Snail Kite: In Depth

Snail Kite habitat consists of freshwater marshes and the shallow vegetated edges of natural and manmade lakes where apple snails can be found. Snail Kites require foraging areas that are relatively clear and open so that they can visually search for apple snails. Dense vegetation is not conducive to efficient foraging. Nearly continuous flooding of wetlands is needed to support apple snail populations that in turn sustain foraging by Snail Kites. Disposal of domestic sewage through septic tanks and runoff of nutrient-laden water from agricultural lands degrade the water quality and promote dense growth of exotic and invasive plants such as cattail, water lettuce, water hyacinth, and hydrilla, thereby reducing the ability of Snail Kites to locate apple snails. Although Snail Kites in Florida are not migratory, they are nomadic in response to water depths, hydroperiod, food availability, and other changes in habitat. Shifts in distribution can be short-term, seasonal, or long-term.

The ranges of the endangered Wood Stork and Cape Sable Seaside Sparrow overlap the range of the Snail Kite. Although hydrologic conditions that are more favorable to one species may not be as favorable for another species, all of these animals survived the hydrologic variability characteristic of the natural system. However, the reduced extent of suitable present-day habitat makes all of these species more vulnerable to natural as well as human-caused threats.

 

Everglades National Park preserves only about one-fifth of the original extent of the Everglades. The principal threat to the Snail Kite and other endangered Everglades species is the loss or degradation of wetlands in central and south Florida.

The principal threat to the Snail Kite is the loss or degradation of wetlands in central and south Florida. Nearly half of the Everglades have been drained for agriculture and urban development. Everglades National Park preserves only about one-fifth of the original extent of the Everglades. The present-day system of canals, levees, and water-control structures has disrupted the volume, timing, direction, and velocity of freshwater flow. The natural sheet-flow pattern under which the Everglades evolved over the last 5,000 years no longer exists. The loss of freshwater to seepage, flood-control releases to tidal waters, and extraction for irrigation and urban water supply has led to salt-water intrusion in some places. Regulation of water stages in lakes and canals is particularly important to maintain the balance of vegetative communities required to sustain Snail Kites.

 

 

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

 

South Florida Multi-Species Recovery Plan
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, 1999