Priorities for Future Research

At this time of increased coastal development, it is important to gather information on this discontinuously distributed habitat specialist, particularly regarding the influence of natural agents (extreme tides, predators, and storms) and changes related to human activities (wild fires, water level manipulations, pollution). Populations in the Northeast and in peninsular Florida have been relatively well-studied, and it may now be possible to make informed management decisions, where necessary. Additional information is needed from the Gulf of Mexico west of the Florida peninsula. Further research on the use of fire as a management tool should be based on controlled experiments conducted in different habitats and localities.

Because foraging adults often spend extended periods off their territories, parentage studies of this putatively monogamous species should be continued. Such information would help to understand the evolution of scramble-competition polygyny (Post and Greenlaw 1982) in the closely related Saltmarsh Sparrow. The role that female aggression plays in the maintenance of monogamy in the Seaside Sparrow also deserves study.

Werner 1975 stated that research on the reintroduction on Cape Sable Seaside Sparrows should have high priority. Methods of translocating Seaside Sparrows should be developed, perhaps via juveniles, which have been successfully maintained in captivity (Webber and Post 1983). Methods of introducing birds to target marshes need to be developed, before populations are extirpated (Post and Antonio 1981).