Principal Investigators:

In the ongoing efforts to restore the Everglades and Big Cypress systems (through CERP), the wood stork (Mycteria americana ) has been identified as an indicator species useful in assessing the health of the system and in evaluating the success of restoration efforts throughout South Florida .  The wood stork has been listed as an endangered species since February of 1984 (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1984).  The USFWS declared that identification of important nesting, roosting and foraging habitats and the development of methods of prioritizing these habitats are key steps in facilitating the recovery of the wood stork.  Timing of availability, proximity to colony and quality (prey availability and densities) of wetlands suitable for wood stork foraging are integral parts of establishing a prioritization scheme (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1997). 

South Florida historically accounted for 85% of the stork nesting effort in the United States , 70% falls within the Big Cypress region while the largest single colony is found at Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary (Kahl 1964).  Over the past 40 years the Big Cypress region’s ability to support wood stork nesting has been significantly impaired and breeding efforts have shifted northward (Meyer 2003).  Land use changes and massive drainage have significantly altered the hydrology of the natural system, negatively impacting wood stork nesting success in South Florida by diminishing their foraging base (Browder 1984), and causing the birds to initiate nesting later in the year.

Birds nesting at the Corkscrew colony depend on foraging opportunities within the western Everglades National Park , Big Cypress N.P., Okaloachoochee Slough , Florida Panther Wildlife Refuge, Picayune Strand State Forest , Fakahatchee Strand and the Corkscrew Regional Ecosystem Watershed.  The storks also forage on private lands, and thus depend on adequate wetlands protection and appropriate mitigation for impacts related to development.  Seventy-nine percent of the core foraging area (18.6 mi. radius) around the colony is in private hands.  Restoration efforts in the region hold considerable promise to create the conditions for stork recovery in this once productive area.  However, while we know what constitutes a quality wetland with regard to wood stork foraging, no studies have been done to determine the spatial and temporal availability of these quality foraging sites for the Big Cypress region.  Without this information restoration efforts may fail to provide the needed lift to the species.

Study Objectives:

--To identify important wood stork foraging areas and document potential temporal shifts in site use through the season. Compare these foraging areas to those documented by Browder in the mid-1970's (Browder 1976)

--To assess the temporal availability of each foraging site relative to local and regional hydrologic conditions

--To develop a methodology to prioritize wetlands protection and restoration efforts for wood storks within the Big Cypress Region

References:

Browder, JA. 1976. Water, wetlands, and wood storks in southwest Florida: Gainesville, University of Florida, Ph.D. Dissertation, 406 p.

Browder, JA. 1984. Wood stork feeding areas in southwest Florida. Florida Field Naturalist 12:81-96.

Kahl, MP. 1964. Food ecology of the wood stork (Mycteria americana) in Florida. Ecological Monographs 34:97-117.

US Fish and Wildlife Service. 1984. Endangered and threatened wildlife and plants; U.S. breeding population of the wood stork determined to be endangered. Federal Register 49:7332-7335.

US Fish and Wildlife Service. 1996. Revised recovery plan for the U.S. breeding population of the wood stork. US Fish and Wildlife Service. Atlanta, GA. 41 pp.