Sentinels of Ecological Processes: The Case of the Northern Flying Squirrel

Indigenous forests across North America have been and continue to be transformed. The implications of these changes are far reaching and include the loss of habitat, biological diversity, and ecological services, as well as diminished air and water quality. The northern flying squirrel is a forest o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Bioscience 2012-11, Vol.62 (11), p.950-961
Main Author: Smith, Winston P
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Biodiversity
biological diversity
Birds
boreal and montane forests
Boreal forests
broadscale disturbance
Community ecology
Community Relations
Coniferous forests
ecological monitoring
Ecology
Forest communities
Forest ecology
Forest ecosystems
Forest habitats
Forest management
Habitat loss
Habitats
Land Use
Landscapes
Old growth
Old growth forests
OVERVIEW ARTICLES
Population ecology
Predators
Squirrels
Water quality
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Summary:Indigenous forests across North America have been and continue to be transformed. The implications of these changes are far reaching and include the loss of habitat, biological diversity, and ecological services, as well as diminished air and water quality. The northern flying squirrel is a forest obligate that achieves its highest density in old growth, facilitates critical symbiotic relationships, and is an essential prey of disturbance-sensitive predators. Its reliance on old-forest attributes varies with community diversity, and its sensitivity to isolation renders it an ideal indicator of landscape connectivity. The results of numerous studies reveal the squirrel's acute sensitivity to disturbance at multiple spatial scales, which renders it an effective sentinel of forest ecosystem processes and condition over both geological and ecological time scales. Therefore, a thorough understanding of its ecology can inform projections and the effective mitigation of continued disturbance of ecological communities of boreal and montane coniferous forests.
ISSN:0006-3568
1525-3244
DOI:10.1525/bio.2012.62.11.4