Spatial and Temporal Habitat Use Patterns by Water Birds in an Urban Estuarine Ecosystem: Implications for Ecosystem Management and Restoration

Autor: Jacqueline Iannuzzi, Timothy J. Iannuzzi, David F. Ludwig, Joseph K. Shisler
Rok vydání: 2010
Předmět:
Zdroj: Human and Ecological Risk Assessment: An International Journal. 16:163-184
ISSN: 1549-7860
1080-7039
Popis: A quintessential urban estuary is the lower Passaic River in northeastern New Jersey, USA. This system is environmentally degraded and its ecosystem is functionally limited. Birds in this river are of particular interest for ecological assessment and environmental management because they are conspicuous, ecologically important, and their habitat requirements encompass the full range of ecosystems associated with the estuary. In this article, we present the results of a 1-year seasonal bird survey of the lower 6 miles of the Passaic River. We contrast our survey results with those from other waterways in the region that have stressor issues similar to the Passaic (i.e., contaminants, pathogens, physical disturbance, etc.), but which have substantially more wetlands habitat available for birds (i.e., fewer habitat constraints). Our objective was to evaluate the influence of habitat availability or constraints on bird use in such systems. The results of our survey and comparison to conditions of oth...
Databáze: OpenAIRE