The Hungry Side to Beach Replenishments

DOES BEACH REPLENISHMENT SMOTHER A SHOREBIRD’S NEXT MEAL?
April 5, 2016

Conservation This Week
"Around the world, sandy beaches are eroding, and communities are increasingly fixing this problem by dredging up sand from offshore and pumping it back onto the beach. This method, known as beach replenishment, is seen as more environmentally friendly than building hard structures like seawalls to protect beaches.

But beach replenishment, too, has its downside: the method smothers intertidal invertebrates on which shorebird and fish populations depend. The total number of invertebrates falls by more than half in the wake of beach replenishment, according to a new study published in Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. And the invertebrate community may take longer to recover than previously thought." Follow the link to read more.