resident jays will be forced to relocate.  In vacant or sparsely occupied habitat, restoration burns that remove most of scrub present may be appropriate.

Long unburned oak or oak-palmetto scrub (>25 years) can grow to tree size and may need to be mechanically cleared before it can be burned.  Mechanical clearing must be used carefully, however, as soil and scrub disturbance can have long-lasting, or even permanent, impact on scrub redevelopment [3].  Damage to large areas of saw palmetto, the principal fire carrying species in these scrubs, can result in vegetation that burns poorly, reducing its suitability for species like the Florida scrub-jay that are dependent on periodically burned systems [3].

REFERENCES:

• 1.  Woolfenden, G.E. and J.W. Fitzpatrick. 1996. Florida scrub-jay.  In A. Poole and F. Gill, Editors, The Birds of North America, No. 228.  The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.
• 2.  Myers, R.L. 1990.  Scrub and pine habitat. pp. 150-193. In R.L. Myers and J.J. Ewell (eds.) Ecosystems of Florida.  University of Central Florida Press, Orlando, Florida
• 3.  Schmalzer, P.A., Boule, S.R., and H.M. Swain. 1999.  Scrub ecosystems of Brevard County, Florida:  A regional characterization. Florida Scientist. 62:13-47
• 4.  Stevens, E.E. and J. Young. 2000.  Status and distribution of the Florida scrub jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens) at Cape Canaveral Air Station, Florida. 45th CES/CEV, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida
• 5.  Woolfenden, G.E. and J.W. Fitzpatrick. 1984.  The Florida Scrub Jay:  demography of a cooperative-breeding bird. Princeton University Press, Princeton, New Jersey.
• 6.  Cox, J.A. 1987.  Status and distribution of the Florida scrub jay.  Florida Ornithological Society Special Publication Number 3, Gainesville, FL.
• 7.  Breininger, D.R. 1992.  Habitat model for the Florida scrub jay on John F. Kennedy Space Center. NASA Tech. Memo. 107543
• 8.  Fitzpatrick, J.W., R. Bowman, D.R. Breininger, M.A. O'Connel, B. Stith, J. Thaxton, B.R. Toland, and G.E. Woolfenden. 1994.  Habitat conservation plans for the Florida Scrub-jay: A biological framework.  Archbold Biological Research Station  unpubl. Tech. Rep. 175 pp.

• 9.  Stith, B.M.  1999. Metapopulation viability analysis of the Florida Scrub-jay (Aphelocoma coerulescens): a statewide assessment.  Final Report to U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Jacksonville, FL.  Contract 1448-40181-98-M324