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Publication #Circular 1444

Birds of the Everglades Agricultural Area1

Elise V. Pearlstine, Michelle L. Casler, and Frank J. Mazzotti2

Abstract

The Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) is an area of drained agricultural lands that occupies a 283,300 hectare area, and this represents approximately one-seventh of the historic 1,900,000 hectare Everglades wetland system. The onset of the drainage era in 1906 inaugurated Florida's agriculture industry, which intensified after the federal government launched a massive drainage campaign in 1950. Farming in the EAA consists primarily of sugarcane, which is grown in large tracts interrupted by a network of canals, roads, and irrigation ditches. This is interspersed with smaller crops of rice, sod and vegetables.

While agricultural lands cannot be considered a replacement for lost natural habitat, they may provide foraging and nesting opportunities for some species of birds. Birds in South Florida are declining in numbers due to habitat loss and conversion, alteration of hydrologic regimes resulting in loss of wetlands, and introduction of exotic species. Many wetland species find such habitat in rice fields of the EAA and in the permanent canals of the area. Upland species are able to utilize the brush, trees and herbaceous plants lining the fields, canals and roads. The EAA also provides winter habitat for a number of migratory raptors, and flooded fields are often utilized by migratory shorebirds. More than four years of study in the Everglades Agricultural Area (EAA) on bird habitat use, behavior, and ecology in the various agricultural habitats have yielded a species list of 138 birds. Of these, 16 are known to breed in the EAA.

The six-page PDF (182KB) includes text, extensive checklist of bird species (name, abundance, habitat), photos (aerial; birds), references, and contact information. Available: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/UW/UW17900.pdf

Key Words: agriculture, avian, avian ecology, bird habitat, birds, EAA, Everglades, Everglades Agricultural Area, farm, farming, sugarcane, wildlife, wildlife habitat.

Footnotes

1.

This is document Cir 1444, one of a series of the Department of Wildlife Ecology and Conservation, University of Florida, Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences. Published December, 2003. Reviewed May, 2009. Please visit the EDIS Web site at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.

2.

Elise V. Pearlstine, Post-Doctoral Associate; Michelle L. Casler, Wildlife Research Assistant; and Frank J. Mazzotti, Associate Professor; Wildlife Ecology and Conservation Department, University of Florida, Ft. Lauderdale Research and Education Center, FL 33314; Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, 32611.

The Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (IFAS) is an Equal Opportunity Institution authorized to provide research, educational information and other services only to individuals and institutions that function with non-discrimination with respect to race, creed, color, religion, age, disability, sex, sexual orientation, marital status, national origin, political opinions or affiliations. For more information on obtaining other extension publications, contact your county Cooperative Extension service.

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cooperative Extension Service, University of Florida, IFAS, Florida A. & M. University Cooperative Extension Program, and Boards of County Commissioners Cooperating. Millie Ferrer-Chancy, Interim Dean.