Foraging Habitat Modeling and Nesting Ecology of Wood Storks in Everglades National Park

Understanding the foraging and nesting ecology of Wood Storks will play an
important role in Everglades restoration because this species has specific resource
requirements during the breeding season which ultimately affect nest success. I
conducted a foraging habitat use and selection study, which indicated that Wood Storks
from coastal colonies, Paurotis Pond and Rodgers River Bay, require a narrow range of
water depths in the mangrove-saltwater marsh ecotone near their colonies as well in the
freshwater marsh habitats of the inland Everglades. Wood Storks nesting at the inland
colony, Tamiarni West, relied heavily upon nearby freshwater marsh habitat and selected
foraging sites associated with shrub swamp habitat as well as optimal water depths. The
observational nesting ecology study of Wood Storks showed marked differences in
parental nest attendance and food delivery rates between the two years of study, 2005 and
2006, which had different hydrological patterns.