Evaluation of Innovative Monitoring Systems for the Queen Isabella Causeway toAssist in the Preservation of Endangered Brown Pelicans

摘要

The Queen Isabella Causeway, also known as Park Road 100, is a 3.86 kilometer(2.4 mile) bridge that crosses the Intracoastal Waterway and connects Port Isabel with South Padre Island. The Queen Isabella Causeway presents several unique challenges which influence transportation operations. These challenges include an endangered species of Brown Pelican (Pelicanus occidentalis carolinensis) (B. Pelican) which land on the causeway and are hit and killed, and traffic incidents which have the ability to completely close down access between Port Isable and South Padre Island. In September of 1984, the first documented B. Pelican mortality occurred on the Queen Isabella Causeway, causing considerable public concern. Since that death in 1984, the population of B. Pelicans has dramatically increased, and the number of B. Pelican mortalities has also increased but at a slower rate. Observations of the B. Pelicans in the area show that a majority of the birds forage on the south side of the bridge during the day and return to the Laguna Madre on the north side of the bridge in the evening to roost.