Comparisons of Reddish Egret (<i>Egretta rufescens</i>) Diet During the Breeding Season Across its Geographic Range

Holderby, Zachary; Hill, Austin; Palacios, Eduardo; Green, M. Clay; Amador, Edgar; Dios, Cecilia de

doi:10.1675/063.037.0202

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…This was the case in the Florida Everglades where nest success of great egrets and white ibises (Eudocimus albus) is lower in years with below average prey availability as compared to years with high prey availability (Herring et al, 2010). Prey availability was not examined in this study; however, sheepshead minnow has been identified as a major prey item of reddish egrets breeding in Texas (Holderby et al, 2014) and the habitat of sheepshead minnow largely coincides with the foraging habitat of reddish egrets, that is, shallow water with minimal vegetation. Therefore, foraging habitat availability is likely related to prey availability.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Spatial and temporal dynamics of foraging habitat availability for reddish egrets in the Laguna Madre, Texas

Bates¹,

Koczur²,

Krainyk³

et al. 2016

Int. J. Biodivers. Conserv.

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The reddish egret (Egretta rufescens) is the rarest heron in North America and much remains to be learned about in the ecology of the species. The reddish egret is a foraging habitat specialist and relies on shallow coastal ecosystems. There is a paucity of information on foraging habitat requirements and the availability of foraging habitat throughout the annual cycle. Characteristics of foraging habitat at locations within the Laguna Madre, Texas where reddish egrets were observed foraging were measured. These characteristics were used to conduct a geospatial analysis that estimated the spatial and temporal distributions of foraging habitat in the Laguna Madre across 120 weeks from 2012 to 2014. Reddish egrets (n = 372) foraged in an average water depth of 10.1 ± 0.68 cm and in areas with average seagrass cover of 12.3 ± 2.74%. Approximately, 75 000 ha of foraging habitat were delineated to be available in the Laguna Madre across the study period; of this, 4 003 ha were available ≥ 50% of the time. The amount of available foraging habitat was relatively high during the spring and summer, and decreased by ~50% during winter. This model-based approach can be used throughout the species' range to examine foraging habitat availability which is a current conservation need according to the Reddish Egret Conservation Action Plan.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

Spatial and temporal dynamics of foraging habitat availability for reddish egrets in the Laguna Madre, Texas

Bates¹,

Koczur²,

Krainyk³

et al. 2016

Int. J. Biodivers. Conserv.

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“…Furthermore, these results do not offer evidence that reddish egrets possess any particular resilience to coastal disturbances compared to other waterbird species. In fact, due to the specialized aspects of their life history, relying on shallow flats and lagoons to hunt small fish (Lowther & Paul 2002, Holderby et al 2014, reddish egrets may be especially vulnerable to the habitat alterations currently impacting the species' range (Green et al 2011). As coastal development in the Gulf of Mexico increases, due to human populations growing and shifting toward coastal areas (Cendrero & Fischer 1997), habitat is gradually being replaced by man-made structures (Leu et al 2008).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Movements and survival of juvenile reddish egrets Egretta rufescens on the Gulf of Mexico coast

Geary

Green²,

Ballard³

2015

Endang. Species. Res.

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Understanding natal dispersal patterns of animals is critical to development of effective species conservation plans, as it ensures that population management takes place at appropriate scales. The reddish egret Egretta rufescens is a threatened waterbird species lacking documentation on many aspects of its ecology, including movement behaviors at all life stages. We attached satellite transmitters to 25 juvenile reddish egrets on their natal colonies and observed their dispersal patterns and subsequent movements over a period of 115 wk (May 2010-August 2012). Birds exhibited the greatest movement rates in the remainder of the first breeding season (through July 2010, ~10 to 13 wk of age, 11.07 km d −1) and steadily decreased in the post-breeding period (4.87 km d −1) and winter (1.96 km d −1) of their first year. Movements of 1 to 2.5 km d −1 characterized the remainder of the tracking period, suggesting that surviving birds were able to establish local territories. Of the 25 tagged birds, 8 (32%) survived throughout the observation period, based on transmitter failure rates, with losses increasing each winter. The majority of birds remained on the Texas/ Mexico coast of the Gulf of Mexico, indicating that the population is largely resident and therefore vulnerable to coastal habitat alterations in the region. Due to a combination of infrequent long-distance migration, specialized behaviors, and apparent limited gene flow, habitat maintenance should be of primary importance for management of this rare species. This is among the first published studies of heron movement ecology using telemetry, and should be followed by further tracking with developing technologies to characterize high-resolution movements and habitat associations.

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“…As a gregarious species, individuals of both morphs may benefit from their diverging cognitive strategies and make them better prepared for environmental change, which could improve survival and population persistence. Moreover, since the polymorphism exists across the entire species' distribution, i.e., is not restricted to a mixing zone where the two morphs meet as in many other polymorphic species (e.g., Roulin, 2004;Holderby et al, 2014), individuals may benefit from associating with different morphs. This supports Forsman et al (2008) who proposed that polymorphic species are better prepared for environmental change due to the existence of different behavioral strategies.…”

Section: Novelty Responses To Open and Dense Habitatsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cognition in a Changing World: Red-Headed Gouldian Finches Enter Spatially Unfamiliar Habitats More Readily Than Do Black-Headed Birds

et al. 2020

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Human activities are increasingly confronting animals with unfamiliar environmental conditions. For example, habitat change and loss often lead to habitat fragmentation, which can create barriers of unsuitable and unfamiliar habitat affecting animal movements and survival. When confronted with habitat changes, animals' cognitive abilities play an important, but often neglected part in dealing with such change. Animals must decide whether to approach and investigate novel habitats (spatial neophilia) or whether to avoid them (spatial neophobia) due to potential danger. For species with strict habitat preferences, such as the Gouldian finch (Erythrura gouldiae), which is an open habitat specialist, understanding these novelty responses may be especially important for predicting responses to habitat changes. The Gouldian finch is a polymorphic species, with primarily red or black head colors, which are linked to differing behavioral phenotypes, including novelty reactions. Here we investigate responses to novel habitats (open, dense) in the Gouldian finch, manipulating the color composition of samesex pairs. Two experiments, each consisting of novel open and novel dense habitat, tested birds in opposite head color combinations in the two experiments. We measured the number of approaches birds made (demonstrating conflict between approach and avoidance), and their entry latency to novel habitats. Gouldian finches showed more approach attempts (stronger approach-avoidance conflict) toward the dense as compared to the open habitat, confirming their open habitat preferences. Black-headed birds also hesitated longer to enter the dense habitat as compared to the open habitat, particularly in experiment 1, appearing less neophilic than red-headed birds, which showed similar entry latencies into both habitat types. This is surprising as black-headed birds were more neophilic in other contexts. Moreover, there was some indication that pairings including at least one black-headed bird had a stronger approach-avoidance conflict than pairings of pure red-headed birds. Results suggest that the black-headed

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Comparisons of Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) Diet During the Breeding Season Across its Geographic Range

Abstract: BioOne Complete (complete.BioOne.org) is a full-text database of 200 subscribed and open-access titles in the biological, ecological, and environmental sciences published by nonprofit societies, associations, museums, institutions, and presses.

Cited by 5 publications

References 12 publications

Spatial and temporal dynamics of foraging habitat availability for reddish egrets in the Laguna Madre, Texas

Spatial and temporal dynamics of foraging habitat availability for reddish egrets in the Laguna Madre, Texas

Movements and survival of juvenile reddish egrets Egretta rufescens on the Gulf of Mexico coast

Cognition in a Changing World: Red-Headed Gouldian Finches Enter Spatially Unfamiliar Habitats More Readily Than Do Black-Headed Birds

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