Everglades National Park (Fla )

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.

The Everglades ecosystem is home to two species of freshwater crayfish: the Everglades crayfish Procambarus alleni and the slough crayfish Procambarus fallax. These species play a key ecological role by transporting energy from primary producers to higher trophic levels. Understanding the factors that regulate crayfish growth is an essential step in restoring their productivity in the Everglades ecosystem. In order to determine the effect of hydroperiod on crayfish growth, I collected crayfish from the Florida Everglades and subjected them to one of three hydroperiod treatments. The growth of both crayfish species in reduced hydroperiod treatments was significantly less than those in long hydroperiod treatments. Procambarus alleni had a significantly faster initial growth rate than P. fallax, which may give it a competitive advantage in shorter hydroperiod marshes and help explain the distributions of these two species. The results of this study indicate that lengthening hydroperiods in the Everglades ecosystem may have a positive effect on crayfish productivity.