Biodiversity of the Indian River Lagoon System: a cautionary tale from the birds
Abstract
Prevailing dogma on comparative biodiversity of the Indian River Lagoon (IRL) stems
mainly from one claim about ichthyofauna and two about avifauna. The extensive network of birdwatchers,
clarity of bird taxonomy, long history of the Christmas Bird Count (CBC), and burgeoning
database on ebird.org make birds excellent for geographic comparison. The 1985 claim that Merritt
Island CBCs are often the ‘‘most speciose count’’ in the U.S. is unfounded. CBCs there in 1970–1985
never had the highest count, even compared to the nearby Cocoa site. For the 114th CBC (2013), it
ranked 11th in Florida and 44th nationally. The 1989 claim that IRL has ‘‘the most diverse avifauna in
the United States’’ also is unfounded. Of 543 hotspots (.250 species) in coastal continental states on
ebird.org in December 2019, Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge had 300 species; but 110 other
sites listed more species of bird. Because government agencies, legislators, media, and the public rely
on scientists for information, scientific statements must rely on evidence. Scientists should abandon
the current dogma about the high relative biodiversity of the IRL. Studies should focus on increasing
our knowledge of diversity of all taxa; and geographic comparisons should be attempted with great
caution.