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Discovery And Early Monitoring Of A New Florida Grasshopper Sparrow Population On Ranchlands In Osceola County: Evidence Of Metapopulation Connectivity, Erin L. Hewett Ragheb, Karl E. Miller, Archer F. Larned, Mary S. Peterson

Florida Field Naturalist

In 2012, the critically endangered Florida Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum floridanus) was known to exist only on three public conservation areas with native dry prairie habitat. In 2013, an additional site was discovered on a grazed, semi-improved cattle ranch in Osceola County, Florida, USA (hereafter the Ranch). We describe initial results from an effort to establish a long-term demographic monitoring program at the Ranch (2014–2016). Band-resighting data revealed that the Ranch supported a minimum population of 29 territorial males in 2015 and 19 in 2016, representing 39% and 34% of the known wild male population, respectively. The weighted …