Abstract
Mosquito Lagoon, the northernmost portion of the Indian River Lagoon along the eastern coast of Florida, is home to a variety of both resident and migratory bird species, including over a dozen categorized as either threatened or endangered in the state of Florida. Though birds have previously been monitored in parts of the central and southern Indian River Lagoon system, there has been little research on birds in Mosquito Lagoon. In this study, we used 2 years of survey data to evaluate the abundance and diversity of the avian community in Mosquito Lagoon. We made 22,085 bird observations, including 67 species. We documented the highest abundance and species richness in the winter. We evaluated the use of habitat features (e.g., oyster reefs, sandbars, mangroves, artificial structures) by species and found 16 associated with single habitat features, and an additional 20 associated with a combination of two habitat features. These results provide baseline information on the bird community in Mosquito Lagoon to better assess the impacts of future environmental changes.
Recommended Citation
Copertino, Jessica L.; Sacks, Paul E.; Hromyak, Jacob; and Walters, Linda J.
(2022)
"Bird Abundance and Diversity in Mosquito Lagoon, Florida, USA,"
Florida Field Naturalist: Vol. 50
:
Iss.
2
, Article 1.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/ffn/vol50/iss2/1