| The Pacific Coast population of Western Snowy Plovers (Charadrius alexandrinus nivosus) is listed as a federally threatened species and as a California Species of Special Concern. The percentage of crushed oyster shells, shell dimensions, number of shells, and total shell surface area for 19 Western Snowy Plover nests that occurred at the Hayward California Least Tern Colony from 2008 to 2015 were measured. Using pairwise t-tests, these measurements were compared to those obtained from 19 randomly chosen non-nest sites. Results indicate that Western Snowy Plovers at this location select nest sites with a greater percentage of crushed oyster shell substrate, more oyster shells, and a greater surface area of shells than random sites. |