Habitat Use by Migratroy Shorebirds at the Cabo Rojo Salt Flats, Puerto Rico

Grear, Jason S. (1992) Habitat Use by Migratroy Shorebirds at the Cabo Rojo Salt Flats, Puerto Rico. Gainesville, FL, Florida Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit , University of Florida, (Technical report - Florida Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, 46)

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Abstract

The Cabo Rojo Salt Flats, at the southwestern tip of Puerto Rico, provide important autumn stopover and wintering habitat for migratory shorebirds. I studied the abundance and distribution of shorebirds and their food resources at this site during autumn of 1990 and 1991. Small calidrids (primarily Calidris pusilla and C. mauri) were the most abundant shorebirds at the salt flats. The maximum weekly counts of small calidrids in 1990 (2,690) and 1991 (3,532) occurred in mid October. Calidrids foraged primarily in the Fraternidad lagoon system; roosting took place most often at the neighboring Candelaria Lagoon. The macroinvertebrate prey important to calidrids in the Fraternidad system were Dasyhelea (Diptera), Trichocorixa (Hemiptera), and Artemia (Anostraca). Changes in invertebrate abundance coincided with fluctuations in salinity. (100 page document)

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