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Habitat Suitabiility for white ibis, snowy egret and great egret at Lake Okeechobee, Florida
Title
Habitat Suitabiility for white ibis, snowy egret and great egret at Lake Okeechobee, Florida.
Creator
Botta, Richard A., Gawlik, Dale E., Graduate College
Date Issued
2013-04-12
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fcla/dt/3361908
Subject Headings
White ibis, Great egret, Egrets, Okeechobee, Lake (Fla.), Habitat suitability index models
Format
Document (PDF)
Wading Bird Foraging and Prey Concentration in the Ridge and Slough Landscape of the Everglades
Title
Wading Bird Foraging and Prey Concentration in the Ridge and Slough Landscape of the Everglades.
Creator
Binkley, Erin, Dorn, Nathan, Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Center for Environmental Studies
Abstract/Description
The hydrological and topographical variation of wetlands can affect the behavior, population growth, and local densities of aquatic species, which in turn can drive the behavior and density dynamics of gleaning predators. Prey availability, primarily determined by prey density and water depth in wetlands, is an important limiting factor for nesting wading bird populations, top predators in the south Florida Everglades. The Everglades is able to support large colonies of nesting wading birds...
Show moreThe hydrological and topographical variation of wetlands can affect the behavior, population growth, and local densities of aquatic species, which in turn can drive the behavior and density dynamics of gleaning predators. Prey availability, primarily determined by prey density and water depth in wetlands, is an important limiting factor for nesting wading bird populations, top predators in the south Florida Everglades. The Everglades is able to support large colonies of nesting wading birds because of the microtopographic variation in the landscape. Some types of prey concentrate in flat, shallow sloughs or become trapped in isolated pools as they move down from higher elevation ridges with receding water levels. Manipulations to the hydrology and landscape of the Everglades has negatively impacted nesting wading bird populations in the past, and may continue to be detrimental by allowing flat, shallow sloughs to be intersected by deep canals, a potential refuge for wading bird prey. In addition, the subtle elevation differences between the ridge and slough landscape may be an important mechanism for increasing slough crayfish (Procambarus fallax) prey availability for the most abundant and seemingly depth-sensitive Everglades wading bird, the White Ibis (Eudocimus albus). I implemented a 2-year experimental study in four replicated manmade wetlands with controlled water recession rates in order to determine the effects of proximate deep water (akin to canals) on fish prey concentrations in the sloughs, as water levels receded similarly to a natural Everglades dry season. I also calculated average daily wading bird densities with game cameras (Reconyx PC800 Hyperfire) using timelapse imagery over 60 days to determine when and where wading birds responded to changing prey concentrations. I completed an additional observational study on White Ibis and slough crayfish prey from the first year of data (2017). Crayfish make up the majority of the diet for nesting White Ibis, and literature has suggested crayfish are most abundant at slough depths much deeper than previously proposed foraging depth limitations for White Ibis. This study specifically compared recent determinations about crayfish movement dynamics in the ridge and slough system with White Ibis foraging behavior and depth limits. Results from the first experimental study suggest that canals might be an attractive refuge for relatively large prey fishes (> 3 cm SL) in sloughs, but it is uncertain if the fencing blocked all prey fish movement. The second observational study determined White Ibis foraging activity was primarily driven by a down-gradient crayfish flux from ridge to slough, with the majority of foraging activity occurring at much deeper slough depths than previously suggested water depth limitations for White Ibis. Results from both of these studies support the importance of preserving the ridgeslough landscape of the Everglades to sustain high prey availability for wading birds.
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Date Issued
2018
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013124
Subject Headings
Wading birds, White ibis, Everglades (Fla)--Environmental conditions, Foraging behavior in animals, Predator & prey
Format
Document (PDF)
Quantifying wading bird resource selection and nesting effort: a tool for the restoration of pulsed ecosystems
Title
Quantifying wading bird resource selection and nesting effort: a tool for the restoration of pulsed ecosystems.
Creator
Petersen, Michelle L., Gawlik, Dale E., Florida Atlantic University, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science, Department of Biological Sciences
Abstract/Description
Understanding the link between indicator species and their environment is imperative to managing and conserving anthropogenically-altered ecosystems. Seasonally-pulsed wetlands are uniquely complex ecosystem where water-level fluctuations shape trophic interactions. Anthropogenic manipulation of water-level fluctuation threatens the integrity of these systems worldwide. Wading birds, a group of species sensitive to landuse changes and fluctuating habitat conditions, serve as important...
Show moreUnderstanding the link between indicator species and their environment is imperative to managing and conserving anthropogenically-altered ecosystems. Seasonally-pulsed wetlands are uniquely complex ecosystem where water-level fluctuations shape trophic interactions. Anthropogenic manipulation of water-level fluctuation threatens the integrity of these systems worldwide. Wading birds, a group of species sensitive to landuse changes and fluctuating habitat conditions, serve as important indicators for wetland health. I used wading birds in the Everglades, as a model system to address the challenges of environmental restoration within an ecosystem heavily impacted by anthropogenic activities. Specifically, I 1) identified the nesting response of Great Egret (Ardea alba), White Ibis (Eudocimus albus), and Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) to hydrologically-mediated changes in food availability and 2) quantified spatiotemporal foraging-habitat selection of Great Egrets, White Ibis, and Wood Storks to fluctuating hydrologic conditions. Collectively, model selection results suggest food availability, generated through dynamic hydrological conditions, is a strong predictor of the abundance of nesting birds in a given year. Great egret and white ibis produce the highest nests numbers in years when the frequency of days of rising water is low. Wood stork nest numbers are the highest in years with high prey production coupled with continuous prey availability. My study of resource selection indicated wading birds select foraging sites based on similar hydrologic parameters, but the response varies by species. Wood storks are more likely to forage in shallow cells (< 10 cm) drying with high recession rates (0.5-1.5 cm/day), and long time since last drydown (600 days). White ibises selected foraging cells with relatively shallow water depths (0-15 cm), intermediate recession rates (0.5-1.0 cm/day), and long time since drydown (600 days). Great egrets selected foraging cells with a wider range of water depths (0-20 cm) where recession rates were lower (0.5 cm/day). All species are more likely to forage in cells where water has not increased by more than 3 cm in the previous two weeks. These differences in resource selections correspond to morphological and behavioral differences in the species, whereby wood storks were more constrained hydrologically and would be more affected by water-level manipulation.
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Date Issued
2017
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00004852
Subject Headings
Wetland biodiversity conservation--Florida--Everglades., Wetland conservation., Water birds., Wood stork., White ibis., Egretta alba.
Format
Document (PDF)
IMPORTANCE OF FRESHWATER PREY FOR NESTING WHITE IBIS EUDOCIMUS ALBUS IN SOUTHERN FLORIDA WETLANDS
Title
IMPORTANCE OF FRESHWATER PREY FOR NESTING WHITE IBIS EUDOCIMUS ALBUS IN SOUTHERN FLORIDA WETLANDS.
Creator
Cocoves, Tasso C., Dorn, Nathan, Florida Atlantic University, Environmental Studies Program, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science
Abstract/Description
Avian reproduction is generally resource dependent, and resource availability can vary through time and space. Wading birds breeding activity in southern Florida wetlands is limited by availability of aquatic prey, which is largely influenced by seasonal hydrodynamics. Restoration of natural hydrologic patterns is expected to increase populations and return breeding activity in the southern Everglades, but which prey support successful breeding at coastal colonies is unknown. To address this,...
Show moreAvian reproduction is generally resource dependent, and resource availability can vary through time and space. Wading birds breeding activity in southern Florida wetlands is limited by availability of aquatic prey, which is largely influenced by seasonal hydrodynamics. Restoration of natural hydrologic patterns is expected to increase populations and return breeding activity in the southern Everglades, but which prey support successful breeding at coastal colonies is unknown. To address this, I examined prey use of nesting White Ibis (Eudocimus albus) at coastal colonies in Everglades National Park (ENP) in a two-year observational study. I also examined ibis diets at nesting colonies located in three regions of the Everglades to better understand regional variation in trophic support of ibis reproduction. I found that crayfish and fish were used extensively in ENP in a year with exceptional ibis breeding activity, and I provide evidence that lengthened hydroperiods in higher elevation marl prairies may enhance crayfish production and availability in the southern Everglades. I found that crayfish were the most important prey type in all regions of the Everglades when reproductive effort was highest. These results add to the growing body of evidence that crayfish are important prey for ibis reproductive success in all parts of the Everglades, and suggest that increasing water flowing into the southern Everglades may incite greater nesting at historic colony locations. With this knowledge we can forecast how wading birds, and more generally wetlands of southern Florida, will respond to a changing environment and potential restoration scenarios.
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Date Issued
2019
PURL
http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013367
Subject Headings
Eudocimus albus, White ibis, Birds--Reproduction, Nest building, Crayfish, Wetland hydrology, Everglades National Park (Fla)
Format
Document (PDF)