MARITIME FOREST
Found throughout the higher elevations of Kiawah Island is a rich forest filled with oaks , pines , palmettos , and a variety of understory trees , shrubs , and groundcovers . These maritime forests were formed over several millennia as the beach naturally accreted seaward . Mature maritime forests provide a host of ecosystem services to the local community through natural processes and cycles . Many species of mammals and reptiles make the forests their home , and thousands of birds migrate to maritime forests each year ( NOAA , 2021 ). Decades of wildlife research and monitoring have studied the use of maritime forests by our resident deer and bobcats ( Roberts , 2007 ; Jordan , 2014 ). Since its inception , the Kiawah Conservancy has continued to sponsor efforts to study bobcat populations by the Town ’ s Wildlife Biologist , Jim Jordan , State of Idaho Wildlife Biologist , Dr . Shane Roberts , and PhD Candidate from Clemson University , Meghan Keating .
In 2020 , toxicological studies revealed that exposure to second-generation anticoagulant ( SGA ) rodenticides were severely impacting bobcat populations on the island . This sparked the Bobcat Guardian Program and a multi-year study through Clemson University . Bobcat populations were predicted to be as low as 10 individuals on the island at the time . This also coincided with a steep rise in the deer population , which led to deer culling efforts to manage their numbers in the past few years . Since then , predicted bobcat populations have increased to 25-30 due to denning success and decreased use of SGA rodenticides in residential and commercial applications . Research on the island ’ s bobcat population through the work of Meghan Keating is still ongoing but will provide additional information about their populations and exposure to pesticides .
Ecological Health of Kiawah Island 2022 16