

## Description of the data and file structure

**colony.storm.names.update.csv**

This file contains beach width (m) measurements and presence or absence of dunes for each Least Tern colony in this manuscript.

**ColonySurveys.zip**

This file contains three .csv files with raw Least Tern colony survey data. These data were collected weekly to twice per week at all mainland colonies. The first five columns contain information about the survey: Site (site name, typically in reference to the nearest cross street that meets Highway 90), Date, Time, Species, and Survey Type (Exterior if conducted outside of the colony, Interior if surveyed by walking through the colony). Most surveys were conducted b...