Water Level Fluctuations Influence Wading Bird Prey Availability and Nesting in a Subtropical Lake Ecosystem

Chastant, Jennifer E.; Gawlik, Dale E.

doi:10.1675/063.041.0105

Cited by 12 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 43 publications

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“…Moreover, Shad use of and production on the Fourche LaFave floodplain in 2007, making up more than 90% of all emigrants, undoubtedly had positive ecological effects for both aquatic and terrestrial predators. Shad and other high‐production fishes frequently serve as important forage food for many predatory fishes (Robison & Buchanan, 2020) and fish‐eating birds (Chastant & Gawlik, 2018; Christie et al, 2021; Fenech et al, 2004). Indeed, large schools of Shad were observed swimming throughout the floodplain and main stem of the Arkansas River in late summer and autumn (L. Lewis & R. Adams, pers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Should I stay or should I go: Hydrologic characteristics and body size influence fish emigration from the floodplain following an atypical summer flood

Walker

Naus

Adams

2022

Ecology of Freshwater Fish

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Floods play an important role in regulating ecological patterns and processes in river–floodplain ecosystems. Yet, the hydrologic connectivity between many river–floodplain ecosystems has been severed by anthropogenic activities that have markedly altered these ecological processes. Superimposed over anthropogenic reductions in river–floodplain connectivity, climate change is also shifting flood characteristics to produce more intense, unpredictable floods. To more efficiently manage river–floodplain ecosystems, additional research characterising the ecological consequences of unpredictable floods on fish movements is required. In this study, we used a modified fyke net to characterise the patterns and identify the important drivers of lateral movements of fish emigrating from the floodplain during contraction of a high‐magnitude, late‐summer flood in the Fourche LaFave River, Arkansas, in 2007. We captured approximately 43,200 fish emigrating from the floodplain over an 8‐day period, representing 38 distinct species from 12 families. We related fish‐emigration patterns to different stages of flood contraction and linked species‐specific emigration to water‐level fluctuations and associated changes in floodplain habitat availability and quality. We also show that some species exhibit body‐size emigration patterns, where larger individuals emigrated from the floodplain earlier than smaller individuals. To meet conservation goals for maintaining healthy riverine ecosystems and the biodiversity they support, it will be necessary to continue characterising and identifying the ecological consequences of shifting flood characteristics within river–floodplain ecosystems.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Should I stay or should I go: Hydrologic characteristics and body size influence fish emigration from the floodplain following an atypical summer flood

Walker

Naus

Adams

2022

Ecology of Freshwater Fish

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“…We fit models with a negative binomial distribution to account for overdispersion in annual nest counts. We included lake stage, recession rate, and Carolina willow ( Salix caroliniana ) availability index as fixed effects that represent foraging habitat availability, prey availability, and nest substrate availability, respectively (Havens and Gawlik 2005, Chastant et al 2017, Chastant and Gawlik 2018, Gawlik et al 2020). We included lake stage (March‐April) and water level recession rate as linear and quadratic terms and included the linear terms in an interaction term.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predicting effects of water management on breeding abundance of three wading bird species

2022

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Wetland conservation often involves creating hydrological regimes that maximize habitat and resources for wildlife. In the greater Everglades ecosystem in Florida, USA, where wading birds are food-limited in some years, models predicting the influence of hydropatterns on foraging habitat availability are used to guide the management of water levels for wading bird nesting populations. These models are useful but do not consider that nesting wading birds are central place foragers, and thus resource availability is a colony-level measure. We examined long-term nest abundance patterns of the great egret (Ardea alba), snowy egret (Egretta thula), and white ibis (Eudocimus albus) to determine effects of hydropatterns on wading bird nest abundance in a 400-km 2 littoral marsh in Lake Okeechobee, Florida. We developed 2 sets of statistical models for each species: 1 examining variation in nest abundance (1977)(1978)(1979)(1980)(1981)(1982)(1983)(1984)(1985)(1986)(1987)(1988)(1989)(1990)(1991)(1992)(2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019) and 1 predicting colony-level nest abundance (2006)(2007)(2008)(2009)(2010)(2011)(2012)(2013)(2014)(2015)(2016)(2017)(2018)(2019). Models of nest abundance predicted that great egret nesting will peak when March-April lake stage is 4.3-4.5 m, coinciding with the peak in area of available foraging habitat. Neither recession rate nor stage explained total snowy egret or white ibis nest abundance, though snowy egret nest abundance has increased since the 1990s, when the water management schedule favored higher lake stages for longer duration. For all species, colony-level models predicted that nesting increased with increased habitat availability, faster water-level recession rates, and greater number of days dry in the previous 2 years at nest sites. When applied to simulated hydrological data representing changes to water-level

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“…5B). It can be attributed to the reduction in prey density with an increase in the volume of water; hence too much volume could indicate poor habitat for breeding of Painted Stork (Chastant and Gawlik, 2018). Also, the Painted Stork is a tactile forager, and it is dependent on physical contact for capturing the prey than visual senses; hence the volume of water can be detrimental to foraging efficiency (Urfi, 2011).…”

Section: Water Availability and Breeding Population Of Painted Storkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Performance of imputation-based models in predicting breeding population trend of a near-threatened bird in changing water regime: A 36-year long-term case study of Painted Stork, Mycteria leucocephala

Dwevedi

Deo

Sethy

et al. 2021

JANS

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The breeding population of birds are dynamic and are affected by multiple factors including climate and local environmental conditions. However, often to understand such relations requires long-term data modelling. Such long-term population data is either lacking or has data gaps. This study demonstrates the use of Multiple Imputation Chained Equation (MICE) to overcome the problem of missing data population census. This is also the first comprehensive study, modelling the 36-year (1980-2015) long-term breeding population data of a near-threatened bird, Painted Stork, from Keoladeo National Park, India. It tests the effect of local water availability, i.e., water released to the park, and regional rainfall, i.e, climatic condition, on the breeding population using Generalised Additive Model (GAM). Both imputation and observed data series-based GAM models identified the local water availability as the most important factor influencing the breeding population of Painted Stork. More than 80% population decline was observed, despite a slight increase in the rainfall at regional scale, suggesting local hydrological conditions are limiting to the breeding population and not the climate. According to the visual assessment of partial plot of GAM, minimum 200-300 million cubic feet of water is needed each nesting season to ensure sustenance of breeding population. Post-1989, the breeding population was unable to match the long-term mean (~726) except in 1992, 1995, and 1996. The maximum decline was observed between 2000-2009, a decade of frequent droughts. The breeding population was stable until the end of this study, but it was far below the long term mean.

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Water Level Fluctuations Influence Wading Bird Prey Availability and Nesting in a Subtropical Lake Ecosystem

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 12 publications

References 43 publications

Should I stay or should I go: Hydrologic characteristics and body size influence fish emigration from the floodplain following an atypical summer flood

Should I stay or should I go: Hydrologic characteristics and body size influence fish emigration from the floodplain following an atypical summer flood

Predicting effects of water management on breeding abundance of three wading bird species

Performance of imputation-based models in predicting breeding population trend of a near-threatened bird in changing water regime: A 36-year long-term case study of Painted Stork, Mycteria leucocephala

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