The Tern Colonies of the Dry Tortugas Keys
Sprunt A. 1948. The Tern Colonies of the Dry Tortugas Keys. The Auk. 65(1):1-19
The first post-war (1945-46) status report on Tern populations inhabiting the Keys of the Dry Tortugas is presented in this paper. A brief history on population counts dating back to 1832 by Audubon is given, as well as a description, mostly vegetative, on Keys utilized by terns for nesting activities. Tern springtime arrival and summer departure is discussed, along with numbers of eggs produced, nesting locations and tern behavior. Based on the square-yard unit system, it was determined that the population count for Sooties was 97,200, while a count of 550 was found for the Noddies by numbers of nests. The tern populations have suffered virtually no damage during the occupation of the islands by naval forces. Aside from weather, predation by natural enemies includes sand-crabs and Man-O'-war-birds. The tern colonies appeared safe, but certain topographical changes, such as the recent increase in vegetation may be problematical.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Sprunt, Alexander
- Units
- DRTO
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, brown noddy (Anous stolidus), Colonies, Migration, Nests & Nesting, Population, sooty tern (Sterna fuscata), Vegetation