Explanation of Indicator
Given its dependence on a high quality coastal habitat and its status as an endangered species, the wood stork is important as an indicator of the state’s coastal environmental health and the declining abundance of coastal habitat. The nesting substrate
of wood storks consists of mangrove and cypress trees.
Mangroves are the preferred nesting substrate of the wood stork in Florida. Loss of or reduction in nesting substrate may result in a decline in nesting effort. Additionally, without the proper nutritional base to support nesting efforts, wood storks wi ll not nest. Wood storks are dependent on tidal fish as their food source. A decline of wood stork nests in Florida’s coastal counties may be indicative of changing environmental conditions such as rising water levels, loss of nesting substrate, or fluc tuations in the food supply.
Data Characteristics
SOURCE
The source for these data is the United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service, 6620 Southpoint Drive South, Suite 310, Jacksonville, Florida 32216-0912, or at (904) 232-2580.
ACQUISITION
The data can be obtained in hard copy format at no cost.
COLLECTION
The United States Department of the Interior, Fish and Wildlife Service has contracted with the Florida Game and Fresh Water Fish Commission to collect wood stork nesting population figures. The data will be collected for three consecutive years, then th
e population will be monitored for five years, and then three years of data collection will again take place. Data collection began in 1993.
Data Limitations
The data are reliable and are consistently collected. The figures should provide an excellent measure of the health of the coastal environment; however, there are several limitations. The number of nests must be estimated due to the inherent limitations
of an aerial survey. Because the survey is conducted one time per year, the result may be an underestimation of nests, as the “nesting peak” may vary between areas.
Data Analysis
In 1993 there were an estimated 2,938 wood stork nests in Florida’s coastal counties. In 1994 there were an estimated 2,023 wood stork nests in Florida’s coastal counties. This is a short term declining trend. The decline may be a result of non-optimal
water levels during the nesting season, as wood storks will not nest in an area if the water level is too high or too low.
Of the thirteen coastal counties that had wood stork nests present in either 1993 or 1994, nine coastal counties had a decrease in the number of nests and four had an increase.
