DOCSLIB.ORG

FINAL REPORT WATERBIRDS in BELIZE Authors

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
FINAL REPORT WATERBIRDS in BELIZE Authors FINAL REPORT WATERBIRDS IN BELIZE Authors: Bruce W. Miller Ph.D. Carolyn M. Miller M.Sc. 2006 Belize Audubon Society – Wildlife Conservation Society Miller & Miller 1 • INTRODUCTION This assessment is part of the regional Waterbird Conservation for the Americas program supported by BirdLife. With its low human population (280,000 est. 2006), Belize is unique in Central America with comparatively less human pressure on important habitats for wetland bird species. Belize’s location, along the Caribbean sea (Fig. 1), ensures that it is important for many coastal waterbird species. In fact the name Belize is thought by some to come from a Maya word meaning “muddy waters,” perhaps referring to its extensive inland wetland systems, habitat for many waterbird species. Belize has been ahead of the conservation curve since at least 1969, with the establishment of the Belize Audubon Society Figure 1. Belize within the context of (BAS), the country’s first conservation NGO Mesoamerica that initially centered around birds with an early conservation focus on the charismatic Jabiru stork. Since then Belize has developed an international reputation as a “birding hotspot” with the growth of ecotourism, much of it birding related. Therefore, issues relating to birds and their habitats have long been of importance at a national level in terms of generating foreign exchange via tourism, conservation in the face of increased development and recreation in the form of birding. The main objective of this project was to determine the status of all waterbird species and their habitats in Belize, in keeping with the regional waterbird assessment objectives. The aim of this national waterbird assessment is not only to evaluate waterbirds within Belize, but contribute to and promote the Waterbird Conservation for the Americas initiative. The data from this assessment will be combined with other country reports in contributing to the regional waterbird assessment. The designation of the broader context of waterbird species was provided by the BirdLife program coordinator for species, Cristina Morales, based in Asociaciòn Guyra Paraguay. A Regional Symposium on waterbirds was held during the MesoAmerican Congress for Conservation and Biology (22 November 2005, La Ceiba, Honduras) where consensus was reached on items to include in the national reports as well as the waterbird species list. Species categorized as waterbirds for this project consequently did not include the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) or the kingfishers. With that in mind, of the more than 570 bird species reported for Belize, 134 waterbirds were evaluated for this report (Table 1) as follows: Miller & Miller 2 Table 1. Waterbirds reported for Belize, alphabetic order, evaluated for this study Common Name Scientific Name Agami Heron Agamia agami American Avocet Recurvirostra americana American Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus American Coot Fulica americana American Golden Plover Pluvialis dominica American Oystercatcher Haematopus palliatus American White Pelican Pelecanus erythrorhynchos American Wigeon Anas americana Anhinga Anhinga anhinga Audubon's Shearwater Puffinus iherminieri Baird's Sandpiper Calidris bairdii Bare-throated Tiger-heron Tigrisoma mexicanum Black Noddy Anous minutus Black Rail Laterallus jamaicensis Black Skimmer Rynchops niger Black Tern Chlidonias niger Black-bellied Plover Pluvialis squatarola Black-bellied Whistling Duck Dendrocygna autumnalis Black-crowned Night-heron Nycticorax nycticorax hoactli Black-legged Kitiwake Rissa tridactyla Black-necked Stilt Himantopus mexicanus Black-tailed Gull Larus crassirostris Blue-winged Teal Anas discors Boat-billed Heron Cochlearius cochlearius Bridled Tern Sterna anaethetus Brown Booby Sula leucogaster Brown Noddy Anous stolidus Brown Pelican Pelecanus occidentalis Buff-breasted Sandpiper Tryngites subruficollis Caspian Tern Sterna caspia Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis Cinnamon Teal Anas cyanoptera Clapper Rail Rallus longirostris Collared Plover Charadrius collaris Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus Common Tern Sterna hirundo Double-crested Cormorant Phalacrocorax auritus Dunlin Calidris alpina Forster's Tern Sterna forsteri Franklin's Gull Larus pipixcan Fulvous Whistling Duck Dendrocygna bicolor Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus Gray-breasted Crake Laterallus exilis Gray-necked Wood-rail Aramides cajanea Great Black-backed Gull Larus marinus Great Blue Heron Ardea herodias Great Egret Ardea alba Great Skua Catharacta skua Miller & Miller 3 Greater Flamingo Phoenicopterus ruber Greater White-fronted Goose Anser albifrons Greater Yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca Green Heron Butorides virescens Green-winged teal Anas crecca Gull-billed Tern Sterna nilotica Herring Gull Larus argentatus Hooded Merganser Lophodytes cucullatus Hudsonian Godwit Limosa haemastica Jabiru Jabiru mycteria Killdeer Charadrius vociferus Laughing Gull Larus atricilla Least Bittern Ixobrychus exilis exilis Least Grebe Tachybaptus dominicus Least Sandpiper Calidris minutilla Least Tern Sterna antillarum Lesser Scaup Aythya affinis Lesser Yellowlegs Tringa flavipes Limpkin Aramus guarauna Little Blue Heron Egretta caerulea Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus Long-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus scolopaceus Magnificent Frigatebird Fregata magnificens Mallard Anas platyrhynchos Manx Shearwater Puffinus puffinus puffinus Marbled Godwit Limosa fedoa Masked Booby Sula dactylatra Masked Duck Nomonyx dominicus Muscovy Duck Cairina moschata Neotropic Cormorant Phalacrocorax brasilianus Northern Jacana Jacana spinosa Northern Pintail Anas acuta Northern Shoveler Anas clypeata Parasitic Jaeger Stercorarius parasiticus Pectoral Sandpiper Calidris melanotos Pied-billed Grebe Podilymbus podiceps Pinnated Bittern Botaurus pinnatus Piping Plover Charadrius melodus Pomerine Jaeger Stercorarius pomarinus Purple Gallinule Porphyrula martinica Red Knot Calidris canutus Red-breasted Merganser Mergus serrator Reddish Egret Egretta rufescens colorata Red-footed Booby Sula sula Red-necked Phalarope Phalaropus lobatus Ring-billed Gull Larus delawarensis Ring-necked Duck Aythya collaris Roseate Spoonbill Ajaia ajaja Roseate Tern Sterna dougallii Royal Tern Sterna maxima Miller & Miller 4 Ruddy Crake Laterallus ruber Ruddy Turnstone Arenaria interpres Rufescent Tiger-heron Tigrisoma lineatum Rufous-necked Wood-rail Aramides axillaris Sanderling Calidris alba Sandwich Tern Sterna sandvicensis Scarlet Ibis Eudocimus ruber Semipalmated Plover Charadrius semipalmatus Semipalmated Sandpiper Calidris pusilla Short-billed Dowitcher Limnodromus griseus Snow Goose Chen caerulescens Snowy Egret Egretta thula Snowy Plover Charadrius alexandrinus Solitary Sandpiper Tringa solitaria Sooty Shearwater Puffinus griseus Sooty Tern Sterna fuscata Sora Porzana carolina Southern Lapwing Vanellus chilensis Spotted rail Pardirallus maculatus Spotted Sandpiper Actitis macularia Stilt Sandpiper Calidris himantopus Sungrebe Heliornis fulica Tricolored Heron Egretta tricolor ruficollis Uniform Crake Amaurolimnas concolor Upland Sandpiper Bartramia longicauda Western Sandpiper Calidris mauri Whimbrel Numenius phaeopus White Ibis Eudocimus albus White-rumped Sandpiper Calidris fuscicollis White-tailed Tropicbird Phaethon lepturus Willet Catoptrophorus semipalmatus Wilson's Plover Charadrius wilsonia Wilson's Snipe Gallinago delicata Wood Stork Mycteria americana Yellow-breasted Crake Porzana flaviventer Yellow-crowned Night-heron Nyctanassa violaceus • Background Waterbird conservation measures began more than 20 years ago with the advocacy of the country’s largest and oldest NGO, the Belize Audubon Society (BAS). Formerly known as British Honduras, the first waterbird conservation in Belize was focused at Half Moon Caye, which lies 100 km offshore from Belize City. As early as 1928, it was a “Crown Reserve” by virtue of its breeding colony of white phase Red-footed Booby (Fig. 2). This Figure 2. Red-footed Booby, Half Moon Caye, Belize (C.M. Miller photo) Miller & Miller 5 species was added to the protected wildlife list in 1950 (Hartshorn et al., 1984). BAS also initiated the Crown Reserve Bird Sanctuaries on 7 small cayes (1977) that were known as waterbird rookeries for Roseate Spoonbill, Wood Stork, White Ibis, Great Egret, Snowy Egret, Cattle Egret, Anhinga, Cormorant, Magnificent Frigate, Brown Booby (Man-o-War Caye), and Boat-billed Heron (Hilty, 1982; Hartshorn et al., 1984; Fig. 3). The BAS was in charge of these Crown Reserves at the behest of the Government of Belize (GOB) which lacked a national parks department. Without a budget, BAS used local people as unpaid wardens though these efforts were not altogether successful given remote access of some of the cayes. Hunters and fishermen killed birds from 3 of the cayes Figure 3. Boat-billed Herons, and most were disturbed (Hartshorn et al., 1984). Black Creek, Belize (C.M. Miller photo) The Jabiru Stork came to the attention of the BAS as early as its first bulletin in March 1969 where its protection was promoted by two of the founding members, W. Ford Young and Dora Weyer, who regularly flew doing nest surveys across the country (Waight and Lumb, 1999). They actively documented nest location and successes and solicited sightings from members, and publicized this species during weekly BAS radio broadcasts. In 1977, BAS documented its concern with the large scale hunting of ducks and waterbirds at the Big Falls Rice Station not far from Belize City (Waight and Lumb, 1999). In those days, hunters from Belize City conducted large scale shoots where waterbirds
Load more

Recommended publications
  • A Guide for Landowners
    WETLAND HABITAT MANAGEMENT: -A Guide for Landowners- Updated Mar 3, 2005 DUCKS UNLIMITED GREAT LAKES/ATLANTIC REGIONAL OFFICE DUCKS UNLIMITED | Great Lakes/Atlantic Regional Office | 1220 Eisenhower Place | Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108 | ph: 734.623.2000 | www.ducks.org . WETLAND HABITAT MANAGEMENT: -A Guide for Landowners- TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION Introduction 1 How can Ducks Unlimited Help? 1 Mission Statement 1 UNDERSTANDING WETLANDS Wetland History and Status 2 What is a Wetland? 2 Functions and Values 2 The Wet and Dry Cycle 3 What is Wetland Restoration 3 The Benefits of Wetland Restoration and Management 3 CRITERIA FOR SELECTING A SITE Objectives and Project Planning 4 Topography and Existing Hydrology 4 Soil Types 4 Water Sources and Water Quality 5 Adjacent Land Use 5 Accessibility 5 Regulations and Permits 5 Agencies Involved in Wetland Protection and Permitting 6 WETLAND DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION Site Survey 6 Type and Design of Restored Wetlands 6 Dikes and Levees 7 Tile Breaks 7 Ditch Plugs 7 Dike Seeding Mixture 7 Muskrats 7 Water Depths 8 Size and Shape 8 Water Control Structures 8 Types of Water Control Structures 8 Placement and Size 9 WILDLIFE HABITAT MANAGEMENT Shallow Water Marsh Management 9 Timing of Drawdown 9 Drawdown Rates 10 Frequency of Drawdowns 10 Flooding 10 Small Wetland Basins 10 Hemi-marsh Management 11 Green Tree Reservoirs 11 Agriculture and Waterfowl Migration 11 Maintenance 11 Monitoring 12 ASSOCIATED UPLAND HABITAT MANAGEMENT Planning a Prairie Grass Restoration 12 Types of Upland Cover 13 Planting
    [Show full text]
  • What Can Your Land Do for You?
    Karner Blue, USFWS pixelio.de WHAT CAN YOUR LAND DO FOR YOU? If you own land and care about wetlands and wildlife, you can help DU protect and restore wetlands and other types of habitat on your land! By letting DU know that you, or someone you know, own land and are interested in conservation, you are helping DU achieve its mission of protecting, restoring and managing wetlands for waterfowl, other wildlife and people. Unlike a state or federal wildlife agency, DU is not a land-holding organization. Ducks Unlimited believes the urgency of its conservation mission is best served by acquiring, permanently protecting and divesting itself of the protected land. If your answer is YES to any or all of these questions, then you should contact us today! Ducks Unlimited has a team of professionals on staff that can provide you with information Dusky Seaside Sparrow, USFWS Sparrow, Seaside Dusky DU works to restore, manage and protect property containing important waterfowl and wildlife habitat. and resources. Visit our Web site and participate in Ducks Unlimited’s By letting DU know that you own land and are interested in conservation efforts today! conservation, we may have land services that would help you. Visit our Web site and participate in DU’s conservation efforts today! http://www.ducks.org Within the Great Lakes/Atlantic region, residents of the states of Delaware, Maryland, New York and Virginia may also qualify for significant state income tax benefits for the donation of conservation lands or easements on their White-tailed deer fawn, USFWS fawn, deer White-tailed properties.
    [Show full text]
  • Belize), and Distribution in Yucatan
    University of Neuchâtel, Switzerland Institut of Zoology Ecology of the Black Catbird, Melanoptila glabrirostris, at Shipstern Nature Reserve (Belize), and distribution in Yucatan. J.Laesser Annick Morgenthaler May 2003 Master thesis supervised by Prof. Claude Mermod and Dr. Louis-Félix Bersier CONTENTS INTRODUCTION 1. Aim and description of the study 2. Geographic setting 2.1. Yucatan peninsula 2.2. Belize 2.3. Shipstern Nature Reserve 2.3.1. History and previous studies 2.3.2. Climate 2.3.3. Geology and soils 2.3.4. Vegetation 2.3.5. Fauna 3. The Black Catbird 3.1. Taxonomy 3.2. Description 3.3. Breeding 3.4. Ecology and biology 3.5. Distribution and threats 3.6. Current protection measures FIRST PART: BIOLOGY, HABITAT AND DENSITY AT SHIPSTERN 4. Materials and methods 4.1. Census 4.1.1. Territory mapping 4.1.2. Transect point-count 4.2. Sizing and ringing 4.3. Nest survey (from hide) 5. Results 5.1. Biology 5.1.1. Morphometry 5.1.2. Nesting 5.1.3. Diet 5.1.4. Competition and predation 5.2. Habitat use and population density 5.2.1. Population density 5.2.2. Habitat use 5.2.3. Banded individuals monitoring 5.2.4. Distribution through the Reserve 6. Discussion 6.1. Biology 6.2. Habitat use and population density SECOND PART: DISTRIBUTION AND HABITATS THROUGHOUT THE RANGE 7. Materials and methods 7.1. Data collection 7.2. Visit to others sites 8. Results 8.1. Data compilation 8.2. Visited places 8.2.1. Corozalito (south of Shipstern lagoon) 8.2.2.
    [Show full text]
  • First Record of an Extinct Marabou Stork in the Neogene of South America
    First record of an extinct marabou stork in the Neogene of South America JORGE IGNACIO NORIEGA and GERARDO CLADERA Noriega, J.I. and Cladera, G. 2008. First record of an extinct marabou stork in the Neogene of South America. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 53 (4): 593–600. We describe a new large species of marabou stork, Leptoptilus patagonicus (Ciconiiformes, Ciconiidae, Leptoptilini), from the late Miocene Puerto Madryn Formation, Chubut Province, Argentina. The specimen consists mainly of wing and leg bones, pelvis, sternum, cervical vertebrae, and a few fragments of the skull. We provisionally adopt the traditional system− atic scheme of ciconiid tribes. The specimen is referred to the Leptoptilini on the basis of similarities in morphology and intramembral proportions with the extant genera Ephippiorhynchus, Jabiru,andLeptoptilos. The fossil specimen resembles in overall morphology and size the species of Leptoptilos, but also exhibits several exclusive characters of the sternum, hu− merus, carpometacarpus, tibiotarsus, and pelvis. Additionally, its wing proportions differ from those of any living taxon, providing support to erect a new species. This is the first record of the tribe Leptoptilini in the Tertiary of South America. Key words: Ciconiidae, Leptoptilos, Miocene, Argentina, South America. Jorge I. Noriega [[email protected]], Laboratorio de Paleontología de Vertebrados, CICYTTP−CONICET, Matteri y España, 3105 Diamante, Argentina; Gerardo Cladera [[email protected]], Museo Paleontológico Egidio Feruglio, Avenida Fontana 140, 9100 Trelew, Argentina. Introduction Institutional abbreviations.—BMNH, Natural History Mu− seum, London, UK; CICYTTP, Centro de Investigaciones The stork family (Ciconiidae) is a well−defined group of Científicas y Transferencia de Tecnología a la Producción, waterbirds, traditionally divided into three tribes: the Myc− Diamante, Argentina; CNAR−KB3, collections of locality 3 of teriini, the Ciconiini, and the Leptoptilini (Kahl 1971, 1972, the Kossom Bougoudi area, Centre National d’Appui à la 1979).
    [Show full text]
  • West Nile Virus Ecology in a Tropical Ecosystem in Guatemala
    Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg., 88(1), 2013, pp. 116–126 doi:10.4269/ajtmh.2012.12-0276 Copyright © 2013 by The American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene West Nile Virus Ecology in a Tropical Ecosystem in Guatemala Maria E. Morales-Betoulle,† Nicholas Komar,*† Nicholas A. Panella, Danilo Alvarez, Marı´aR.Lo´pez, Jean-Luc Betoulle, Silvia M. Sosa, Marı´aL.Mu¨ ller, A. Marm Kilpatrick, Robert S. Lanciotti, Barbara W. Johnson, Ann M. Powers, Celia Cordo´ n-Rosales, and the Arbovirus Ecology Work Group‡ Center for Health Studies, Universidad del Valle de Guatemala, Guatemala; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Arbovirus Disease Branch, Fort Collins, Colorado; University of California, Santa Cruz, California; Fundacio´n Mario Dary, Guatemala City, Guatemala; and Fundacio´n para el Ecodesarrollo, Guatemala City, Guatemala Abstract. West Nile virus ecology has yet to be rigorously investigated in the Caribbean Basin. We identified a transmission focus in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala, and established systematic monitoring of avian abundance and infec- tion, seroconversions in domestic poultry, and viral infections in mosquitoes. West Nile virus transmission was detected annually between May and October from 2005 to 2008. High temperature and low rainfall enhanced the probability of chicken seroconversions, which occurred in both urban and rural sites. West Nile virus was isolated from Culex quinquefasciatus and to a lesser extent, from Culex mollis/Culex inflictus, but not from the most abundant Culex mosquito, Culex nigripalpus. A calculation that combined avian abundance, seroprevalence, and vertebrate reservoir competence suggested that great-tailed grackle (Quiscalus mexicanus) is the major amplifying host in this ecosystem.
    [Show full text]
  • BIRD CONSERVATION the Magazine of American Bird Conservancy Fall 2012 BIRD’S EYE VIEW
    BIRD CONSERVATION The Magazine of American Bird Conservancy Fall 2012 BIRD’S EYE VIEW Is Species Conservation Enough? How should we as conservationists decide which birds deserve protection? Where should we draw the line that tells us which groups of birds are “unique” enough to merit saving? t one extreme, a conserva- becomes extinct? Do we care about tion skeptic might insist that the continuation of these evolution- Apreserving one type of bird ary processes, or do we take a pass from each genus is sufficient. At the on preserving them because these other, passionate lovers of wildlife birds are not sufficiently “unique”? may not accept the loss of even one When in doubt about whether to individual. A more typical birder take conservation action, I fall back might nominate the species as the on the precautionary principle, key conservation level because the which says, in essence, that when concept of species is familiar to us. l American Dipper: USFWS uncertain about the potential harm- Science gets us closer to the answers, ful effect of an action, the prudent but it cannot draw the line: the purpose of science is course is the conservative one. or, as aldo Leopold to gather knowledge, not to make decisions for us. wrote, “Save all of the pieces.” Furthermore, like life itself, the science of taxonomy is I say, save the Black Hills Dipper regardless of which in a constant state of change. Baltimore and Bullock’s taxonomic opinion prevails; and while we are at it, we Orioles have been “lumped” into Northern Oriole and ought to save Wayne’s Warbler, the rhododendron- then “split” again, all based on the most current scien- dwelling Swainson’s Warbler, and the tree-nesting tific opinion.
    [Show full text]
  • Environmental Sensitivity Index Guidelines Version 2.0
    NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS ORCA 115 Environmental Sensitivity Index Guidelines Version 2.0 October 1997 Seattle, Washington noaa NATIONAL OCEANIC AND ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION National Ocean Service Office of Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment National Ocean Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration U.S. Department of Commerce The Office of Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment (ORCA) provides decisionmakers comprehensive, scientific information on characteristics of the oceans, coastal areas, and estuaries of the United States of America. The information ranges from strategic, national assessments of coastal and estuarine environmental quality to real-time information for navigation or hazardous materials spill response. Through its National Status and Trends (NS&T) Program, ORCA uses uniform techniques to monitor toxic chemical contamination of bottom-feeding fish, mussels and oysters, and sediments at about 300 locations throughout the United States. A related NS&T Program of directed research examines the relationships between contaminant exposure and indicators of biological responses in fish and shellfish. Through the Hazardous Materials Response and Assessment Division (HAZMAT) Scientific Support Coordination program, ORCA provides critical scientific support for planning and responding to spills of oil or hazardous materials into coastal environments. Technical guidance includes spill trajectory predictions, chemical hazard analyses, and assessments of the sensitivity of marine and estuarine environments to spills. To fulfill the responsibilities of the Secretary of Commerce as a trustee for living marine resources, HAZMAT’s Coastal Resource Coordination program provides technical support to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency during all phases of the remedial process to protect the environment and restore natural resources at hundreds of waste sites each year.
    [Show full text]
  • Tinamiformes – Falconiformes
    LIST OF THE 2,008 BIRD SPECIES (WITH SCIENTIFIC AND ENGLISH NAMES) KNOWN FROM THE A.O.U. CHECK-LIST AREA. Notes: "(A)" = accidental/casualin A.O.U. area; "(H)" -- recordedin A.O.U. area only from Hawaii; "(I)" = introducedinto A.O.U. area; "(N)" = has not bred in A.O.U. area but occursregularly as nonbreedingvisitor; "?" precedingname = extinct. TINAMIFORMES TINAMIDAE Tinamus major Great Tinamou. Nothocercusbonapartei Highland Tinamou. Crypturellus soui Little Tinamou. Crypturelluscinnamomeus Thicket Tinamou. Crypturellusboucardi Slaty-breastedTinamou. Crypturellus kerriae Choco Tinamou. GAVIIFORMES GAVIIDAE Gavia stellata Red-throated Loon. Gavia arctica Arctic Loon. Gavia pacifica Pacific Loon. Gavia immer Common Loon. Gavia adamsii Yellow-billed Loon. PODICIPEDIFORMES PODICIPEDIDAE Tachybaptusdominicus Least Grebe. Podilymbuspodiceps Pied-billed Grebe. ?Podilymbusgigas Atitlan Grebe. Podicepsauritus Horned Grebe. Podicepsgrisegena Red-neckedGrebe. Podicepsnigricollis Eared Grebe. Aechmophorusoccidentalis Western Grebe. Aechmophorusclarkii Clark's Grebe. PROCELLARIIFORMES DIOMEDEIDAE Thalassarchechlororhynchos Yellow-nosed Albatross. (A) Thalassarchecauta Shy Albatross.(A) Thalassarchemelanophris Black-browed Albatross. (A) Phoebetriapalpebrata Light-mantled Albatross. (A) Diomedea exulans WanderingAlbatross. (A) Phoebastriaimmutabilis Laysan Albatross. Phoebastrianigripes Black-lootedAlbatross. Phoebastriaalbatrus Short-tailedAlbatross. (N) PROCELLARIIDAE Fulmarus glacialis Northern Fulmar. Pterodroma neglecta KermadecPetrel. (A) Pterodroma
    [Show full text]
  • Houde2009chap64.Pdf
    Cranes, rails, and allies (Gruiformes) Peter Houde of these features are subject to allometric scaling. Cranes Department of Biology, New Mexico State University, Box 30001 are exceptional migrators. While most rails are generally MSC 3AF, Las Cruces, NM 88003-8001, USA ([email protected]) more sedentary, they are nevertheless good dispersers. Many have secondarily evolved P ightlessness aJ er col- onizing remote oceanic islands. Other members of the Abstract Grues are nonmigratory. 7 ey include the A nfoots and The cranes, rails, and allies (Order Gruiformes) form a mor- sungrebe (Heliornithidae), with three species in as many phologically eclectic group of bird families typifi ed by poor genera that are distributed pantropically and disjunctly. species diversity and disjunct distributions. Molecular data Finfoots are foot-propelled swimmers of rivers and lakes. indicate that Gruiformes is not a natural group, but that it 7 eir toes, like those of coots, are lobate rather than pal- includes a evolutionary clade of six “core gruiform” fam- mate. Adzebills (Aptornithidae) include two recently ilies (Suborder Grues) and a separate pair of closely related extinct species of P ightless, turkey-sized, rail-like birds families (Suborder Eurypygae). The basal split of Grues into from New Zealand. Other extant Grues resemble small rail-like and crane-like lineages (Ralloidea and Gruoidea, cranes or are morphologically intermediate between respectively) occurred sometime near the Mesozoic– cranes and rails, and are exclusively neotropical. 7 ey Cenozoic boundary (66 million years ago, Ma), possibly on include three species in one genus of forest-dwelling the southern continents. Interfamilial diversifi cation within trumpeters (Psophiidae) and the monotypic Limpkin each of the ralloids, gruoids, and Eurypygae occurred within (Aramidae) of both forested and open wetlands.
    [Show full text]
  • Jabiru Mycteria (Jabiru Stork)
    UWI The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago Ecology Jabiru mycteria (Jabiru Stork) Family: Ciconiidae (Storks) Order: Ciconiiformes (Storks, Herons and Ibises) Class: Aves (Birds) Fig. 1. Jabiru stork, Jabiru mycteria. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabiru#/media/File:Jabiru_(Jabiru_mycteria)_2.JPG, downloaded 1 March 2017] TRAITS. Jabiru mycteria is one of the largest flying birds on earth, being the largest in the Americas and one of the three stork species found there. Adult jabiru storks can reach 1.2m tall with a wing span of 2.6m. Their bill is large and black, somewhat upturned, with lengths of up to 30cm (Fig. 1). Males are larger than females, and both sexes can be identified by the band of red skin at the base of the neck. Adult storks possess all-white plumage on the body. The head and neck lacks feathers except for a cluster of grey feathers on the back of the head. The juveniles have white feathers with greyish-brown edges (McKinley, 2006; Borjas, 2004). DISTRIBUTION. Jabiru mycteria is native to South American countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Belize, Colombia, Guyana, Honduras, Nicaragua and Venezuela (Fig. 2). Jabirus can have also been sighted in Mexico, Panama, Trinidad and Tobago, Grenada, United States and Uruguay (IUCN, 2016). UWI The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago Ecology HABITAT AND ACTIVITY. Jabiru storks are diurnal birds and often feed singly or in pairs but can also be found feeding in large groups (Kahl, 1973). They can be found around coastal lagoons, savannas, marshes and also ponds (Belize Zoo, 2017; Pantanal, 2006).
    [Show full text]
  • Mangrove Conserva and Preserves Change Adaptation Belize, Central Ame Mangrove Conservation and Preserves As Climate Change Adap
    Brooksmith Consulting Mangrove Conservation and Preserves as Climate Change Adaptation in Belize, Central America A case study 6/30/2011 Mangrove Conservation as Climate Change Adaptation in Belize Central America: A Case Study Table of Contents Execut ive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Mangrove conservation and climate change 4 Status of mangrove habitat 5 Climate change in Belize 6 Placencia Village 6 Threats to mangrove habitat 10 Coastal residential development 10 Agriculture and aquaculture 11 A programmatic response to climate change 12 The progression of mangrove conservation activities 13 Mangrove Challenge Contest 16 Mangrove Reserves 21 Bibliography 31 2 Mangrove Conservation as Climate Change Adaptation in Placencia, Belize: A case study Executive Summary The effects of climate change present growing challenges to low-lying developing nations in the Caribbean Basin. Sea level rise, increasing frequency of large tropical cyclones, loss of reef-building corals and other effects are projected to result in direct economic losses consuming over one-fifth of the gross domestic product of nations in the region by 2100. Resilient mangroves shorelines provide multiple buffers against climate change effects. In addition to serving as habitat for marine species and wildlife, mangroves also provide storm protection for coastal communities, a buffer against coastal erosion, carbon sinks, and additional resiliency for economically important habitat such as coral reef. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) in Belize has initiated community-based adaptation projects to educate local populations and stakeholders about these emerging problems and to implement “no regrets” adaptation to climate change effects. Understanding of climate change science varies among demographics and opinion leaders within Belize but the value of mangrove habitat for storm protection and fish habitat is generally accepted.
    [Show full text]
  • A Classification of the Rallidae
    A CLASSIFICATION OF THE RALLIDAE STARRY L. OLSON HE family Rallidae, containing over 150 living or recently extinct species T and having one of the widest distributions of any family of terrestrial vertebrates, has, in proportion to its size and interest, received less study than perhaps any other major group of birds. The only two attempts at a classifi- cation of all of the recent rallid genera are those of Sharpe (1894) and Peters (1934). Although each of these lists has some merit, neither is satisfactory in reflecting relationships between the genera and both often separate closely related groups. In the past, no attempt has been made to identify the more primitive members of the Rallidae or to illuminate evolutionary trends in the family. Lists almost invariably begin with the genus Rdus which is actually one of the most specialized genera of the family and does not represent an ancestral or primitive stock. One of the difficulties of rallid taxonomy arises from the relative homo- geneity of the family, rails for the most part being rather generalized birds with few groups having morphological modifications that clearly define them. As a consequence, particularly well-marked genera have been elevated to subfamily rank on the basis of characters that in more diverse families would not be considered as significant. Another weakness of former classifications of the family arose from what Mayr (194933) referred to as the “instability of the morphology of rails.” This “instability of morphology,” while seeming to belie what I have just said about homogeneity, refers only to the characteristics associated with flightlessness-a condition that appears with great regularity in island rails and which has evolved many times.
    [Show full text]