26

 ponds in the center of sloughs hold some water throughout

 the year. Ponds at higher elevations may have localized

 .holes, dug by alligators, which hold water through the dry

 season (Craighead, 1968). During the dry season, sloughs

 and ponds may receive groundwater flow from adjacent higher

 land. Under other circumstances, surface water storage

 may recharge soil water in surrounding areas. The flow

 from ground to surface or surface to ground is governed by

 relative water levels. An elevation profile through the

 highest point in the study area shows that the water table

 follows the general slope of the land (Figure 9). The

 water table gradually flattens during the dry season.

 Populations of wading birds that nest and roost in

 large aggregations in scattered colonies throughout the

 study region cover long distances to follow local patterns

 of drying as they harvest the fish that concentrate in

 numerous small, isolated pools. Wood Storks, which nest at

 Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, coordinate their breeding season

 with the dry season and are, for the most part, absent from

 south Florida during the wet season. Because they locate

 their food by touch as well as by sight, Wood Storks

 require high concentrations of fish, particularly when

 feeding young (Kahl, 1964). This species has been shown to

 be very sensitive to changes in the seasonal pattern of

wetlands expansion and contraction that produces and

concentrates their food (Kushlan et al., 1975). Some