Orange County NC Website
Browse       Search
could be excerbated if other synergistic threats (e.g., <br />shoreline hardening, subsidence) were considered. <br />Species that are already endangered or threatened are <br />of particular concern. For example, many endan- <br />gered sea turtles in the Southeast nest on barrier <br />islands that could be inundated under even conser- <br />vative estimates of sea level rise (Daniels et al. 1993). <br />Wave overwash in the early 1980s destroyed 3 -35% <br />of all loggerhead sea turtle nests on barrier islands <br />in South Carolina (Hopkins and Murphy 1989 <br />in Daniels et al. 1993). In addition to sea turtles, <br />Daniels et al. (1993) suggest that other endangered <br />or threatened species, such as the wood stork (Mycte- <br />ria americana) and the American alligator (Alligator <br />mississippiensis), will be negatively impacted not just <br />by the reduction in marsh size and nesting sites, but <br />the decline in recruitment success of larval and juve- <br />nile fish within tidal creeks (Thomas et al. 1991 in <br />�6q b/f °6qf <br />,), l(" Eq /Fir ', "' 6q <br />r /k` Eq Ill, /6l ber <br />1) <br />Daniels et al. 1993). Thus, species with a variety of <br />life history characteristics may be at risk because of <br />loss of nesting habitat, food sources, and breeding <br />locations due to rising seas. <br />