scholarly journals Habitat use and foraging behavior of male Black-and-white Warblers (Mniotilta varia) in forest fragments and in a contiguous boreal forest

2004 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 75-84
Author(s):  
Cynthia A. PASZKOWSKI ◽  
Navjot S. SODHI ◽  
Scott JAMIESON ◽  
Sandra A. ZOHAR
The Auk ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 120 (4) ◽  
pp. 1000-1012
Author(s):  
Lars Y. Pomara ◽  
Robert J. Cooper ◽  
Lisa J. Petit

Abstract We quantified foraging rates and foraging visibility metrics for four Neotropical warblers—Slate-throated Redstart (Myoborus miniatus), Golden-crowned Warbler (Basileuterus culicivorus), Wilson's Warbler (Wilsonia pusilla), and Black-and-White Warbler (Mniotilta varia)—under flocking and solitary conditions in western Panama to test hypotheses regarding the relative influences of predation pressure and social facilitation on foraging behavior. We also compared foraging behavior in primary forests and in traditionally managed shade coffee fields for two species (Slate-throated Redstart and Wilson's Warbler) to estimate spatial variation in foraging behavior and compare it to variation due to social situation (flocking or solitary). We then assessed the contribution of spatial variation in flocking propensity to the total spatial variation in foraging rates within species. We observed very little overall within-species variability in foraging behavior between social situations or study locations. Only Slate-throated Redstart's behavior was consistent with the hypothesis that flock membership reduces predation pressure and therefore reduces the amount of foraging time spent being vigilant against predators, allowing birds to forage more quickly and find more prey items per minute. No species' behavior supported the hypothesis that flocking birds forage more efficiently than solitary birds by obtaining useful information from flock mates about the location or suitability of foraging resources or techniques. The effort required to find prey items did not vary between study locations (forest and coffee field plots) for Wilson's Warbler. Because flocking also had no effect on foraging behavior of Wilson's Warbler, a reduction in flocking propensity in coffee habitat, relative to forest, did not cause further foraging behavior differences between study locations. Spatial variation in Slate-throated Redstart's foraging behavior independent of a flocking effect was minor; but flocking affected foraging rates, and flocking propensity was lower in coffee fields than in forest, so that location and flocking effects combined to widen foraging rate differences between locations. Thus, variations in flocking behavior and foraging behavior interacted differently for those two species.


2011 ◽  
Vol 41 (3) ◽  
pp. 501-508 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ambroise Lycke ◽  
Louis Imbeau ◽  
Pierre Drapeau

Partial cuts are increasingly proposed to maintain habitats for species negatively affected by clearcutting, even if their benefits on nonpasserine birds and large mammals are still poorly documented. Our main objective was to evaluate effects of commercial thinning (CT) on spruce grouse ( Falcipennis canadensis L.), a game bird of the boreal forest. Because this species is known to be associated with a dense vegetation cover, we hypothesized that habitat use would be lower in treated sites. In spring 2006, we evaluated site occupancy in 94 forest stands (50 CT and 44 uncut stands) in Quebec by visiting each on three occasions during the breeding season (March–May). Additionally, during the molting period (May–July), we used radiotelemetry to monitor habitat use by 19 males. As compared with uncut stands, results show that a lower proportion of CTs were used in spring (39% versus 60%, after accounting for detection). During the molting period, CTs were also used less than expected according to their availability. The significant reduction of lateral and vertical forest cover in CT may explain these results. We conclude that even if CT is perceived beneficial for wildlife, it does not completely fulfill the needs of species associated with dense understory vegetation, such as spruce grouse.


1841 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
pp. 105-107
Author(s):  
John James Audubon

2019 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
pp. 194008291882259 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vinod Krishnan ◽  
Mavatur Ananda Kumar ◽  
Ganesh Raghunathan ◽  
Sreedhar Vijayakrishnan

Understanding the impacts of land-use mosaics on elephant distribution and the patterns of habitat use is essential for their conservation in modified landscapes. We carried out a study in 205 villages, covering 610 km2 of plantation–agriculture–forest mosaic of Hassan–Madikeri divisions in southern India, an area of intense human–elephant interactions. We monitored elephant movements, crop damage incidents, and human casualties on a daily basis for a 2-year period (2015–2017) to understand the patterns of elephant distribution across the landscape and habitat-use patterns, resulting in 1,117 GPS locations across six major habitats. Elephants were distributed across the landscape in the first year, but a high concentration of locations were noticed toward northern part of the study area during the second year, owing to clear felling of trees and installation of barriers around coffee plantations, causing an overall shift in their distribution. Investigations into habitat use by elephants revealed that during the day, elephants preferred monoculture refuges of acacia, eucalyptus, and so on, and forest fragments, avoiding reservoir, coffee, roads, and habitations. At night, agricultural lands were used more frequently while moving between refuges compared with forest fragments and habitations. Seasonally, forest fragments and agriculture were used significantly more during dry and wet, respectively. Across years, use of monoculture refuges and coffee increased with a corresponding decrease in the use of forest fragments and agriculture. In areas devoid of forest habitats, retention of monoculture refuges which provide shelter for elephants and facilitating free movement through open habitats may help minimize human–elephant conflict and promote coexistence in such land-use mosaics.


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