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Factors Affecting Wading Bird Prey Concentrations in the Everglades During the Dry Season

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Date Issued:
2007
Summary:
One factor that potentially controls the distribution and density of wading bird prey within open-water marsh habitats during seasonal drying events is the amount of available aquatic habitat, which is partly a function of the amount of microtopographic relief at a given location. To determine how microtopographic relief affects prey concentrations during dry-downs a simulation model was developed and run using empirical microtopographic data collected from the Everglades. The simulation suggests that those locations within the marsh with higher levels of microtopographic relief concentrate prey earlier during the dry-down period and potentially to greater densities overall. In addition, a model selection analysis was performed on field data to determine which set of factors displayed the greatest effects upon prey concentrations during drydown events. When examining the best selected a priori model it appears that the amount of available aquatic habitat, water depth, and macrophyte density have the strongest affects upon concentrations of prey during a seasonal drying event.
Title: Factors Affecting Wading Bird Prey Concentrations in the Everglades During the Dry Season.
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Name(s): P. Brian Garrett, author
Gawlik, Dale E., Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2007
Date Issued: 2007
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 76 p.
Language(s): English
Summary: One factor that potentially controls the distribution and density of wading bird prey within open-water marsh habitats during seasonal drying events is the amount of available aquatic habitat, which is partly a function of the amount of microtopographic relief at a given location. To determine how microtopographic relief affects prey concentrations during dry-downs a simulation model was developed and run using empirical microtopographic data collected from the Everglades. The simulation suggests that those locations within the marsh with higher levels of microtopographic relief concentrate prey earlier during the dry-down period and potentially to greater densities overall. In addition, a model selection analysis was performed on field data to determine which set of factors displayed the greatest effects upon prey concentrations during drydown events. When examining the best selected a priori model it appears that the amount of available aquatic habitat, water depth, and macrophyte density have the strongest affects upon concentrations of prey during a seasonal drying event.
Identifier: FA00000769 (IID)
Note(s): Thesis (M.S.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2007.
Subject(s): Water birds--Florida--Everglades
Wetland ecology--Florida--Everglades
Bird populations--Climatic factors--Florida--Everglades
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00000769
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Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.