Nesting habitat of the little tern and fairy tern at Lake Tyers, Victoria

This study gathers key baseline data on the vegetation of tern colony sites at Lake Tyers and establishes permanent plots for future monitoring. We characterised the vegetation, substrate type, soil moisture, pH and nutrient levels of Little Tern Sternula albifrons and Fairy Tern S. nereis colony sites at three islands in Lake Tyers estuary, Victoria. Monitoring plots were established at two colony sites and four non-colony sites, including one abandoned colony site. Vegetation cover was estimated using the point quadrat method. We found that terns nested in areas with 84% +/- 1.89 vegetation cover, potentially much higher than reported in previous studies; however, conclusions should be made with caution given the low replication in our study. There was no significant difference in vegetation attributes between colony and non-colony sites. A long-term study including other colony areas along the Victorian coastline would be valuable in understanding colony requirements of these threatened species. This is especially important in the context of the climate change-induced impacts predicted to affect coastal environments in the future. (The Victorian Naturalist 130 (5) 2013, 192-201).