Ecostudies Institute: Avian Reintroduction

Current Research
The primary objectives of our current 3-year project are to
investigate the relationships between environmental factors (e.g., fire,
hydrology), vegetation, and the population dynamics of the
reintroduced species and to provide recommendations aimed at the
restoration and long-term management of both species. We will
accomplish these objectives through population surveys and nesting
studies of nuthatches and bluebirds. Using demographic data
collected during this study, we will estimate vital population rates and
their relationships to management actions (e.g., fire, hydrology) and
environmental conditions (e.g., vegetation). With this information

Overview
Pine rocklands are a globally imperiled ecosystem (USFWS 1999), composed of
a unique combination of limestone substrate and subtropical forest found only
in south Florida, the Bahamas, and Cuba. In south Florida, pine rocklands
have been reduced in size due to urban and agricultural development and
degraded due to altered fire and hydrological regimes. The most dramatic
losses have occurred on the Atlantic coastal ridge, which terminates in
Everglades National Park. One of the consequences of these anthropogenic
impacts has been the extirpation of seven breeding birds from ENP, of which
five are cavity-nesting. Ecostudies Institute has worked with Everglades
National Park to reestablish two cavity-nesters, the Eastern Bluebird and the
Brown-headed Nuthatch, to the Park's pinelands. In 1997, an experimental
reintroduction was initiated, and over the course of four years translocations
resulted in the establishment of small breeding populations (For more

information on the translocation effort click here). Post-translocation monitoring over the following two
years found that the reintroduced bluebird and nuthatch populations continued to increase in size and
that demographic parameters were similar to those from a high-quality reference site. However,
populations were still relatively small and additional research was recommended to fully evaluate the
reintroduction program and to improve our understanding of the relationship between restoration
actions (prescribed fire, hydrology) and long-term persistence of the reintroduced species.

we plan to construct Population Viability Models for each focal species to assess the success of the
reintroduction program and to rank alternative management scenarios in terms of their likely effects on
population growth rates and extinction risks. The results of the proposed study will be useful in
creating explicit habitat targets for the restoration and management of pine rockland habitat.
Furthermore, results from this work will provide a baseline of population data that can be used as
performance measures to assess the effect of management, and will also provide managers with
information on the likely outcome of different management scenarios, which can be incorporated into
current planning efforts. Finally, results from this component will serve as a template for any future
efforts to restore other extirpated avian species to the pine rocklands in ENP, including the endangered
Red-cockaded Woodpecker.