Seaside Sparrow
Common
Name: Seaside Sparrow (SESP)
Scientific
Name:
Ammodramus
maritimus
Global/Continental
Conservation Status: Not on IUCN 2004 Red List
National-level
Conservation Status:
U.S.
– Endangered Species Act (ESA) - Endangered (Cape Sable SESP subsp - A.
m.
mirabilis) and Bird of Conservation Concern for other SESP subspecies
Key
Reference(s):
BNA No. 127 (Post and Greenlaw 1994); U.S. Recovery Plan for Cape
Sable SESP in
South Florida
multi-species recovery plan (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service 1999)
Distribution:
Breeds [maritimus group]
from s New Hampshire and Massachusetts south along the Atlantic coast to
ne Florida (south to the St. John’s River, formerly to New Smyrna
Beach); and along the Gulf coast from w Florida (south to Tama Bay) west
to se Texas (south to Corpus Christi area).
Winters [maritimus group]
along the Atlantic coast from
Massachusetts
south through remainder of the breeding range, casually to s
Florida
(Flamingo region); and along the Gulf coast throughout the breeding range
and south to the mouth of the
Rio Grande
. Resident [nigrescens
group] formerly along the coast of e-c
Florida
(e
Orange
and n Brevard counties), now extinct; and [mirabilis
group] in s
Florida
(sw Collier,
Monroe
, and s Dade counties). Casual
[maritimus group] north to Maine
(possibly breeding in s Maine), s New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, and
inland in North Carolina (Raleigh) (AOU 1998).
Habitat
Associations:
Salt marshes, especially Spartina grass, rushes, and tidal reeds, also [mirabilis group] marsh prairie (Muhlenbergia)
(AOU 1998).
Source(s)
of Research/monitoring Needs (Number in ( ) is Physiographic Area number):
Southern New England Bird Conservation Plan (09); Mid-Atlantic
Coastal Plain Bird Conservation Plan (44); East Gulf Coastal Plain Bird
Conservation Plan (04); South Atlantic Coastal Plain Bird Conservation
Plan (03); South Texas Brushlands Bird Conservation Plan(07); BNA No. 127
(Post and Greenlaw 1994); PIF Monitoring Needs document (Partners in
Flight Science Committee 2004)
PIF
Continental Plan Monitoring Needs Category: Mo2 (BBS trends have very
low precision)
RESEARCH/MONITORING NEEDS (source(s) of needs)
Monitoring
- Priority
monitoring action – Conduct species-specific surveys (PIF Monitoring
Needs doc)
- Second
priority monitoring action – Improve the Christmas Bird Count (PIF
Monitoring Needs doc)
- High
priority candidate for rapid status assessment (PIF Monitoring Needs
doc)
- Develop
methods/Establish Monitoring Programs for Birds in Emergent Wetlands
(many of these are similar to the first priority listed above) -
Develop techniques to monitor important species in emergent wetlands
throughout the South Atlantic Coastal Plain including SESP (South
Atlantic Coastal Plain); Survey and monitor high priority bird species
in emergent wetland habitats including SESP (East Gulf Coastal Plain);
Monitor Black Ducks in the South Atlantic Coastal Plain, management
should benefit other priority species like SESP (South Atlantic
Coastal Plain); Monitoring program to track SESP population trends
& estimate population size (Southern New England); Study the
status, distribution, and abundance of the Texas SESP (South Texas
Brushlands; TARP – Coastal Prairies)
Habitat
Needs/Ecology/Life History
- More
Information on the Habitat Needs & Ecology of SESP - Habitat requirements of a saltmarsh
species suite, including SESP, are poorly understood within the region
(Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain); Study
the breeding success, and habitat needs of the Texas SESP (South Texas
Brushlands; TARP – Coastal Prairies); Influence of extreme tides,
predation, and storms on SESP, especially the apparently discontinuous
populations on Atlantic coast between New Jersey and north Florida, or
on the Gulf of Mexico west of the Florida peninsula (BNA)
- More
Information on SESP Life History - Parentage studies of this putatively monogamous species (BNA);
Information on role of female aggression in maintenance of monogamy in
SESP (BNA)
- see
needs under "Monitoring"
Effects
of Management Practices
- Effects
of land use practices (ditching, impounding, dredging, open marsh
water management, burning, marsh restoration) on abundance &
distribution (
Southern New England
)
- Determine
optimal habitat management practices for SESP (
Southern New England
)
Landscape
- Importance
of landscape-level processes on the distribution of low-marsh species
including SESP (Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain)
Invasives/Exotics/Disease/Parasites/Contaminants
- Potential
impacts of invasive plants on salt-marsh species including SESP
(Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain)
Captive
Breeding/Reintroduction
- Continue
research on propagation & reintroduction; develop method of
introducing captive-reared birds on target marshes; special priority
on endangered Cape Sable SESP (BNA)
Demographics
- Study
SESP productivity & survival to understand limiting factors (
Southern New England
)
- See
needs under "Monitoring”
Habitat
Restoration
- Effectiveness
of wetland restoration on low-marsh species including SESP
(Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain)
- See
needs under "Effects of Management Practices"
Global
Change
- Determine
potential impacts of sea-level rise due to global climate change on
salt-marsh species including SESP (Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain;
Southern New England
)
Genetics/Taxonomy/Systematics
- Clarify
taxonomy of the SESP complex (East Gulf Coastal Plain; South Atlantic
Coastal Plain)
[Link
to References]
[Link
to PIF Bird Conservation Plans]
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