Environmental health looking up, especially for those wading birds

Home

Crime News

Community News

Other Sun Publications

FREE DELIVERY!
Get Free Delivery! Request your Osceola News Gazette Today.

Login Form

2013 Summertime Fun

Osceola Hurricane Handbook 2013

2013 Sexual Predator Sexual Offender List sexualpredatorcover13

Windows on the Classroom June 2013

School Calendar
2012-2013

View our other Special Sections

Environmental health looking up, especially for those wading birds

Community

Thursday, 14 January 2010 03:13

From South Florida Water Management District
The 2009 breeding season was exceptionally good for wading birds in South Florida, with a most noteworthy improvement for the federally endangered wood stork, according to a South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) report.
“Wading birds are among the most useful indicators of overall environmental health,” SFWMD Executive Director Carol Ann Wehle said. “Collection and study of wading bird data and trends is one of our best tools to track improvements in South Florida’s environment, wildlife and resources.”
The estimated total number of wading bird nests in South Florida was 77,505 in 2009, which eclipses the number of nests during the previous banner year (2002) by some 8,000 nests and represents the largest nesting effort since the 1940s.
Increases in nesting efforts occurred for most wading bird species and especially for the endangered wood stork, a species whose nesting numbers have raised concern in recent years. Approximately 6,452 wood stork nests were recorded in 2009, representing a 203-percent increase over the average of the past decade and a 1,776-percent increase over last year.
In 2009, the majority of wading birds in South Florida continued to use the Water Conservation Areas for breeding. Scientists noted that a large proportion of birds nested in areas used by the historic colonies in Everglades National Park — 15,432 nests — representing the largest nesting effort in the park since 1941.
Scientists also found that wading birds appear to be increasing nesting activity on the recently restored section of the Kissimmee River floodplain. This year, 1,574 nests were recorded, which is considerably greater than the six nests recorded last year and greatly surpasses the previous high count in 2006 of 637 nests.
The exceptional wading bird nesting events as observed in 2009 may be a result of extensive drought conditions in recent years. The theory, known as the “Predator Release Hypothesis,” suggests that drought reduces predatory fish densities, allowing crayfish and small fish populations — which serve as food for wading birds — to increase in size and abundance.
A key goal of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) is to restore hydrologic conditions, which will contribute to re-establishing aquatic prey densities and concentrations across the Everglades landscape. This, in turn, will more permanently support the return of large, successful wading bird nesting colonies to the Southern Everglades.
The latest wading bird report contained several additional highlights, including:
• This was the largest nesting effort recorded in South Florida since the 1940s.
• The season represents an 83-percent increase over the average of the last nine seasons.
• Wading birds produced the fourth-highest nest count at 8,169 around Lake Okeechobee since aerial surveys began in 1957.
• White ibis nests were 101-percent greater than the average of the past nine years.
The District will continue wading bird research, including additional testing of the “Predator Release Hypothesis.” This testing will occur at an Everglades living laboratory known as the Loxahatchee Impoundment Landscape Assessment, or LILA. LILA is a working 80-acre model of the Everglades ecosystem on the grounds of the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge.