Insight Into Important (Bio)Indicators: Ospreys
by Ben Wurst, Habitat Program Manager
CWF Osprey Banding Apprentice Northside Jim holds a young osprey, 13/K, after banding.
Mid-summer marks the nestling period of nesting ospreys, a coastal raptor, whose diet consists mainly of fish. As a state that’s heavily influenced by its location along the Atlantic Ocean, they play a critical role in our coastal ecosystem. Ospreys are important bioindicators of the health of our coastal waters, through the lens of their prey, where pollutants are biomagnified through the food chain. As we consume many of the same fish, they show the effects of these pollutants long before humans, so the health of their population has implications for our coastal waters and us! (more…)
