Breeding ecology and habitat use of North America’s rarest Ardeidae: the Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens

Avian Conservation and Ecology

Lianne M. Koczur,¹  Bart M. Ballard,¹  Scott E. Henke,¹  David G. Hewitt,¹  M. Clay Green,² 

[1] Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-Kingsville;Department of Biology, Texas State University

关键词: breeding;    Egretta rufescens;    habitat use;    Reddish Egret;    Texas;   

DOI  :  10.5751/ACE-01258-130210

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Resilience Alliance Publications

【 摘 要 】

The Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) remains underrepresented in waterbird research despite its status as the rarest heron in North America and a near-threatened species. The Reddish Egret is also a habitat specialist, and is restricted to shallow, coastal wetlands throughout its range. We utilized GPS-equipped platform terminal transmitters to examine the breeding ecology of Reddish Egrets (n = 28) in Texas. Although individuals exhibited varying degrees of fidelity to specific colonies, there was fidelity to particular areas within the Laguna Madre, Texas, across years. Reddish Egrets also exhibited fidelity to foraging areas across years and selected nonvegetated tidal flats as foraging habitat. Long-distance migrants began the breeding season two weeks later than residents on average; however, the timing of breeding did not appear to influence nest success. We also found that the amount of available foraging habitat within 15 km of the colony was associated with the abundance of Reddish Egret breeding pairs at colonies.

【 授权许可】

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