Breeding ecology and habitat use of North America's rarest Ardeidae: the Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens
The Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) remains underrepresented in waterbird research despite its status as the rarest heron in North America and a near-threatened species. The Reddish Egret is also a habitat specialist, and is restricted to shallow, coastal wetlands throughout its range. We utilized...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Resilience Alliance
2018-12-01
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| Series: | Avian Conservation and Ecology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.ace-eco.org/vol13/iss2/art10/ |
| _version_ | 1797971960530993152 |
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| author | Lianne M. Koczur Bart M. Ballard M. Clay. Green David G. Hewitt Scott E. Henke |
| author_facet | Lianne M. Koczur Bart M. Ballard M. Clay. Green David G. Hewitt Scott E. Henke |
| author_sort | Lianne M. Koczur |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) remains underrepresented in waterbird research despite its status as the rarest heron in North America and a near-threatened species. The Reddish Egret is also a habitat specialist, and is restricted to shallow, coastal wetlands throughout its range. We utilized GPS-equipped platform terminal transmitters to examine the breeding ecology of Reddish Egrets (n = 28) in Texas. Although individuals exhibited varying degrees of fidelity to specific colonies, there was fidelity to particular areas within the Laguna Madre, Texas, across years. Reddish Egrets also exhibited fidelity to foraging areas across years and selected nonvegetated tidal flats as foraging habitat. Long-distance migrants began the breeding season two weeks later than residents on average; however, the timing of breeding did not appear to influence nest success. We also found that the amount of available foraging habitat within 15 km of the colony was associated with the abundance of Reddish Egret breeding pairs at colonies. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-11T03:40:54Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-4a770e88242c453dbb58279945777224 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1712-6568 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-11T03:40:54Z |
| publishDate | 2018-12-01 |
| publisher | Resilience Alliance |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Avian Conservation and Ecology |
| spelling | doaj.art-4a770e88242c453dbb582799457772242023-01-02T03:49:43ZengResilience AllianceAvian Conservation and Ecology1712-65682018-12-011321010.5751/ACE-01258-1302101258Breeding ecology and habitat use of North America's rarest Ardeidae: the Reddish Egret Egretta rufescensLianne M. Koczur0Bart M. Ballard1M. Clay. Green2David G. Hewitt3Scott E. Henke4Caesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-KingsvilleCaesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-KingsvilleDepartment of Biology, Texas State UniversityCaesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-KingsvilleCaesar Kleberg Wildlife Research Institute, Texas A&M University-KingsvilleThe Reddish Egret (Egretta rufescens) remains underrepresented in waterbird research despite its status as the rarest heron in North America and a near-threatened species. The Reddish Egret is also a habitat specialist, and is restricted to shallow, coastal wetlands throughout its range. We utilized GPS-equipped platform terminal transmitters to examine the breeding ecology of Reddish Egrets (n = 28) in Texas. Although individuals exhibited varying degrees of fidelity to specific colonies, there was fidelity to particular areas within the Laguna Madre, Texas, across years. Reddish Egrets also exhibited fidelity to foraging areas across years and selected nonvegetated tidal flats as foraging habitat. Long-distance migrants began the breeding season two weeks later than residents on average; however, the timing of breeding did not appear to influence nest success. We also found that the amount of available foraging habitat within 15 km of the colony was associated with the abundance of Reddish Egret breeding pairs at colonies.http://www.ace-eco.org/vol13/iss2/art10/breeding<span style="font-style: normal">Egretta rufescens</span>habitat useReddish EgretTexas |
| spellingShingle | Lianne M. Koczur Bart M. Ballard M. Clay. Green David G. Hewitt Scott E. Henke Breeding ecology and habitat use of North America's rarest Ardeidae: the Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens Avian Conservation and Ecology breeding <span style="font-style: normal">Egretta rufescens</span> habitat use Reddish Egret Texas |
| title | Breeding ecology and habitat use of North America's rarest Ardeidae: the Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens |
| title_full | Breeding ecology and habitat use of North America's rarest Ardeidae: the Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens |
| title_fullStr | Breeding ecology and habitat use of North America's rarest Ardeidae: the Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens |
| title_full_unstemmed | Breeding ecology and habitat use of North America's rarest Ardeidae: the Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens |
| title_short | Breeding ecology and habitat use of North America's rarest Ardeidae: the Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens |
| title_sort | breeding ecology and habitat use of north america s rarest ardeidae the reddish egret egretta rufescens |
| topic | breeding <span style="font-style: normal">Egretta rufescens</span> habitat use Reddish Egret Texas |
| url | http://www.ace-eco.org/vol13/iss2/art10/ |
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