Skip to main content

Advertisement

SpringerLink
Log in

Breeding Site Longevity and Site Characteristics Have Intrinsic Value for Predicting Persistence of Colonies of an Endangered Bird

  • Original Research
  • Published:
Wetlands Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Fluctuations in size and turnover of centralized, aggregative breeding locations are attributable to both natural and anthropogenic causes, and distinguishing between these sources is critical for successful conservation and management of colonially breeding animals. We used a 40-year data set to examine the relative importance of colony variables to colony dynamics of endangered Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) within the United States. Larger colonies were less prone to abandonment and those of greater longevity were more likely to re-colonize, suggesting size and previous history have intrinsic value to Wood Storks. Colonies with a higher degree of physical connection to the mainland were more likely to be abandoned, probably because the isolation reduces access for mammalian nest predators. Proximity to human activity was positively related to the probability of re-colonization, indicating either that Wood Storks and humans are attracted to similar ecological features, or that there may be some positive benefit from nesting near human activities. Local rainfall in the 12 months prior to nest initiation was positively related to re-colonization rates and negatively related to extinction rates, suggesting that colony-site effects on persistence are mediated by annual weather patterns. Our findings present means to prioritize conservation efforts for colonial nesting waterbirds.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Ainley DG, Ribic CA, Ballard G, Heath S, Gaffney I, Karl BJ, Barton KJ, Wilson PR, Webb S (2004) Geographic structure of Adelie Penguin populations: overlap in colony-specific foraging areas. Ecological Monographs 74:159–178

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Barbraud C, Nichols JD, Hines JE, Hafner H (2003) Estimating rates of local extinction and colonization in colonial species and an extension to the metapopulation and community levels. Oikos 101:113–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bled F, Royle JA, Cam E (2011) Assessing hypotheses about nesting site occupancy dynamics. Ecology 92:938–951

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Borkhataria RR (2009) Modeling population viability and habitat suitability for the endangered wood stork (Mycteria americana) in the southeastern United States. Dissertation, University of Florida, Gainesville

  • Borkhataria RR, Frederick PC, Keller RA, Collazo JA (2012) Temporal variation in local wetland hydrology influences postdispersal survival of juvenile Wood Storks (Mycteria americana). The Auk 129:438–448

    Google Scholar 

  • Bouchard S, Bjorndal KA (2000) Sea turtles as biological transporters of nutrients and energy from marine to terrestrial ecosystems. Ecology 81:2305–2313

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bouton SN, Frederick PC, Rocha CD, Barbosa Dos Santos AT, Bouton TC (2005) Effects of tourist disturbance on Wood Stork nesting success and breeding behavior in the Brazilian Pantanal. Waterbirds 28:487–497

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brooks WB, Dean T (2008) Measuring the biological status of the U. S. breeding population of Wood Storks. Waterbirds 31:50–62

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryan AL Jr, Coulter MC (1987) Foraging flight characteristics of Wood Storks in east-central Georgia, USA. Colonial Waterbirds 10:157–161

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryan AL Jr, Robinette JR (2008) Breeding success of Wood Storks nesting in Georgia and South Carolina. Waterbirds 31:19–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bryan AL Jr, Coulter MC, Pennycuick CJ (1995) Foraging strategies and energetic costs of foraging flights by breeding wood storks. The Condor 97:133–140

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Buckley PA, Buckley FG (2000) Patterns of colony-site use and disuse in saltmarsh-nesting Common and Roseate Terns. Journal of Field Ornithology 71:356–369

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burnham KP, Anderson DR (2002) Model selection and multimodel inference: a practical information-theoretic approach. Springer Verlag, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Burtner BF (2011) Symbiosis between long-legged wading birds (Ciconiiformes) and alligators (Alligator mississippiensis)? Testing the “nest protector” hypothesis. Thesis, University of Florida, Gainesville

  • Bustnes JO, Miland O, Fjeld M, Erikstad KE, Skaare JU (2005) Relationships between ecological variables and four organochlorine pollutants in an artic glaucous gull (Larus hyperboreus) population. Environmental Pollution 136:175–185

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Corkeron PJ, Connor R (1999) Why do baleen whales migrate? Marine Mammal Science 15:1228–1245

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Coulter MC, Bryan AL Jr (1995) Factors affecting reproductive success of Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) in east-central Georgia. The Auk:237–243

  • Coulter MC, Rodgers JA Jr, Ogden JC, Depkin FC (1999) Wood Stork (Mycteria americana). The Birds of North America:24

  • Crooks KR, Soulé ME (1999) Mesopredator release and avifaunal extinctions in a fragmented landscape. Nature 400:563–566

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Danchin E, Wagner RH (1997) The evolution of coloniality: the emergence of new perspectives. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 12:342–347

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Delgado MM, Ratikainen II, Kokko H (2011) Inertia: the discrepancy between individual and common good in dispersal and prospecting behaviour. Biological Reviews 86:717–732

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dorn NJ, Trexler JC (2007) Crayfish assemblage shifts in a large drought-prone wetland: the roles of hydrology and competition. Freshwater Biology 52:2399–2411

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dutton DL, Dutton PH, Chaloupka M, Bouton RH (2005) Increase of a Caribbean leatherback turtle Dermochelys coriacea nesting population linked to long-term nest protection. Biological Conservation 126:186–194

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Eason P, Rabea B, Attum O (2012) Island shape, size, and isolation affect nest-site selection by little terns. Journal of Field Ornithology 83:372–380

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Erwin RM, Nichols JD, Eyler TB, Stotts DB, Truitt BR (1998) Modeling colony-site dynamics: a case study of gull-billed terns (Sterna nilotica) in coastal Virginia. The Auk:970–978

  • Frederick PC, Meyer KD (2008) Longevity and size of Wood Stork (Mycteria americana) colonies in Florida as guides for an effective monitoring strategy in the southeastern United States. Waterbirds 31:12–18

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Frederick PC, Powell GVN III (1994) Nutrient transport by wading birds in the Everglades. In: Davis SM, Ogden JC (eds) Everglades: the ecosystem and its restoration. St. Lucie Press, Delray Beach

    Google Scholar 

  • Fryxell JM, Greever J, Sinclair ARE (1988) Why are migratory ungulates so abundant? American Naturalist 131:781–798

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gaines KF, Bryan AL Jr, Dixon PM, Harris MJ (1998) Foraging habitat use by Wood Storks nesting in the coastal zone of Georgia, USA. Colonial Waterbirds 21:43–52

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ganter B, Cooke F (1998) Colonial nesters in a deteriorating habitat: site fidelity and colony dynamics of lesser snow geese. The Auk 115:642–652

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gawlik DE (2002) The effects of prey availability on the numerical response of wading birds. Ecological Monographs 72:329–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herring HK, Gawlik DE (2011) Resource selection functions for Wood Stork foraging habitat in the southern Everglades. Waterbirds 34:133–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kahl MP (1964) Food ecology of the wood stork (Mycteria americana) in Florida. Ecological Monographs 34:98–117

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kajzer J, Lenda M, Kosmicki A, Bobrek R, Kowalczyk T, Martyka R, Skorka P (2012) Patch occupancy and abundance of local populations in landscapes differing in degree of habitat fragmentation: a case study of the colonial Black-headed Gull, Chroicocephalus ridibundus. Journal of Biogeography 39:371–381

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kim S-Y, Torres R, Drummond H (2009) Simultaneous positive and negative density-dependent dispersal in a colonial bird species. Ecology 90:230–239

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Kushlan JA, Frohring PC (1986) The history of the southern Florida Wood Stork population. The Wilson Bulletin:368–386

  • Li W, Li L, Fu R, Deng L, Wang H (2011) Changes to the north atlantic subtropical high and its role in the intensification of summer rainfall variability in the southeastern United States. Journal of Climate 24:1499–1506

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loeb SC, Pepper WD, Doyle AT (1992) Habitat characteristics of active and abandoned Red-cockaded Woodpecker colonies. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry 16:120–125

    Google Scholar 

  • Lombard CD, Collazo JA, McNair DB (2010) Nest and chick survival and colony-site dynamics of least terns in the U. S. Virgin Islands. The Condor 112:56–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Loye JE, Carroll SP (1998) Ectoparasite behavior and its effects on avian nest site selection. Annals of the Entomological Society of America 91:159–163

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McChesney GJ, Tershy BR (1998) History and status of introduced mammals and impacts to breeding seabirds on the California Channel and northwestern Baja California Islands. Colonial Waterbirds 21:335–347

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McClenachan L, Jackson JBC, Newman MJH (2006) Conservation implications of historic sea turtle nesting beach loss. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 4:290–296

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Misra V, Carlson E, Craig RK, Enfield D, Kirtman B, Landing W, Lee S-K, Letson D, Marks F, Obeysekera J, Powell M, Shin S-l (2011) Climate scenarios: a Florida-Centric view. Florida Climate Change Task Force, Available online at http://floridaclimate.org/whitepapers/

  • Moilanen A, Nieminen M (2002) Simple connectivity measures in spatial ecology. Ecology 83:1131–1145

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Møller AP (2008) Flight distance and population trends in European breeding birds. Behavioral Ecology 19:1095–1102

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murphy TM, Coker JW (2008) A twenty-six year history of Wood Stork nesting in South Carolina. Waterbirds 31:3–7

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Murray NM (2009) Foraging behavior and success of Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis mollucca) in an urban environment. Notornis 56:201–205

    Google Scholar 

  • Naiman RJ, Bilby RE, Schindler DE, Helfield JM (2002) Pacific salmon, nutrients, and the dynamics of freshwater and riparian ecosystems. Ecosystems 5:399–417

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nell LA, Frederick PC, Mazzotti FJ, Vliet KA, Brandt LA (2016) Presence of breeding birds improves body condition for a crocodilian nest protector. PloS One 11, e0149572

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Ogden JC (1994) A comparison of wading bird nesting colony dynamics (1931–1946 and 1974–1989) as an indication of ecosystem conditions in the southern Everglades. In: Davis S, Ogden JC (eds) Everglades: the ecosystem and its restoration. St. Lucie Press, Delray Beach, pp 533–570

    Google Scholar 

  • Ogden JC, McCrimmon DA Jr, Bancroft GT, Patty BW (1987) Breeding populations of the wood stork in the southeastern United States. The Condor:752–759

  • Orlowski G, Czapulak A (2007) Different extinction risks of the breeding colonies of Rooks Corvus frugilegus in rural and urban areas of SW Poland. Acta Ornithologica 42:145–155

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oro D (2003) Managing seabird metapopulations in the Mediterranean: constraints and challenges. Scientia Marina 67:13–22

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramo C, Busto B (1992) Nesting failure of the wood stork in a neotropical wetland. The Condor 94:777–781

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robertson GJ, Gilchrist HG, Mallory ML (2007) Colony dynamics and persistence of Ivory Gull breeding in Canada. Avian Conservation and Ecology 2, Art 8, [online] URL: http://www.ace-eco.org/vol2/iss2/art8/

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodgers JA Jr (1987) On the antipredator advantages of coloniality: a word of caution. The Wilson Bulletin 99:269–271

    Google Scholar 

  • Rodgers JA Jr, Schwikert ST (1997) Breeding success and chronology of Wood Storks Mycteria americana in northern and central Florida, USA. Ibis 139:76–91

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rodgers JA Jr, Schwikert ST (2002) Buffer zone distances to protect foraging and loafing waterbirds from disturbance by personal watercraft and outboard powered boats. Conservation Biology 16:216–224

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ruetz CR, Trexler JC, Jordan F, Loftus WF, Perry SA (2005) Population dynamics of wetland fishes: spatio-temporal patterns synchronized by hydrological disturbance? Journal of Animal Ecology 74:322–332

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell GJ, Rosales A (2010) Sociability leads to instability. Theoretical Ecology 3:3–12

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seager R, Tzanova A, Nakamura J (2009) Drought in the southeastern United States: causes, variability over the last millennium, and the potential for future hydroclimatic change. Journal of Climate 22:5021–5045

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Shirai T (2013) Colony development and density-dependent processes in breeding Grey Herons. International Journal of Zoology. doi:10.1155/2013/404065

    Google Scholar 

  • Sydeman WJ, Bradley RW, Warzybok P, Abraham CL, Jahncke J, Hyrenbach KD, Kousky V, Hipfner JM, Ohman MD (2006) Planktivorous auklet Ptychoramphus aleuticus responses to ocean climate, 2005: Unusual atmospheric blocking?. Geophysical Research Letters 33 doi:10.1029/2006GL026736

  • Tasker ML, Camphuysen CJ, Cooper J, Garthe S, Montevecchi WA, Blaber SJM (2000) The effects of fishing on marine birds. ICES Journal of Marine Science 57:531–547

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Therneau TM (2015) A Package for Survival Analysis in S. version 2.38, http://CRAN.R-project.org/package=survival

  • Troëng S, Rankin E (2005) Long term conservation efforts contribute to positive green turtle Chelonia mydas nesting trend at Tortuguero, Costa Rica. Biological Conservation 121:111–116

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • White GC, Burnham KP (1999) Program MARK: survival estimation from populations of marked animals. Bird study 46:120–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson RP, Culik B, Danfeld R, Adelung D (1991) People in Antarctica--how much do Adélie Penguins Pygoscelis adeliae care? Polar Biology 11:363–370

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winn B, Swan D, Ozier J, Harris MJ (2008) Wood Stork nesting in Georgia: 1992–2005. Waterbirds 31:8–11

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We are indebted to all the biologists (many retired) who helped us with buried records, notebooks and recollections. This paper is dedicated to the memory of John Ogden, who studied and conserved Wood Storks throughout his professional life. We are grateful to National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (2007-0017-000), Georgia Department of Natural Resources (00076801; 00076802), South Florida Water Management District (4500014203), and Felburn Foundation (00073200) for financial support.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Jo-Szu Tsai

    Present address: Department of Biological Resources and Institute of Biodiversity, National Chiayi University, Chiayi, Taiwan, 600

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, 32611, USA

    Jo-Szu Tsai, Brian E. Reichert & Peter C. Frederick

  2. Avian Research Conservation Institute, 411 NE 7th St., Gainesville, FL, 32601, USA

    Kenneth D. Meyer

Authors
  1. Jo-Szu Tsai
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Brian E. Reichert
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Peter C. Frederick
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Kenneth D. Meyer
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jo-Szu Tsai.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Tsai, JS., Reichert, B.E., Frederick, P.C. et al. Breeding Site Longevity and Site Characteristics Have Intrinsic Value for Predicting Persistence of Colonies of an Endangered Bird. Wetlands 36, 639–647 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-016-0774-3

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13157-016-0774-3

Keywords

Search

Navigation