Wildlife and vegetation of Bayhead Islands in the ARM Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge

Wildlife and vegetation were sampled on five tree islands in the Arthur R. Marshall Loxahatchee National Wildlife Refuge from June 1999-June 2000 in order to generate a preliminary species list and examine the logistics of using various sampling techniques on bayhead tree islands. Seventy-nine vertebrate species and 19 plant species were recorded. Species richness for plants and vertebrates were similar among islands. Similarity among islands ranged from about 35 to 70% for plants and about 40 to 60% for vertebrates. Richness and similarity values for vegetation were lower than those recorded for tear-dropped shaped islands in wetlands south of the refuge probably due to differences in island topography and geographic location. Number of vertebrate species recorded by sampling method ranged from 2 to 62 with most vertebrate species recorded as observational data rather than during trapping events.