Woodpeckers as reliable indicators of bird richness, forest health and harvest

• Published in: Biological conservation 2008-03, Vol.141 (3), p.624-634
• Main Authors: Drever, Mark C., Aitken, Kathryn E.H., Norris, Andrea R., Martin, Kathy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Animal, plant and microbial ecology; Applied ecology; Aves; Biological and medical sciences; Conservation, protection and management of environment and wildlife; Dendroctonus ponderosae; Facilitator species; foraging; forest ecosystems; forest health; forest insects; Forest management; forest stands; forest trees; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; indicator species; insect pests; Lodgepole pine; logging; Mountain pine beetle; nesting sites; Parks, reserves, wildlife conservation. Endangered species: population survey and restocking; Picidae; Pinus contorta var. latifolia; population density; species diversity; Vertebrates: general zoology, morphology, phylogeny, systematics, cytogenetics, geographical distribution; wild birds; wildlife habitats; woodpeckers
• ISSN: 0006-3207; 1873-2917
• DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2007.12.004

Woodpeckers (family Picidae) show promise as indicators of avian diversity in forests because their populations can be reliably monitored, and their foraging and nesting activities can positively influence the abundance and richness of other forest birds. A correlation between woodpecker richness and richness of forest birds is known to exist at the landscape scale, but uncertainty remains whether this correlation occurs at the smaller stand-level spatial scales where forest management activities take place. We used data collected under a diverse range of forest types, harvest treatments, and forest health conditions during a long-term study of bird communities in interior British Columbia, Canada, to examine two basic questions: (1) at the level of individual forest stands, is woodpecker richness correlated with bird richness (measured as richness of all other bird species)? and (2) do woodpecker richness and bird richness have similar habitat correlates? Bird richness was positively correlated with woodpecker richness (β=0.59, SE=0.22, 95% CI=[0.141.03]). Richness of both woodpeckers and all other birds were positively correlated with tree species richness and negatively correlated with density of pines, and the effect for forest harvest type was similar for both measures of avian richness (uncut