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<br /> rbirds utilize sea grass beds of the Indian River Lagoon as feeding grounds . Juvenile
<br /> green sea turtles are relatively abundant in the Indian River Lagoon , while sub-adult
<br /> ' loggerhead turtles are present , but at a lesser density .
<br /> Pelican Island serves as a breeding ground for: wood storks , brown pelicans , white
<br /> ibises , great blue herons , little blue herons , tricolored herons , green -backed herons ,
<br /> black-crowned night-herons , great egrets , snowy egrets , reddish egrets , cattle egrets ,
<br /> double-crested cormorants , anhingas , common moorhens , ospreys , and American
<br /> oystercatchers . Other species that utilize Pelican Island for roosting , feeding , or loafing
<br /> include : white pelicans , roseate spoonbills , magnificent frigatebirds , laughing gulls , ring -
<br /> billed gulls , herring gulls , great black-backed gulls , royal terns , Caspian terns , Forster' s
<br /> terns , least terns , sandwich terns , black skimmers , sanderlings , willets , western
<br /> sandpipers , short-billed dowitchers , greater yellowlegs , ruddy turnstones , black- bellied
<br /> plovers , mottled ducks , blue-winged teal , red- breasted mergansers , common loons ,
<br /> ' American coots , black vultures , turkey vultures , belted kingfishers , red -winged
<br /> blackbirds , and fish crows .
<br /> The federally endangered wood stork is of special interest. Wood stork populations
<br /> have declined sharply in Florida , from 60 , 000 in the 1930 's to 5 , 000 nesting pairs
<br /> recently . Wood storks have been nesting on Pelican Island since 1950 . The Pelican
<br /> Island colony has been one of the most consistently active rookeries in the state
<br /> ( Rodgers et al . , 1987) . Currently about 90- 150 pairs of wood storks nest on Pelican
<br /> Island each year. In 1991 , a study to compare wading bird responses to different
<br /> management regimes in nearby Bird ' s and Pete 's Impoundments was initiated . Wood
<br /> storks exhibited an opportunistic response in 1993 to a spring drawdown when their
<br /> freshwater feeding grounds in the St . John River Upper Basin were flooded . Wood
<br /> storks exhibited the highest level of usage per occurrence among all the wading birds
<br /> identified ( O ' Bryan and Carlson , 1993) . Although adult wood storks (and white ibis)
<br /> feed in fresh water, brackish water, and saline environments , their breeding success is
<br /> dependent upon access to freshwater food sources for their young .
<br /> 3 . 2 . 3 Fish
<br /> ' The fish of the Indian River Lagoon and its tributaries comprise a diverse assemblage
<br /> of tropical , temperate , inshore , offshore , and freshwater species . The Harbor Branch
<br /> Oceanographic Institution has identified 682 species of fish throughout the lagoon ,
<br /> including popular sportfish such as snook , red drum , spotted seatrout, and tarpon . The
<br /> richness of this fishery appears to be directly related to the wide variations in water
<br /> temperature and salinity , which are attributed to the area ' s transitional location between
<br /> the tropic and temperate zones .
<br /> At least 15 fish species occur on the Refuge that are listed or under consideration by at
<br /> least one of the following : State of Florida , Florida Committee on Rare and
<br /> Endangered Plants and Animals , and Florida Natural Areas Inventory . Included on
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