M. Todd Merendino

Aboveground vegetation of many species of submerged aquatic plants is an important food source for many species of waterbirds adapted to a diet high in fiber. Wigeongrass (Ruppia maritima), a submerged aquatic plant inhabiting estuarine wetlands, has been documented as an important winter food for waterbirds along the Texas Gulf Coast. Thus, we examined availability of wigeongrass at Mad Island Wildlife Management Area (MIWMA), Texas, by estimating aboveground biomass from October through January 1998-99 and 2001-02. We also used an exclosure experiment to determine the extent to which...

Current recommendations for subpopulation management for mid-continent sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis) are based on tentative evidence that suggests geographic separation of crane concentrations during migration and winter and possible variation in demographic characteristics between these groups. We determined distribution, abundance, subspecific composition, and annual recruitment of the Gulf Coast subpopulation of mid-continent sandhill cranes because little information was available on most demographic characteristics of this subpopulation. Based on aerial line transect surveys...

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Wildlife Division is proposing to establish regional “wetland ecosystem” teams to coordinate wetland related activities on state-owned and private lands in Texas. The Central Coast Wetland Ecosystems Project (CCWEP) was the first of these teams to form. Project staff are responsible for daily management, maintenance, and research activities on state-owned areas, as well as providing management assistance to private landowners and coordinating surveys for American alligators (Alligator mississipiensis) and colonial waterbirds on the central Texas...