4.4 Terrestrial Communities
• Conduct migration surveys to determine bird use, especially during the fall.
• Conduct small mammal surveys on barrier island systems to verify species status, dis- tribution, and community composition. Monitoring. Long-term monitoring is critical to assessing species and ecosystem health over time and gauging the resilience of organisms to a changing climate. Studies should include identifcation of population trends, as well as assessment of impacts from conserva- tion or development activities. Long-term monitoring sites need to be identifed and moni- toring protocols developed for all priority species. Monitoring plans should be coordinated with other existing monitoring programs where feasible.
• Establish MAPS and migration banding stations in this habitat type.
• Establish long-term monitoring of amphibians and reptiles, once survey data has been established.
• Carefully monitor loss of this habitat from sea level rise.
• Continue long-term monitoring and banding work (currently being done by the USGS) on Eastern Painted Buntings and support the goals and objectives of the Painted Bunting Working Group that involves Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina. Research. Research topics that facilitate appropriate conservation actions include habitat use and preferences, reproductive behavior, fecundity, population dynamics and genetics, feeding, competition, and food web dynamics. Increased understanding of life histories and status helps determine the vulnerability of priority species to further imperilment, in addition to identifying possibilities for improved management and conservation. All stud- ies should provide recommendations for mitigation and restoration. Formal descriptions for known or putative undescribed species and investigations aimed at resolving taxo- nomic status are needed.
• Conduct cooperative research with western states to determine the genetic relation- ships between Eastern and Western Painted Buntings.
• Conduct genetics research on all “Kingsnake” species.
• Document the habitat selection and competition factors related to Indigo Buntings and Painted Buntings in these habitats (Kopachena and Crist 2000) .
• Initiate productivity and habitat use research on priority species such as Eastern Painted Bunting (Norris and Elder 1982; Lanyon and Tompson 1986; Kopachena and Crist 2000) ,
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2015 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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