Nicholas Winstead, M.S.
Degree/Completion Date
May 2004
Breeding bird and vegetation communities of Reelfoot Lake
Current Employer
Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries & Parks, Museum of Natural Science (http://www.mdwfp.com/museum/
Major Research Findings
Emergent plant communities at Reelfoot Lake were once dominated by giant cutgrass (Zizaniopsis miliacea). Cutgrass was used by relatively large numbers of secretive marsh birds, such as least bitterns (Ixobrychus exilis). Water levels were artificially stabilized in the early 1940s, which allowed cutgrass marshes to succeed to an herbaceous shrub marsh dominated by water willow (Decodon verticillatus). I determined that 93% of the emergent marsh was dominated by water willow and the remainder by cutgrass and cattail (Typha sp.). Most marshes had a substantial amount of tree saplings. I also found that least bittern presence was positively related to the percent cover of cutgrass. Apparent declines of secretive marsh birds on Reelfoot have coincided with the replacement of cutgrass by water willow. Vegetation manipulation may be necessary to manage for least bitterns on Reelfoot Lake. A drawdown and possibly other management tools with the goals of replacing water willow with sparse stands of cutgrass and reducing woody vegetation may improve breeding habitat for many species of marsh-dependent birds on Reelfoot Lake.