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commenserate with the amount of energy that went into their

production. If this is true, then a top consumer in the

food chain such as the Wood Stork must have a very high

value to the ecosystem of which it is a part. Harvesting

high concentrations of fish in drying pools, which obviates

fish kills and maintains species diversity (Kushlan, 1976),

is one way in which the Wood Stork is of serve to the

ecosystem that supports it. Wood Storks and other

colonial-nesting wading birds also contribute to the

ecosystem by collecting minerals such as nitrogen over

widespread areas in the food they catch and transporting it

to the rookery area, where it becomes concentrated as

excrement, with the potential of enhancing plant growth,

the capturing of the sun's energy through the

photosynthetic process.

 The Wood Stork in the south Florida ecosystem has a

special value to man because it is an indicator of the

healthy functioning of a regional ecosystem and processes

that also support man in his agriculture and cities. The

Wood Stork has demonstrated that exploitation of

oscillating water patterns can be profitable. The bird

might serve as an example to man that greater return per

energy (and money) investment might be gained by learning

to utilize the oscillating water patterns of south Florida

than by trying to damp or destroy them.

 In the past 6 yrs (1971-76) Wood Storks in southwest

Florida have demonstrated a resiliency that suggests that