Identification_Information: Citation: Citation_Information: Originator: Dale E. Gawlik Fred H. Sklar Publication_Date: Unknown Title: Effects of Hydrology on Wading Bird Foraging Parameters Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: model Other_Citation_Details: This project is a component of the ATLSS program Online_Linkage: http://sofia.usgs.gov/projects/atlss/wading_birds/ Description: Abstract: The conceptual model for this study is based on the idea that hydroperiod is a long-term process that primarily influences the abundance, body size, and species composition of the prey community whereas water depth has immediate effects on individual birds by influencing their ability to capture prey. This study seeks to determine through field experiments, the proximate effects of water depth, prey density, prey size, and prey species on wading bird foraging parameters. The species of wading birds examined in this study are those in the ATLSS wading bird model: the Wood Stork, White Ibis, Great Egret, and Great Blue Heron. Purpose: The recovery of wading bird populations has been identified as a key component of successful Everglades restoration. Proposed causes for the decline in wading bird numbers have in common the notion that current hydropatterns have altered the availability of prey. Indeed, food availability may be the single most important factor limiting populations of wading birds in the Everglades. In the face of conflicting management scenarios, knowing the relative importance of each component of food availability is a precursor to understanding the effects of specific water management regimes on wading birds. Ongoing modeling efforts in south Florida such as the ATLSS program, integrate such information and provide predictive power for future management decisions. Currently, the biggest information gap limiting the wading bird model of ATLSS is foraging success as a function of prey availability. The South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) is currently conducting a series of experiments aimed at determining the effects of water management on the use of foraging sites by wading birds. Site-use data are available immediately after each experiment and thus allow for quick analyses and write-up. However, also as part of those experiments, we recorded on film, foraging behavior of wading birds at feeding sites with known prey availabilities. Supplemental_Information: This project was completed in 2003 Time_Period_of_Content: Time_Period_Information: Range_of_Dates/Times: Beginning_Date: 199812 Ending_Date: 20030802 Currentness_Reference: Observed Status: Progress: Complete Maintenance_and_Update_Frequency: None planned Spatial_Domain: Description_of_Geographic_Extent: ponds adjacent to and NW of Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge, Palm Beach County, FL Bounding_Coordinates: West_Bounding_Coordinate: -80.625 East_Bounding_Coordinate: -80.125 North_Bounding_Coordinate: 26.875 South_Bounding_Coordinate: 26.3 Keywords: Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: none Theme_Keyword: wading birds Theme_Keyword: ATLSS Theme_Keyword: fish Theme_Keyword: hydrology Theme_Keyword: biology Theme: Theme_Keyword_Thesaurus: ISO 19115 Topic Category Theme_Keyword: biota Theme_Keyword: environment Theme_Keyword: inlandWaters Theme_Keyword: 002 Theme_Keyword: 007 Theme_Keyword: 012 Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: Department of Commerce, 1995, Countries, Dependencies, Areas of Special Sovereignty, and Their Principal Administrative Divisions, Federal Information Processing Standard (FIPS) 10-4, Washington, D.C., National Institute of Standards and Technology Place_Keyword: US Place_Keyword: United States Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: U.S. Department of Commerce, 1987, Codes for the identification of the States, the District of Columbia and the outlying areas of the United States, and associated areas (Federal Information Processing Standard 5-2): Washington, D. C., NIST Place_Keyword: Florida Place_Keyword: FL Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: Department of Commerce, 1990, Counties and Equivalent Entities of the United States, Its Possessions, and Associated Areas, FIPS 6-3, Washington, DC, National Institute of Standards and Technology Place_Keyword: Palm Beach County Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: USGS Geographic Names Information System Place_Keyword: Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge Place: Place_Keyword_Thesaurus: none Place_Keyword: Greater Lake Okeechobee Taxonomy: Keywords/Taxon: Taxonomic_Keyword_Thesaurus: none Taxonomic_Keywords: multiple species Taxonomic_System: Classification_System/Authority: Classification_System_Citation: Citation_Information: Originator: U.S. Department of Agriculture - Agricultural Research Service (ARS) U.S. Department of Agriculture - Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) Department of the Interior - U.S. Geological Survey Department of Commerce - National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Smithsonian Institution - National Museum of Natural History (NMNH) Publication_Date: 2000 Title: Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) Geospatial_Data_Presentation_Form: Database Other_Citation_Details: Retrieved from the Integrated Taxonomic Information System on-line database, http://www.itis.gov. Online_Linkage: http://www.itis.gov Taxonomic_Procedures: Ponds were initially stocked with known fish. Wading bird feeding flocks were filmed for 5-45 minutes from a vehicle with a Hi-8 video camera and 8-120 mm zoom lens. Specific species studied are Wood Stork, White Ibis, Great Egret, and Great Blue Heron. Taxonomic_Completeness: unknown General_Taxonomic_Coverage: All fish an birds are identified to the species level Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Kingdom Taxon_Rank_Value: Animalia Applicable_Common_Name: animals Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Phylum Taxon_Rank_Value: Chordata Applicable_Common_Name: chordates Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Subphylum Taxon_Rank_Value: Vertebrata Applicable_Common_Name: vertebrates Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Class Taxon_Rank_Value: Aves Applicable_Common_Name: birds Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Order Taxon_Rank_Value: Ciconiiformes Applicable_Common_Name: storks Applicable_Common_Name: herons Applicable_Common_Name: ibises Applicable_Common_Name: American vultures Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Family Taxon_Rank_Value: Ciconiidae Applicable_Common_Name: storks Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Genus Taxon_Rank_Value: Mycteria Applicable_Common_Name: wood storks Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Species Taxon_Rank_Value: Mycteria americana Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Family Taxon_Rank_Value: Ardeidae Applicable_Common_Name: bitterns Applicable_Common_Name: egrets Applicable_Common_Name: herons Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Genus Taxon_Rank_Value: Casmerodius Applicable_Common_Name: great egrets Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Species Taxon_Rank_Value: Ardea alba Applicable_Common_Name: great egret Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Genus Taxon_Rank_Value: Ardea Applicable_Common_Name: great herons Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Species Taxon_Rank_Value: Ardea herodias Applicable_Common_Name: great blue heron Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Family Taxon_Rank_Value: Threskiornithidae Applicable_Common_Name: ibises Applicable_Common_Name: spoonbills Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Genus Taxon_Rank_Value: Eudocimus Applicable_Common_Name: white ibises Applicable_Common_Name: scarlet ibises Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Species Taxon_Rank_Value: Eudocimus albus Applicable_Common_Name: white ibis Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Superclass Taxon_Rank_Value: Osteichthyes Applicable_Common_Name: bony fishes Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Class Taxon_Rank_Value: Actinopterygii Applicable_Common_Name: ray-finned fishes Applicable_Common_Name: spiny rayed fishes Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Subclass Taxon_Rank_Value: Neopterygii Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Infraclass Taxon_Rank_Value: Teleostei Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Superorder Taxon_Rank_Value: Ostariophysi Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Order Taxon_Rank_Value: Cypriniformes Applicable_Common_Name: minnows Applicable_Common_Name: suckers Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Family Taxon_Rank_Value: Cyprinidae Applicable_Common_Name: carps Applicable_Common_Name: minnows Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Genus Taxon_Rank_Value: Notemigonus Applicable_Common_Name: golden shiners Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Species Taxon_Rank_Value: Notemigonus crysoleucas Applicable_Common_Name: golden shiner Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Superorder Taxon_Rank_Value: Acanthopterygii Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Order Taxon_Rank_Value: Perciformes Applicable_Common_Name: perch-like fishes Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Suborder Taxon_Rank_Value: Percoidei Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Family Taxon_Rank_Value: Centrarchidae Applicable_Common_Name: sunfishes Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Genus Taxon_Rank_Value: Lepomis Applicable_Common_Name: common sunfishes Applicable_Common_Name: eared sunfishes Taxonomic_Classification: Taxon_Rank_Name: Species Taxon_Rank_Value: Lepomis macrochirus Applicable_Common_Name: bluegill Access_Constraints: none Use_Constraints: These data are subject to change and are not citeable until reviewed and approved for official publication. Point_of_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Dale Gawlik Contact_Organization: Florida Atlantic University Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing address Address: Dept. Of Biological Sciences 777 Glades Road City: Boca Raton State_or_Province: FL Postal_Code: 33431-0991 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 561 297-3333 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 561 297-2749 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: dgawlik@fau.edu Data_Quality_Information: Logical_Consistency_Report: not applicable Completeness_Report: not available Lineage: Process_Step: Process_Description: Field experiments were conducted in a set of 15 0.2-ha ponds directly adjacent to, and NW of, Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge in Palm Beach County, Florida. Three experiments (water depth and fish density, water depth and fish size, water depth and fish species) were conducted between March, 1996 and March 1997 (contact Gawlik for detailed methods for the water depth and fish density experiment). Each experiment began when ponds were stocked with fish and ended when bird-use nearly ceased (a period of approximately 2 weeks). The maximum number of birds present in a day (all ponds pooled) was approximately 280. For the fish density experiment, 2 treatments were assigned randomly among 12 ponds using a 3x2x2 factorial arrangement (water depth: 10 cm, 19 cm, 28 cm; fish density: 3 fish/m2, 10 fish/m2; replicates: 2). For the fish size experiment, 2 treatments were assigned randomly among 12 ponds using a 3x2x2 factorial arrangement (water depth: 19 cm, 28 cm, 37 cm; fish size: 3 cm, 8 cm; replicates: 2). All ponds were stocked at a density of 8 fish/m2. For the fish species experiment, 3 treatments (water depth: 10 cm, 28 cm; fish density: 4 fish/m2, 16 fish/m2; fish species: bluegill, golden shiner; replicates: 2) were assigned randomly among 12 ponds. This 2x2x2x2 arrangement was more complex because the treatment of high fish density and low water was eliminated from the design. For all experiments, ponds were initially stocked at known fish densities; however, those densities decreased quickly as a result of bird predation. Thus, we treated fish density as a continuous variable, which we monitored regularly. We determined fish densities during at least 4 sampling periods based on 1-m2 throw-trap samples (Kushlan 1974). Sampling ceased in individual ponds if no stocked fish were captured in any of the throw-trap samples. Throw-trap samples were distributed evenly within a pond by dividing each pond into 16 10x8 m plots and conducting one throw-trap sample in each plot during each sampling period. A test of sampling efficiency indicated the numbers of fish captured in throw traps represents an average of 55% of the actual fish density in the experimental ponds. All fish density values reported are the number of fish captured in throw traps uncorrected for sampling efficiency. A linear regression model was fitted to the data from each pond such that the response was the number of fish/m2 transformed as y(ln +1). The predicted values were back-transformed to get estimated densities of fish for each pond each day of the experiment with the constraint that no predicted value could be less than zero. The estimated values were used in subsequent analyses of bird foraging success. To measure wading bird foraging responses, we filmed feeding flocksfor 5-45 minutes from a vehicle with a Hi-8 mm video camera and 8-120 mm zoom lens. A pilot study indicated that filming from a parked vehicle with cloth-covered windows disturbed birds less than a portable blind. Selection of a flock to film was based on where the largest group of birds were foraging and whether data were lacking for a given treatment combination. Flocks were allowed several minutes to re-settle and resume feeding before filming was initiated. Filming was concluded if flock size changed by more than 25%. Our aim was to get 15 min of film on each bird (with a minimum time limit of 5 min) and a maximum of 15 birds per species per film session. If too few individuals in a film session met that criterion then the minimum time limit was reduced to 2 min. During feeding activities, birds would sometimes travel to the edge of a pond or leave the pond momentarily. Because of the sloped edge of the pond, water depths in those areas were less than treatment levels. Thus, we excluded from time-activity budgets any period where a bird was at the edge or outside of a pond. This criterion resulted in a further shortening of some time-activity budgets. Process_Date: 200001 Process_Step: Process_Description: Following the field portion of the study, time-activity budgets of focal birds (Altmann 1974) were constructed from videotapes. Tapes were viewed using a Hi-8 VCR connected to a high-resolution video monitor. Data were entered into an Oracle database through a personal computer connected to an interoffice-network. To eliminate the possibility of constructing time-activity budgets on the same individual more than once in a session, we did not use as focal birds, individuals of the focal species that appeared in view after the first focal bird left the screen. However, before a focal bird left the field of view, any new birds that appeared could have been used as focal birds. A foraging bout ended when a focal bird left the field of view, became obscured in a flock, or the film session ended (usually about 15 minutes). Capture rates were calculated as the number of prey consumed divided by the length of time (min) of the time-activity budget. Birds that never consumed a prey item were excluded from the analysis. From each time-activity budget, we calculated mean prey-intake rate as the response variable. Descriptive statistics such as the mean and standard deviation are presented for each bird species at different treatment levels. This is the format most useful for incorporating parameter values into the ATLSS wading bird model (W. Wolff, Univ. of Miami, pers. commun.). For species of which we had adequate data to conduct statistical analyses, we determined the relative effects of the treatment variables on the response variables. Tests were conducted using PROC GLM in SAS version 6.12 for Windowsâ with water depth, fish size, and fish species as class variables and fish density as a continuous variable. We specified an initial full model containing main effects and interactions. Non-significant (p > 0.05) interactions indicated that a model was over-specified and contained more terms than necessary (Littel et al. 1991, Freund and Wilson 1993). In that case, we constructed a subsequent set of reduced models containing the main effects and significant interactions only. Process_Date: 2001 Process_Step: Process_Description: Thus far, only the water depth and fish density experiment has been completely analyzed. The results from the water depth and fish size experiment are nearing completion. Key results include the development and refinement of a conceptual model of wading bird foraging behavior. This model provided the rules for quantifying time-activity budgets for all species, including tactile and visual foragers, under the circumstance encountered during the experiments. We calculated prey-intake rates and their associated variability for 2 prey densities and 3 water depths. These numbers can be used to refine parameter estimates currently in the ATLSS wading bird model. We reported foraging costs (giving-up densities of fish) and their associated variability for each species at 3 depths. Note that fish density estimates and giving-up densities were not corrected for sampling efficiency thus resulting in an underestimate of true density. The adjusted numbers can be used in the ATLSS model because it reflects the lower threshold of fish abundance where wading birds will no longer use the site. Process_Date: 2000 Process_Step: Process_Description: As part of the third experiment, the District (SFWMD) filmed foraging behaviors of wading birds at feeding sites with known fish species, water depths, and fish densities. Current funding levels at the District dictate that the foraging data, which require thousands of hours to extract from the films, will not be available soon enough to be used in the ATLSS wading bird model. This third experiment proposes to examine the effect of fish species, fish density, and water depth. The species of wading birds examined in this study are those in the ATLSS wading bird model: Wood Stork (Mycteria americana), White Ibis (Eudocimus albus), Great Egret (Casmerodius albus) and Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias). The species of fish being compared are the Bluegill and Golden Shiner, both of which are native to the Everglades. The experimental hypotheses being tested are that fish species, fish density, and water depth, affect wading bird prey-intake rates and capture success. Process_Date: 2002 Process_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Dale Gawlik Contact_Organization: Florida Atlantic University Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing address Address: Dept. Of Biological Sciences 777 Glades Road City: Boca Raton State_or_Province: FL Postal_Code: 33431-0991 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 561 297-3333 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 561 297-2749 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: dgawlik@fau.edu Spatial_Data_Organization_Information: Indirect_Spatial_Reference: ponds NW and adjacent to Loxahatchee NWR Distribution_Information: Distributor: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Dale Gawlik Contact_Organization: Florida Atlantic University Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing address Address: Dept. Of Biological Sciences 777 Glades Road City: Boca Raton State_or_Province: FL Postal_Code: 33431-0991 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 561 297-3333 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 561 297-2749 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: dgawlik@fau.edu Resource_Description: wading bird foraging parameters Distribution_Liability: No warrantees are implied or explicit for the data Standard_Order_Process: Non-digital_Form: Contact Dale Gawlik for information and data from this project. Fees: none Metadata_Reference_Information: Metadata_Date: 20070124 Metadata_Contact: Contact_Information: Contact_Person_Primary: Contact_Person: Heather Henkel Contact_Organization: U.S. Geological Survey Contact_Address: Address_Type: mailing and physical address Address: 600 Fourth Street South City: St. Petersburg State_or_Province: FL Postal_Code: 33701 Country: USA Contact_Voice_Telephone: 727 803-8747 ext 3028 Contact_Facsimile_Telephone: 727 803-2030 Contact_Electronic_Mail_Address: sofia-metadata@usgs.gov Metadata_Standard_Name: Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata Part 1: Biological Data Profile Metadata_Standard_Version: FGDC-STD-001.1-1999