Tuesday, November 24, 2015

New wading bird study


Seabird Study: Utilization of Estuarine and intertidal habitats at the John D. MacArthur State Park

Principal investigator: Diane Arrieta, MSc. 
Research Assistant: Leah Plocharczyk, MA
State permit #11171515

Internships available for Wilkes Honors students (approved by the honors college)

Spring semester internship is already full

This long term study plans to investigate the use of Estuarine and Intertidal Habitats by wading birds at low tide within park boundaries of the John D. MacArthur State Park, located in Riviera Beach, FL [Palm Beach County, FL]. The scheme aims to monitor, assess and regularly update information on the relative importance of inter-tidal feeding areas within park boundaries to document abundance and distribution patterns for the following species.

Species:

Table 1. Birds of the order Ciconiiformes in Florida (Sizemore, et. al., 2012)

Common Name
Species Name
Family
Status
Great Egret
Ardea alba
Ardeidae
Native
Snowy Egret
Egretta thula
Ardeidae
Native
Reddish Egret
Egretta rufescens
Ardeidae
Native
Cattle Egret
Bubulcus ibis
Ardeidae
Native*
Great Blue Heron
Ardea herodias
Ardeidae
Native
Tricolored Heron
Egretta tricolor
Ardeidae
Native
Little Blue Heron
Egretta caerulea
Ardeidae
Native
Black-crowned Night-Heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Ardeidae
Native
Yellow-crowned Night-Heron
Nyctanassa violacea
Ardeidae
Native
Green Heron
Butorides virescens
Ardeidae
Native
American Bittern
Botaurus lentiginosus
Ardeidae
Native
Least Bittern
Ixobrychus exilis
Ardeidae
Native
Wood Stork
Mycteria americana
Ciconiidae
Native
Roseate Spoonbill
Platalea ajaja
Threskiornithidae
Native
White Ibis
Eudocimus albus
Threskiornithidae
Native
Glossy Ibis
Plegadis falcinellus
Threskiornithidae
Native
Sacred Ibis
Threskiornis aethiopicus
Threskiornithidae
Non-native
Scarlet Ibis
Eudocimus ruber
Threskiornithidae
Non-native
*Arrived in Florida VIA natural range expansion.


The objectives of our monitoring include:
1. Assess baseline seabird foraging rates at our four sites
2. Assess seabird roost utilization at sites
3. Assess distribution fluctuations between seasons and environmental conditions
4. Assess baseline levels of human-caused disturbance; especially in Lake Worth Cove 


Reference: 
Grant C. Sizemore, Martin B. Main, and Elise V. Pearlstine, 2015. Florida's Wading Birds: IFAS Extention. PUblication #WEC267 Available: https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw309 



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