AVIAN RESEARCH & CONSERVATION INSTITUTE INC

The Endangered Snail Kite acquires contaminants that could impair reproduction. Besides assessing toxicity, we caught Snail Kites and fitted them with satellite/GPS tracking devices to study movments, survival, and exposure to toxins lingering in the environment. In addition, we collected tracking data that will be used for risk assessments in relation to proposed wind-farm developments in south Florida. We have a recently-initiated study investigating the responses of the Snail Kites' primary prey, native and exotic species of Apple Snails, to deliberate alterations and unpredicted changes to the hydrology of the Everglades ecosystem. The intent is to learn what natural and water management factors influence Apple Snail abundance, reproduction, and available to the Endangered Snail Kites. An additional important part of this research is evaluating the numeric and biological responses of the native Apple Snails to expanding and increasing populations of invasive exotic species of Apple Snails from South America.

Swallow-tailed Kites that breed in the southeastern United States migrate south to southern Brazil for the northern hemisphere's inter, a round-trip distance of over 10,000 miles. For many, years we have tracked this imperiled species using satellite telemetry technology to estimate the portion of their annual mortality rate associated with this arduous journey, to identify particular high-risk areas where death or injury may be more likely, to determine the extent to which they are exposed to dangerous agricultural toxins, and to document the effects of severe weather and unfavorable winds on the birds' survival. We also systematically photograph large pre-migration aggregations that occur at social night-roost (from the air each morning) to track changes and estimate trends for this vulnerable population (i.e., increasing, stable, or declining).