Avian population ecology and functional connectivity in managed forest landscapes

管理森林景观中的鸟类种群生态和功能连通性

• 批准号: 170643-2011
• 负责人: Villard, MarcAndré
• 金额: $ 2.77万
• 依托单位: Université de Moncton
• 依托单位国家: 加拿大
• 项目类别: Discovery Grants Program - Individual
• 财政年份: 2014
• 资助国家: 加拿大
• 起止时间: 2014-01-01 至 2015-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nserc-crsng.gc.ca/ase-oro/Details-Detailles_eng.asp?id=545863
• 关键词: Avian; population; ecology; functional; connectivity

Ultimately, natural resource management influences individual organisms. It is often assumed that individuals of mobile species will simply move elsewhere to avoid newly-disturbed areas but few studies have been conducted to confirm this. In 2006, we established a set of experimental plots and we marked nearly all males of a migratory bird species (Ovenbird) prior to the treatment of half of these plots through selection harvesting during the next winter. This harvest treatment removed 30-40% of the wood volume. We have monitored the response of Ovenbird populations and individually-marked males ever since. We have also monitored the response of the Brown Creeper, another forest bird species that is a year-round resident or short-distance migrant in the study region. Surprisingly, in the first year after harvesting, almost as many male Ovenbirds returned to their territory as in the controls. However, 4 years after, a lower proportion of birds from the 2006 cohort are still present in treated plots than in controls. We will pursue this research to answer the following questions: (1) have the 2006 Ovenbirds suffered a higher mortality in treated plots than in controls? (2) If so, does immigration maintain the density of Ovenbirds in treated plots? (3) What is the approximate region from which these immigrants come from? (4) Does the reproductive success of the Brown Creeper and the Ovenbird fluctuate with the abundance of nest predators and, ultimately, in response to cycles in seed production? (5) Are these phenomena influenced by the harvest treatment? Neither of these bird species is currently rare but both are sensitive to forestry across their range. This research will thus provide information that will be critical to ensure that proactive conservation strategies are designed to maintain healthy populations of these and ecologically-similar species. Preventive research should receive as much attention as species recovery if we are to address the ultimate causes of biodiversity loss. So far, our work has influenced N.B. forest management policy, specifically to characterize forests of high conservation value.

最终，自然资源管理影响个体生物体。人们通常认为，移动物种的个体会简单地迁移到其他地方，以避免新受到干扰的地区，但很少有研究证实这一点。 2006年，我们建立了一组实验田，对几乎所有雄性候鸟（烤鸟）进行了标记，然后在下一个冬季通过选择性收获对其中一半的实验田进行了处理。这种收获处理去除了 30-40% 的木材体积。从那时起，我们就一直监测烤炉鸟种群和单独标记的雄性烤炉鸟的反应。我们还监测了棕爬行鸟的反应，这是另一种森林鸟类，在研究地区常年留鸟或短途迁徙。令人惊讶的是，在收获后的第一年，返回领地的雄性烤箱鸟数量几乎与对照组一样多。然而，4 年后，2006 年队列中的鸟类在处理地块中的比例仍低于对照组。我们将开展这项研究来回答以下问题：(1) 2006 年烤箱鸟在处理过的地块中的死亡率是否高于对照地块中的死亡率？ (2) 如果是这样，移民是否会维持处理过的地块中烤箱鸟的密度？ （3）这些移民大概来自哪个地区？ (4) 棕爬行者和烤箱鸟的繁殖成功率是否会随着巢穴捕食者的数量而波动，并最终响应种子生产的周期？ (5) 这些现象是否受到收获处理的影响？这两种鸟类目前都并不稀有，但它们都对其分布范围内的林业敏感。因此，这项研究将提供至关重要的信息，以确保制定积极的保护策略来维持这些物种和生态相似物种的健康种群。如果我们要解决生物多样性丧失的最终原因，预防性研究应该与物种恢复一样受到重视。到目前为止，我们的工作已经影响了 N.B.森林管理政策，特别是针对具有高保护价值的森林的特征。