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Water levels, rapid vegetational changes, and the endangered Cape Sable seaside‐sparrow
Author(s) -
Nott M. Philip,
Bass Oron L.,
Fleming D. Martin,
Killeffer Stephen E.,
Fraley Nancy,
Manne Lisa,
Curnutt John L.,
Brooks Thomas M.,
Powell Robert,
Pimm Stuart L.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
animal conservation
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.111
H-Index - 85
eISSN - 1469-1795
pISSN - 1367-9430
DOI - 10.1111/j.1469-1795.1998.tb00222.x
Subject(s) - sparrow , endangered species , geography , habitat , wetland , ecology , biology
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.