Abstract
A majority of the federally endangered northwest Atlantic Roseate Tern population stages in the Cape Cod National Seashore during peak tourist season, rendering it vulnerable to human disturbance during a critical stage of the annual cycle. I evaluated the behavioral and demographic responses of staging Roseate Terns to anthropogenic disturbance. Staging flocks flushed more often when pedestrians approached within 120 m, thus I recommend a 175-m buffer around areas used by staging flocks. Terns often did not flush when researchers approached, suggesting that certain behaviors are the particularly disruptive aspect of human presence. Flocks spent most of their time resting regardless of the local intensity of disturbance. Residency and movement rates between sites of High and Low disturbance levels were not significantly different. Ultimately, I found that anthropogenic disturbance can disrupt the behaviors of staging flocks, but I did not detect an influence on demographic rates.