Wood storks: iconic wetland dwellers in the southeastern USA

Abstract

Wood storks (Mycteria americana) have been known to move large distances across their annual range in the southeastern USA, but their seasonal movement patterns had never been quantified. Using a long-term GPS-tracking dataset, we provided the first individual-based description of their movements, which established the status of the population as partially migratory. Partial migration is a common movement strategy for populations inhabiting highly variable and unpredictable environments, of which wetlands are a prime example. Our findings corroborate a growing body of the literature demonstrating the link between spatio-temporal resource dynamics and animal migratory strategies.