Chapter 4 Habitats
Development and loss of associated riparian habitats are concerns where Bald Eagles have found shorelines to use as perch/foraging sites. Lake Ellis Simon in Craven County is productive and holds a sizable Anhinga colony. These sites and immediately adjacent cover provide foraging and breeding habitats for species such as Green Herons. Terrestrial animals that use lake communities for forage, refugia, or during parts of the reproductive cycle will also be affected by any changes in aquatic habitat or species community structure. Exotic species (e.g., Hydrilla , Asian Clam, Common Carp) negatively affect native frogs and turtles due to decreased native plant and animal diversity. Avian Vacuolar Myelinopathy (AVM) is a disease that affects birds that use these habitats. It has killed nearly 100 Bald Eagles in the Southeast and is associated with a novel Cyanobacterial species found in aquatic plants such as Hydrilla. 4.2.12.6 Recommendations Priority should be placed on protecting the remaining undeveloped, unprotected natural lakes and on controlling invasive species on those that are protected to promote resilience. Section 4.2.2 provides recommendations appropriate for all aquatic communities, statewide. Actions specific to the Coastal Plain portions of river basins that contain natural lakes are provided in Section 4.5. 4.2.12.6.1 Surveys Surveys are systematic and scientific methods of collecting information about the distribution, abundance, and ecology of wildlife or their habitats in a specific area at a specific time. A habitat survey is a method of gathering information about the ecology of a site. The results of a habitat survey provide basic ecological information that can be used for biodiversity conservation, planning and/or management, including targeting of more detailed botanical or zoological investigations (Smith et al. 2011) . Repeated surveys using the same methods can provide information about conditions and changes to species assemblages and habitat composition over time. Priorities for conducting distributional and status surveys need to focus on species believed to be declining or mainly dependent on at-risk or sensitive communities. 4.2.12.6.2 Monitoring Monitoring of aquatic taxa is critical to assessing species and ecosystem health and gauging the Monitoring involves repeated observation and recording of specific parameters to show trends over time. Long-term monitoring that includes statistical and quantitative analysis in the design is critical to assessing species and ecosystem health and gauging the resilience of organisms to changing conditions (Gitzen et al. 2012, Lindenmayer and Likens 2009) . Monitoring efforts should include identification of population trends, as well as assessment of impacts from conservation or development activities. These efforts will inform species and habitat management decisions. Long-term monitoring sites need to be identified, and monitoring protocols developed for all priority species. Monitoring plans should be coordinated with other existing monitoring programs where feasible. Monitoring of aquatic taxa is critical to assessing species and
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2025 NC Wildlife Action Plan
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