Chapter 1. INTRODUCTION Many species aggregate for feeding, roosting and nesting activities, which are prevalent among water birds (Weins, 1992). Why animals form breeding colonies is a major unresolved question in evolutionary biology. The topic continues to stir lively debate (Danchin & Wagner 1997, Tella et al., 1998) and has been the focus of long term studies (Hoogland 1995; Brown & Brown 1996; Danchin et al. 1998). One of the principal issues has been whether colonies form due to limited breeding habitat; with animals forced into nesting aggregations at a nest cost, or result from social benefits of clustering (Food finding, reduced predation; Lack 1968; Alexander 1974; Hoogland & Sherman 1976; Wittenberger 1981). The nesting patterns in birds ranges from widely spaced solitary nesters to densely packed colonies of hundreds of individuals. Colonial nesting occurs in 29 of the 129 avian families (Lack, 1968). Colonial nesting is an important feature among a majority of the members of the Pelicaniformes and Ciconiformes (Ali & Ripley, 1987, Burger, 1981). The nesting colonies of these birds that represent spatial and temporal clumping of nests are popularly referred to as Heronries. Colonial waterbirds face significant threats to the long-term stability of their populations and habitats due to such impacts as the destruction of freshwater wetlands, destruction and degradation of coastal ecosystems, depletion of the forage base in freshwater, coastal, and marine ecosystems, contaminants, sea level rise, and various conflicts with human land and resource use. For some species, these threats have resulted in declines in numbers. In other cases, these disturbances have resulted in colonial waterbird species becoming nuisance... ... middle of paper ... ...The endangered Lesser Adjutant Storks (Leptoptilous javanicus) also breed in Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary which has recently been identified as an Important Bird Area (IBA) of the country. The heronry is located in an island covered with mangrove vegetation. Enhanced foraging due to the presence of abundant foraging areas in and around the heronry in terms of wetlands and agricultural fields, decreased predation due to the remoteness of the nesting site, are supposed to be the major factors in governing the largest congregation of waterbirds in the heronry. So far, there exists no empirical ecological data on the heronry. Hence it is felt imperative to study the breeding biology of the nesting birds, resource exploitation in terms of nest material and food, nutrient requirements of the breeding birds, change in the land use pattern in foraging areas if any,
Ever since 1973, when the Endangered Species Act came into being, conservationists and private landowners have been debating over whether to preserve the habitats of many endangered species found in unprotected areas (Ligon et al, 1986). Increasing levels of human development has led to the cutting of old-growth forests and construction of roads and other physical barriers to wildlife. These activities have greatly contributed to the fragmentation of wildlife habitat, which has had detrimental effects on the population structure and survivorship of the affected area’s indigenous species. One species that has been affected by habitat fragmentation is the red-cockaded woodpecker (Picoides borealis), a nonmigratory bird with a home range covering most of the southeastern United States (Roise et al, 1990). Habitat fragmentation has led to the loss of genetic variability, nesting sites, and suitable population sizes to support cooperative breeding requirements. These factors have been responsible for the precipitous decline of the red-cockaded woodpecker. Because the red-cockaded woodpecker provides important ecological and economic benefits to both humans and the environment, we should strongly consider enacting a conservation plan for this species.
In “A Caged Bird”, it is made clear that this bird has never experienced the freedom of flying with the other species or perching atop the highest building. All it has ever known is the cage in which is has been kept and fed plentifully, yet not punctually, and nurtured with the love of an owner and proper care.
Every day many species are slowly becoming either endangered or extinct and recently an endangered bird species called piping plovers, started nesting on Revere Beach. What would seem as a miraculous discovery, many are averse to their new inhabitants on the beach. Many Revere residents are complaining because the piping plovers now occupy parts of “their” beach. But in the article “Revere Beach should welcome the piping plover” The Editorial Board believes that the presence of the piping plover could be greatly beneficial to the city of Revere and I certainly agree. What led me to select this particular article is my concern for the many endangered species in the world like the piping plover. Human hands have led many species to become endangered
The female reproductive system in birds is reduced in most species to a left ovary and oviduct. This unilateral reduction of the female reproductive system is thought to bear two benefits: it reduces the female’s body and it prevent the potential problem of simultaneously carrying two large fragile eggs within the abdominal cavity. It also balances the body with the liver on the right side adjacent to the left ovary.
Soule, Michael E et al. “Ecological Effectiveness: Conservation Goals for Interactive Species.” Conservation Biology 17.5 (2003) : 1238-1250.
Piping plovers are small shorebirds that usually lives on sandy beach and is considered to be endangered. It has a pale color that blend perfectly with dry beach sand. During the spring and summer, it appears to have a single black neckband and a narrow black band across its forehead. The plover’s bills and legs are yellowish but their bills have a black tip. During their flight its rump is white in color. The sexes appear similar, in both their size and color. During the winter, their legs and bill gets darker. Piping plovers are seen in small flocks or singularly.
While driving On Rte10 through the town of Hamden what seems to be an ordinary ride can become a scenic view of our nation’s bird. On a tall skinny Birch tree over 40 ft in the air is lives a bald eagle in its natural habitat. In this nest lives a male adult and female adult with an Eaglet. The nest is located in a farming open field along a river bank. This field and river provides the eagles with a source of food. The eagles mostly eat fish, the adult eagle will swoop down to the water and grab a fish all in one motion flying the meal back to the nest to feed its family. The field is posted to prevent people from ruining the habitat, since the natural reproduction of this eagle is very important to its recovery from being endangered. I was able to view this community form the road and was able to watch the nest and occasionally watch the adult eagle fly away most likely looking for food to feed his family. The nest form my view was huge at least 3 feet in diameter perched up about 40 ft high on a birch tree. The surrounding area of the nest was clear of any branches or trees creating a clear access way for the birds to land. Below the nest was a large open field on the bank of an active river.
The Florida Everglades is one of the most diverse wetland ecosystems in the United States. These tropical wetlands span an area of more than seven hundred square miles in southern Florida. The term Everglade means river of grass. The system starts in central Florida near Orlando and travels southwest to the tip of Florida. The Everglades has a wet season and a dry season which causes a great change in hydrology. During the wet season the system is a slow moving river that is sixty miles wide and over a hundred miles long. During the dry season water levels drop and some areas will completely dry up. The Everglades has many different aquatic environments all having interdependent ecosystems. The most important factor for all these environments is water. It helps shape the land, vegetation, and all the organism that live in each area. Each environment has particular needs for the organisms living in that area. Throughout the years humans have diverted the water to fit their varying needs. The state has built dikes and levees, dug canals, and have built locks to divert the water. This has all been done to keep areas completely dry for developing and agricultural needs. Today, The Everglades is half the size of its original size. Throughout the years many restoration acts have been created and updated. The Everglades restoration projects have been the most expensive environmental repairs in The United States. This is because The Everglades is one of the three most important wetland areas in the world. The Everglades National Park is the home of thirty six protected species including the West Indian Manatee, the American Crocodile, and the Florida Panther. The Everglades also homes hundreds of species of birds, fish, mammals, and repti...
8. Taylor, Dan. 1998. Audubon Society Inspired to Action by Bird Die -offs . 17 Jan. 1998 . E-mail . Available bkus@sunstroke.sdsu.edu
By conserving the ecosystem, the animal population will incline. Recent reports of record duck numbers throughout much of their continent-wide breeding range is proof that to manage wildlife you need to manage their ecosystems. Wet weather, combined with abundant nesting cover provided by the federal Conservation Reserve Program, has shown that wetland and grassland ecosystems are what make or break duck populations. The same is true for all other species, game and non-game. R. Holmes.
Globally coastal wetlands are disappearing at an alarming rate, the problem is most of society does not realize the value of these precious wetlands. Coastal wetlands provide an important role in the coastal ecosystem. “Coastal wetlands provide critical services such as absorbing energy from coastal storms, preserving shorelines, protecting human populations and infrastructure, supporting commercial seafood harvests, absorbing pollutants and serving as critical habitat for migratory bird populations”(Anonymous, 2011). Coastal wetlands are an economical asset as well as an environmental one.
Eastman, J. (1997).14-Crow and Jay Family (Corvidae). Birds of forest, yard, and thicket. (pp. 127- 145). Mechanicsburg, Pa: Stackpole Books. Retrieved from: eBook Collection (EBSCOhost) [Accessed 3 March 2014]
The finch hybrids before the El Niño of 1983, two different species did not mate each other but during the child, a scandens mated with a fortis and produced four fledgings.
Preen, A., & Marsh, H. (1995). Response of dugongs to large-scale loss of seagrass from Hervey Bay, Queensland Australia. Wildlife Research, 22(4), 507-519.
As biological Controls – *Birds are very helpful in controlling injurious crop pests. *There are a wide variety of insect eating birds. *Sparrow generally eat seeds of noxious weeds. *Birds of prey such as hawks, eagles and owls kill rodents, hare and ground squirrels etc which destroys the crops. *Birds can destroy up to 98% of over-wintering codling moth larvae, a major pest of apples worldwide. *No doubt, in the absence ofbirds, many of these insects may become even greater pests, destroying our agricultural and forestry crops. As key stone species –*Some birds are considered keystone species as their presence in (or disappearance from) an ecosystem affects other species indirectly. *For example, woodpeckers create cavities that are then used by many other species. *After the extinction of the dodo, it was discovered that a tree whose fruits had been a primary food item of the dodo was unable to reproduce without its seeds passing through the dodos’ digestive tracts, which process scarified the seed coat and enabled