Project Summary

Bird species associated with grassland/savannah ecosystems in the Southeast have shown significant population declines over the last 50 years. Compared to other regions of the country, little attention has been given to this guild in the Southeast. Within peninsular Florida, the dry prairie ecosystem constitutes the majority of available native grassland. This ecosystem provides critical habitat to resident species, some of which are endemic, and also serves as important wintering grounds for a number of the continent’s short-distance migrant passerines. Historically, the dry prairie spanned approximately 3.6 million hectares across the south-central portions of the state. Over the last half-century tremendous changes in land use have decreased the quantity and quality of this ecosystem. Conversion of native habitats to exotic forage grasses has caused remnant prairie patches to become highly fragmented. Altered fire regimes and grazing pressure have allowed proliferation by saw palmetto (Serenoa repens), further compromising the suitability of existing prairie. Therefore, we are investigating the role that landscape context, patch size, and micro-site conditions have on the wintering and breeding bird communities of the region. This project is a part of a regional Natural Resource Conservation Service program to restore early-successional habitat and associated species within central Florida. Outcomes of this project will provide biologists, landowners, and managers with tools needed to make decisions regarding how and where to focus conservation efforts within the region.

Information

• MS candidate