Bark-foraging bird abundance unaffected by increased snag availability in a mixed mesophytic forest

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Abstract:

Snags are an important habitat component for many bird species, and low snag availability may adversely affect populations of birds that nest in or forage on snags. Silvicultural practices such as even-aged management, short stand rotation, and removal of cull trees reduce natural snag densities. Snags can be provided for birds by managing old-growth forest or by leaving snags during timber harvest. Snags also can be created using herbicides, topping, and girdling to increase snag availability in managed stands. Studies of how bird density responds to snag availability mainly have been correlative and not experimental. Dickson et al. demonstrated experimentally that snag density in clearcuts influenced the abundance of some cavity-nesting and bark-foraging birds. Carey and Sedgwick and Knopf suggested that snags are not as important as dead and dying portions of live trees for cavity-nesting and bark-foraging birds in some unmanaged hardwood stands. We examined the response of bark-foraging birds to increased snag availability created by herbicide injection and topping. Our null hypothesis was that bark-foraging bird abundance during the winter and breeding seasons would not be affected by doubling snag density in a hardwood forest. Study area and methods. The study was conducted in 2 watersheds in Robinson Forest, Breathitt County, Kentucky.

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Reference Code: A87MCP01IDUS

Full Citation: McPeek, G. A., W. C. McComb, J. J. Moriarty, and G. E. Jacoby. 1987. Bark-foraging bird abundance unaffected by increased snag availability in a mixed mesophytic forest. Wilson Bulletin 99(2): 253-257.

Location: ANIMAL EF: BIRDS