Water levels, rapid vegetational changes, and the endangered Cape Sable seaside-sparrow

Animal Conservation
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Abstract

The legally endangered Cape Sable seaside-sparrow (Ammodramus maritimus mirabilis) is restricted to short-hydroperiod, marl prairies within Florida's Everglades National Park and Big Cypress National Preserve. Marl prairies are typified by dense, mixed stands of graminoid species usually below 1 m in height, naturally inundated by freshwater for 3–7 months annually. Water levels affect the birds directly, by flooding their nests, and indirectly by altering the habitat on which they depend. Managed redistribution of water flows flooded nearly half of the sparrow's geographical range during several consecutive breeding seasons starting in 1993. Furthermore, these high water levels rapidly changed plant communities, so jeopardizing the sparrow's survival by reducing the availability of nesting habitat.

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Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Water levels, rapid vegetational changes, and the endangered Cape Sable seaside-sparrow
Series title Animal Conservation
DOI 10.1111/j.1469-1795.1998.tb00222.x
Volume 1
Issue 1
Year Published 1998
Language English
Publisher Zoological Society of London
Description 10 p.
First page 23
Last page 32
Country United States
State Florida
Other Geospatial Big Cypress National Preserve, Everglades National Park
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