Concerns over declining songbird populations have led to investigations of the effects of various silvicultural practices on breeding songbirds. Few studies published, however, have examined both songbird populations and avian nest success among harvesting treatments, particularly in forested landscapes. We conducted a study in the Monongahela National Forest of West Virginia during the summers of 1993 to 1996 to compare breeding-bird abundance and daily nest survival rates among different sivicultural treatments: a two-age treatment (a type of deferred removal in which 37-49 mature trees/ha remain after a harvest until the next rotation), clearcutting treatments 15 years after harvest, unharvested forest surrounding the harvested stands, and unharvested stands not adjacent to cuts. Abundance and daily nest-survival rates did not differ among treatments ( p Ͼ 0.05) for four of the five species for which the most nests were found: Wood Thrush ( Hylocichla mustelina ), Rose-breasted Grosbeak ( Pheucticus ludovicianus ), Acadian Flycatcher ( Empidonax virescens ), Veery ( Catharus fuscescens ), Red-eyed Vireo ( Vireo olivaceus ). Parasitism rates were low (6%), and most parasitized nests were associated with the two-age harvest treatment. A source-sink model for the Wood Thrush revealed that all treatments were likely population sources for this species. Thus, it appears that 15 years after harvest, cuts placed within otherwise extensively forested areas do not result in the type of edge effects (population sinks) observed in areas fragmented by agriculture in the midwestern United States. Further, because neither nest success nor avian abundance was lower in the two-age than clearcut harvests, we conclude that two-age management is a viable conservation alternative to clearcutting in large forested landscapes where Brown-headed Cowbird ( Molothrus ater ) parasitism is not a concern.Abundancia de Aves Canoras y Tasas de Supervivencia de Nidos de Aves en Bosques Fragmentados por Diferentes Tratamientos Silviculturales Resumen: La preocupación sobre la declinación de poblaciones de aves canoras ha conducido a investigaciones sobre los efectos de varias prácticas silviculturales sobre la reproducción de aves canoras. Sin embargo, pocos estudios han examinado tanto las poblaciones de aves como el éxito de nidos de aves entre tratamientos de cosecha, particularmente en paisajes boscosos. Realizamos un estudio en el Parque Nacional Monongahela en Virginia Occidental durante los veranos de 1993 a 1996 para comparar la abundancia de aves reproductoras y las tasas diarias de supervivencia de nidos entre diferentes tratamientos silviculturales (tratamiento de dos edades [un tipo de remoción diferida en el que permanecen 37-49 árboles maduros/ha después de una cosecha hasta la siguiente rotación] y tratamientos de tala total 15 años después de la cosecha, bosque no cosechado alrededor de los áreas cosechadas y áreas sin cosechar no adyacentes a áreas con cortes). La abundancia y las tasas diarias de supervivencia de nidos no d...

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White-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) overabundance is a problem of serious concern for wildlife managers. At densities as low as 8 deer/km 2 , changes in vegetation due to deer feeding patterns have been demonstrated to negatively impact other wildlife species. The Middle Patuxent Environmental Area (MPEA) in Howard County, Maryland, USA, currently supports a deer population of approximately 41 deer/km 2 . We used an experimental approach to examine how deer overabundance in a suburban environment impacts both vegetation and invertebrates. Ten 20-m  20-m deer exclosures were constructed in the MPEA during the winter-spring of 1999. Vegetation and invertebrate data have subsequently been collected inside the exclosures and areas adjacent to the exclosures (control) during the summers of 1999, 2003, and 2007. There was no initial difference in vegetation variables between exclosure and control plots in 1999 (P > 0.05). Post-1999, plant species richness was greater in the exclosure than in the control. A multivariate analysis of variance revealed differences (P < 0.001) in vegetation cover variables between exclosures and controls, with a greater percentage of forbs, shrubby vegetation, and taller stems in the exclosure and more grass and exotics in the control. There were few differences in invertebrates between exclosures. The differences observed in vegetation between exclosures is believed to reflect interactions between deer feeding patterns and the invasive Japanese stilt grass (Microstegium vimineum) and unless deer density is reduced, it is likely that the exotic Japanese stiltgrass will continue to increase in abundance and native plant species will decrease. ß 2011 The Wildlife Society.

We examined use of 2 silvicultural treatments (clearcut and two‐age harvests), 15–18 years post‐harvest by cerulean warblers (Dendroica cerulea) in mixed mesophytic and northern hardwood forests of the Allegheny Mountain region in West Virginia. Cerulean warbler abundance and occurrence were greater in 70–80‐year‐old mature forests than in 15–18‐year‐old clearcuts. Although abundance did not differ statistically between clearcut and two‐age treatments, it was almost 5 times greater in the two‐age treatments, likely because they provided a more complex canopy structure. Abundance of cerulean warblers in unharvested periphery stands adjacent to clearcut and two‐age harvests was similar to that in unharvested control stands, suggesting that small harvests within mature forest do not negatively impact cerulean warbler abundance in the remaining forest, only within the clearcut harvests themselves.