Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

The Relationship Between Water Level, Prey Availability And Reproductive Success In Roseate Spoonbills Foraging In A Seasonally-Flooded Wetland While Nesting In Florida Bay, Jerome J. Lorenz

FCE LTER Journal Articles

The coastal wetlands of northeastern Florida Bay are seasonally-inundated dwarf mangrove habitat and serve as a primary foraging ground for wading birds nesting in Florida Bay. A common paradigm in pulse-inundated wetlands is that prey base fishes increase in abundance while the wetland is flooded and then become highly concentrated in deeper water refuges as water levels recede, becoming highly available to wading birds whose nesting success depends on these concentrations. Although widely accepted, the relationship between water levels, prey availability and nesting success has rarely been quantified. I examine this paradigm using Roseate Spoonbills that nest on the islands …