No abstract

Forest management results in forest patches of varying sizes within a clearcut matrix. The result is a large amount of edge habitat and many small patches across the landscape. Here we describe the spring-active epigeal spider and carabid fauna found at the forest-clearcut edge of spruce forest in northern Ontario, Canada. We include two types of edge: the forest-clearcut interface and the small habitat patches formed by forest residuals within the clearcut. Springactive forest spiders and carabids appear little affected by adjacent clearcutting activity, and some forest species, such as Agyneta olivacea (Emetron), Diplocentria bidentata (Emetron) and Microneta viaria (Blackwall), are more prevalent at the forested edge. Common and abundant spider species were equally recorded in forest interior and forest edge. Generally, no invasion of open-habitat species was observed within the forest, although smaller forest patches may be at higher risk.

Human activities are increasingly confronting animals with unfamiliar environmental conditions. For example, habitat change and loss often lead to habitat fragmentation, which can create barriers of unsuitable and unfamiliar habitat affecting animal movements and survival. When confronted with habitat changes, animals' cognitive abilities play an important, but often neglected part in dealing with such change. Animals must decide whether to approach and investigate novel habitats (spatial neophilia) or whether to avoid them (spatial neophobia) due to potential danger. For species with strict habitat preferences, such as the Gouldian finch (Erythrura gouldiae), which is an open habitat specialist, understanding these novelty responses may be especially important for predicting responses to habitat changes. The Gouldian finch is a polymorphic species, with primarily red or black head colors, which are linked to differing behavioral phenotypes, including novelty reactions. Here we investigate responses to novel habitats (open, dense) in the Gouldian finch, manipulating the color composition of samesex pairs. Two experiments, each consisting of novel open and novel dense habitat, tested birds in opposite head color combinations in the two experiments. We measured the number of approaches birds made (demonstrating conflict between approach and avoidance), and their entry latency to novel habitats. Gouldian finches showed more approach attempts (stronger approach-avoidance conflict) toward the dense as compared to the open habitat, confirming their open habitat preferences. Black-headed birds also hesitated longer to enter the dense habitat as compared to the open habitat, particularly in experiment 1, appearing less neophilic than red-headed birds, which showed similar entry latencies into both habitat types. This is surprising as black-headed birds were more neophilic in other contexts. Moreover, there was some indication that pairings including at least one black-headed bird had a stronger approach-avoidance conflict than pairings of pure red-headed birds. Results suggest that the black-headed