richard flamio, eastchester high school. review of literature flexible nesting requirements litter...
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Flight Line Study of Double-crested Cormorants,
Preliminary Results
Richard Flamio, Eastchester High School
Review of Literature
Flexible nesting requirements
Litter their habitat with guano and strip trees of their bark for their nests
Make environment unsuitable for waderbirds
Feed on small fish near the shoreline and are believed to consume juvenile fish
• DCCOs in the Mississippi Delta consume over $5 million of catfish fingerlings/year and depredation has led to a $25 million profit loss/year
• Sports fisheries have persecuted cormorants for allegedly decreasing fish populations
• Egg oiling, shooting, and harassment are controlling techniques
Human-Cormorant Conflicts
Determining Cormorant DietIn order to determine cormorant diet,
otoliths of their regurgitated pellets may be examined
Otolith
Importance of StudyThe current study would serve as a basis for
future studies done in the Barnegat Bay region of New Jersey in order to aid the
research in determining if cormorants affect local fish populations
Purpose/ HypothesisTo understand how DCCO’s utilize their
environment through studying roosting/loafing location preference and flight lines to and from these locations
LocationBarnegat Bay
covers 75 square miles on the eastern seaboard of Southern New Jersey
Wide variety of wildlife and a large fishing community
Common roosting and loafing location April through October
Methods
Myer’s Hole• U.S. Coast
Guard boats/ commercial fishing boats
• Along LBI coast
• Near inlet to ocean
Turtle Cove• In bay’s
interior• Less
disruption from boat traffic
• Pilings• Important
fishing sites
• Marsh
• Birds observed at Myer’s Hole biweekly from midmorning to early afternoon and at Turtle Cove weekly in early morning
• All birds in sight were followed with binoculars
• Travel direction and flock size were recorded for each bird observed arriving or departing
Results at Myer’s Hole• 258 birds were
observed (Avg. 23 birds/day)
• 47% moved each day on average
• 111 flocks were observed (Avg. flock size = 1.2 birds)
Myer’s Hole Flight Line
• 120 birds were observed (Avg. 30 birds/day)
• 72% moved each day on average• 47 flocks observed (Avg. flock size = 1.9 birds)
Results at Turtle Cove
Turtle Cove Flight Line
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 80
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80Flock Size by % out of Total # of
Flocks
Myer's HoleTurtle Cove
Flock Size
% out of Total # Flocks
DiscussionMyer’s Hole fits the roosting location
profile of a smaller, more sedentary population
Turtle Cove fit the loafing location profile of having larger, more active numbers
More research is needed to solidify if the birds’ behavior was due to location status
Statistical SignificanceNo statistical tests or p-values were needed
as all birds in sight were accounted for.
Conclusion• To understand how DCCO’s utilize their
environment through studying roosting/loafing location preference and flight lines to and from these locations
• The research study was highly successful in that flight lines were determined
• Supports previous research that humans have enhanced cormorant problem by modifying the environment
Implications/ Future ResearchThere has been no research to date in this area
on cormorants and observations on their activity will help future researchers determine if they have a definite impact on local fisheries
Fishermen chose the sites of study so that areas they believed were the sites of human-cormorant conflicts were directly studied
Movement patterns may be affected by weatherThis is a preliminary study and research will
continue next year
AcknowledgementsColin Grubel, CUNY
Graduate Center and Queens College
Christian Gorycki, Edward Gruber, Jean-Marie Woods-Ray, Eastchester High School
John A. Brancato, Barnegat Bay fisherman
My Family and fellow ASRians
Dr. John Waldman, Queens College
Flight Line Study of Double-crested Cormorants, Preliminary Results Eye Opener Review of Literature Human-Cormorant Conflicts Determining Cormorant Diet Importance of Study Purpose/ Hypothesis Location Methods Methods Flow Chart Results at Myer’s Hole Myer's Hole Flight Line Results at Turtle Cove Turtle Cove Flight Line Flock Size Graph Discussion Conclusion Implications/ Future Research Acknowledgements
My Summer 2011:
Myer’s Hole
My Summer 2011: Turtle Cove, my boat, and my
beach house