DUSKY SEASIDE SPARROW 



Ammospiza maritima nigrescens Ridgway 



KINGDOM Animalia 



CLASS Aves 



ORDER Passeriformes 



FAMILY FringUIidae 



OTHER COMMON 



NAMES black and white shore finch, 



black shore finch. 



DATE 



Entered into SWIS To be determined. 



Updates 10 October 1978. 



LEGAL STATUS 



Federal: Endangered (32 FR 4001; 11 March 

 1967). 



States: Endangered: Florida. 



REASONS FOR CURRENT STATUS 



The dusky seaside sparrow is distributed in an 

 extremely limited area in northern Brevard 

 County, Florida. It is adapted to narrow, un- 

 stable zones of vegetation within salt marshes. 

 Diking of the marshes for mosquito control has 

 altered the vegetation and the species has disap- 

 peared on northern Merritt Island. Wildfires and 

 marsh drainage for housing, roads and pasture 

 have reduced available habitat in the St. Johns 

 River Basin (Sharp 1968, 1970; Baker 1973, 

 1976, in press; USDI 1973; DSSRT draft). Aerial 

 spraying in coastal marshes with DDT and other 

 insecticides to control mosquitoes from 1942 to 

 1953 may have been responsible for a 70% reduc- 

 tion in the population (Trost 1968). 



PRIORITY INDEX 



Not assigned. 



