scholarly journals Climate-Related Distribution Shifts of Migratory Songbirds and Sciurids in the White Mountain National Forest

Forests ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 84
Author(s):  
Aimee Van Tatenhove ◽  
Emily Filiberti ◽  
T. Scott Sillett ◽  
Nicholas Rodenhouse ◽  
Michael Hallworth
Keyword(s):  
Bird Species ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Spring Temperature ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Warm Spring ◽  
Migratory Songbirds ◽  
White Mountain National Forest ◽  
Spring Temperatures ◽  
Distribution Shifts

Climate change has been linked to distribution shifts and population declines of numerous animal and plant species, particularly in montane ecosystems. The majority of studies suggest both that low-elevation avian and small mammal species are shifting up in elevation and that high-elevation avian communities are either shifting further upslope or relocating completely with an increase in average local temperatures. However, recent research suggests numerous high elevation montane species are either not shifting or are shifting down in elevation despite the local increasing temperature trends, perhaps as a result of the increased precipitation at high elevations. In this study, we examine common vertebrate species distributions across the Hubbard Brook valley in the White Mountain National Forest, including resident and migratory songbirds and small mammals, in relation to historic spring temperature and precipitation. We found no directional change in distributions through time for any of the species. However, we show that the majority of low-elevation bird species in our study area respond to warm spring temperatures by shifting upslope. All bird species that shifted were long-distance migrants. Each low-elevation migrant species responded differently to warm spring temperatures, through upslope distribution expansion, downslope distribution contraction, or total distribution shift upslope. In contrast, we found a majority of high-elevation bird species and both high- and low-elevation mammal species did not shift in response to spring temperature or precipitation and may be subject to more complex climate trends. The heterogeneous response to climate change highlights the need for more comprehensive studies on the subject and careful consideration for appropriate species and habitat management plans in northeastern montane regions.

Fifty years of natural revegetation on a landslide in Franconia Notch, New Hampshire, U.S.A.

2001 ◽  
Vol 79 (12) ◽  
pp. 1477-1485 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valter Francescato ◽  
Michele Scotton ◽  
Daniel J Zarin ◽  
James C Innes ◽  
David M Bryant
Keyword(s):  
New Hampshire ◽  
Floristic Composition ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Aerial Photographs ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Betula Alleghaniensis ◽  
Betula Papyrifera ◽  
Vegetation Zones ◽  
Natural Revegetation ◽  
White Mountain National Forest

We describe natural revegetation dynamics on landslides that occurred in 1948 and 1959 in Franconia Notch, New Hampshire, U.S.A. Analysis of aerial photographs from 1958, 1978, and 1996 indicate that the rate of revegetation of the landslide surface decreased over time, probably because of early saturation of easily colonized sites. In the 1948 landslide, we found that width and slope steepness within the landslide influenced the revegetation rate, while elevation did not. On the 1959 landslide, none of the tested factors were significantly correlated with vegetation recovery. Recolonization of narrow erosional zones tended to occur from the landslide edges inward; recolonization of wider erosional zones also occurred outward from islands of vegetation within the landslide. Floristic inventories were conducted in 1956 and 1996 using the point-centered quarter method and fixed plots of 1 m2 and were processed using cluster analysis, resulting in a grouping of the 1956 and 1996 plots into four and five clusters, respectively. The 1956 clusters consisted of exclusively herbaceous vegetation (zones with greater erosion) or prevalently shrub-arboreal vegetation, with Betula cordifolia Regel. dominant at high elevation and Betula papyrifera Marsh. and Betula alleghaniensis Britton dominant at low to middle elevation. The 1996 vegetation was characterized by prevalence of arboreal canopy made up of differing proportions of birch species, which varied with elevation.Key words: disturbance, floristic composition, regeneration, recolonization, succession, White Mountain National Forest.

Steigende Bestandszahlen bei Spechten und anderen Vogelarten dank Zunahme von Totholz? | An increase in the population of woodpeckers and other bird species thanks to an increase in the quantities of deadwood?

2009 ◽  
Vol 160 (11) ◽  
pp. 334-340 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pierre Mollet ◽  
Niklaus Zbinden ◽  
Hans Schmid
Keyword(s):  
Forest Inventory ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
National Forest Inventory ◽  
Population Increase ◽  
National Forest ◽  
Forest Species ◽  
Breeding Populations ◽  
Willow Tit ◽  
Middle Spotted Woodpecker ◽  
Important Habitat

Results from the monitoring programs of the Swiss Ornithological Institute show that the breeding populations of several forest species for which deadwood is an important habitat element (black woodpecker, great spotted woodpecker, middle spotted woodpecker, lesser spotted woodpecker, green woodpecker, three-toed woodpecker as well as crested tit, willow tit and Eurasian tree creeper) have increased in the period 1990 to 2008, although not to the same extent in all species. At the same time the white-backed woodpecker extended its range in eastern Switzerland. The Swiss National Forest Inventory shows an increase in the amount of deadwood in forests for the same period. For all the mentioned species, with the exception of green and middle spotted woodpecker, the growing availability of deadwood is likely to be the most important factor explaining this population increase.

Bird community structure in natural and urbanized habitats along an altitudinal gradient in Pauri district (Garhwal Himalaya) of Uttarakhand state, India

Biologia ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 67 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Archana Naithani ◽  
Dinesh Bhatt
Keyword(s):  
Community Structure ◽  
Altitudinal Gradient ◽  
Diversity Index ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Bird Community ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Base Line ◽  
Natural Habitats ◽  
Forest Habitat ◽  
Rarefaction Analysis

AbstractIn the Indian subcontinent there is hardly any study that compares the bird community structure of urban/suburban areas with those of forest habitat. The present survey identified diverse assemblages of birds in the Pauri district at different elevations. A total of 125 bird species belonging to 40 families including two least count species (Lophura leucomelanos and Pucrasia marcolopha) were recorded during this survey in the forest and urbanized habitats of Pauri District (Garhwal Hiamalaya) of Uttarakhand state, India. The high elevation (Pauri 1600–2100 m a.s.l.), mid elevation (Srikot-Khanda 900–1300 m a.s.l.) and low elevation (Srinagar 500–900 m a.s.l.) contributed 88.8%, 63.2% and 58.4% of the total species respectively. Rarefaction analysis and Shannon diversity index showed that the high elevation forest habitat had highest bird species richness (BSR) and bird species diversity (BSD) followed by the mid and then the low elevation forests. BSR and BSD fluctuated across seasons at all elevations but not across habitat types. Present study provides a base line data about avian community composition in urbanized and natural habitats along altitudinal gradient in the study area. This information may be useful to the conservation biologists for the better management and conservation of the avifauna in the Western Himalaya, a part of one of the hot biodiversity spots of the world.

scholarly journals Climate change will increase the potential conflict between skiing and high-elevation bird species in the Alps

2016 ◽  
Vol 43 (11) ◽  
pp. 2299-2309 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mattia Brambilla ◽  
Paolo Pedrini ◽  
Antonio Rolando ◽  
Dan E. Chamberlain
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
High Elevation ◽  
Potential Conflict ◽  
The Alps

Conservation status of mammals and birds in southwestern Australian forests. I. Is there evidence of direct links between forestry practices and species decline and extinction?

1998 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. 296 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. C. Calver ◽  
J. Dell
Keyword(s):  
Negative Impact ◽  
Conservation Status ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Fire Regimes ◽  
Personal Identification ◽  
Base Line ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Current Conservation ◽  
Forestry Practices ◽  
European Settlement

Sixteen mammal species and 22 bird species whose distributions extended into southwestern Australian forests before European settlement have been listed as threatened at some time in Commonwealth legislation, State legislation, or action plans of Environment Australia or its predecessors. Confident assessment of the causes of conservation status is hampered by poor base-line data, few studies of putative impacts and a preponderance of circumstantial or anecdotal rather than experimental evidence. However, introduced foxes were Implicated In the current conservation status of 62% of the mammal species recognized, while 44% of them were negatively impacted by feral cats, 44% by agricultural clearing and 44% by changed fire regimes. Forestry practices were impllcated in the conservation status of only one mammal species. For the bird species recognized, changed fire regimes had the greatest negative impact (45% affected), agricultural clearing affected 41%, draining of wetlands affected 32% and grazing by livestock affected 22%. Forestry practices were not directly implicated in the conservation status of any bird species. While these results suggest that forestry has had minimal direct impact on the mammals and birds of the forests, the conclusion should be treated cautiously because of the poor data. While awaiting a rigorous evaluation, we argue for a strong precautionary approach to forestry in the region. With proper forest management and sound sylvicultural [sic] treatment there is no reason why there should not be built up on the wreckage of the once splendid forests of Western Australia tended forests which will yield for all time 100 cubic feet of timber per acre per year. Lane-Poole (1920). There are many reasons why Australian environmentalists would like to end logging in native forests. The preservation of wilderness, aesthetics, an almost religious identification with old growth forests and the conservation of forest wildlife figure importantly in environmental efforts to restrict logging. Wilderness and a personal identification with trees and undisturbed forests are fundamentally incompatible with logging. Recher (1996).

scholarly journals Conservation value of a native forest fragment in a region of extensive agriculture

2000 ◽  
Vol 60 (2) ◽  
pp. 237-247 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. G. CHIARELLO
Keyword(s):  
Deciduous Forest ◽  
Puma Concolor ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Line Transect ◽  
Native Forest ◽  
Muscovy Duck ◽  
Forest Fragment ◽  
Isolated Populations ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Maned Wolf

A survey of mammals and birds was carried out in a semi-deciduous forest fragment of 150 ha located in a zone of intensive agriculture in Ribeirão Preto, State of São Paulo, south-eastern Brazil. Line transect sampling was used to census mammals and birds during six days, totalling 27.8 km of trails and 27.8 hours of observation. Twenty mammal species were confirmed in the area (except bats and small mammals), including rare or endangered species, such as the mountain lion (Puma concolor), the maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), and the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis). The brown capuchin monkey (Cebus apella) and the black-tufted-ear marmoset (Callithrix penicillata) were found frequently, suggesting high population density in the fragment. Regarding the avifauna, 49 bird species were recorded, most of them typical of open areas or forest edges. Some confirmed species, however, are becoming increasingly rare in the region, as for example the muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) and the toco toucan (Ramphastos toco). The results demonstrate that forest fragment of this size are refuges for native fauna in a region dominated almost exclusively by sugar-cane plantations. Besides faunal aspects, the conservation of these fragments is of great importance for the establishment of studies related to species preservation in the long term, including reintroduction and translocation projects, as well as studies related to genetic health of isolated populations.

scholarly journals Gizzard vs. teeth, it's a tie: food-processing efficiency in herbivorous birds and mammals and implications for dinosaur feeding strategies

Paleobiology ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 37 (4) ◽  
pp. 577-586 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julia Fritz ◽  
Jürgen Hummel ◽  
Ellen Kienzle ◽  
Oliver Wings ◽  
W. Jürgen Streich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Particle Size ◽  
Food Processing ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Size Reduction ◽  
Feeding Strategies ◽  
Mammal Species ◽  
Particle Size Reduction ◽  
Processing Efficiency ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Significant Difference

Particle size reduction is a primary means of improving efficiency in herbivores. The mode of food particle size reduction is one of the main differences between herbivorous birds (gizzard) and mammals (teeth). For a quantitative comparison of the efficiency of food comminution, we investigated mean fecal particle sizes (MPS) in 14 herbivorous bird species and compared these with a data set of 111 non-ruminant herbivorous mammal species. In general MPS increased with body mass, but there was no significant difference between birds and mammals, suggesting a comparable efficiency of food processing by gizzards and chewing teeth. The results lead to the intriguing question of why gizzard systems have evolved comparatively rarely among amniote herbivores. Advantages linked to one of the two food comminution systems must, however, be sought in different effects other than size reduction itself. In paleoecological scenarios, the evolution of “dental batteries,” for example in ornithopod dinosaurs, should be considered an advantage compared to absence of mastication, but not compared to gizzard-based herbivory.

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