Apparent foraging success reflects habitat quality in an irruptive species, the Black-backed Woodpecker

Rota, Christopher T.; Rumble, Mark A.; Lehman, Chad P.; Kesler, Dylan C.; Millspaugh, Joshua J.

doi:10.1650/condor-14-112.1

Cited by 26 publications

(25 citation statements)

References 45 publications

(43 reference statements)

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“…For example, in our study system, lodgepole pine is highly serotinous with cone opening cued by fire (Lotan and Perry ), and the black‐backed woodpecker, Picoides arcticus , relies on the larvae of wood‐boring beetles for food that proliferate in fire‐killed trees (Rota et al. ). As a complement, fire refugia provide important “bridging habitat” (DeLong and Kessler ) for a wide range of species during the passage of fire and post‐fire (Robinson et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Topographic and fire weather controls of fire refugia in forested ecosystems of northwestern North America

Haire²,

et al. 2016

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Abstract. Fire refugia, sometimes referred to as fire islands, shadows, skips, residuals, or fire remnants, are an important element of the burn mosaic, but we lack a quantitative framework that links observations of fire refugia from different environmental contexts. Here, we develop and test a conceptual model for how predictability of fire refugia varies according to topographic complexity and fire weather conditions. Refugia were quantified as areas unburned or burned at comparatively low severity based on remotely sensed burn severity data. We assessed the relationship between refugia and a suite of terrain-related explanatory metrics by fitting a collection of boosted regression tree models. The models were developed for seven study fires that burned in conifer-dominated forested landscapes of the Western Cordillera of Canada between 2001 and 2014. We fit nine models, each for distinct levels of fire weather and terrain ruggedness. Our framework revealed that the predictability and abundance of fire refugia varied among these environmental settings. We observed highest predictability under moderate fire weather conditions and moderate terrain ruggedness (ROC-AUC = 0.77), and lowest predictability in flatter landscapes and under high fire weather conditions (ROC-AUC = 0.63-0.68). Catchment slope, local aspect, relative position, topographic wetness, topographic convergence, and local slope all contributed to discriminating where refugia occur but the relative importance of these topographic controls differed among environments. Our framework allows us to characterize the predictability of contemporary fire refugia across multiple environmental settings and provides important insights for ecosystem resilience, wildfire management, conservation planning, and climate change adaptation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Topographic and fire weather controls of fire refugia in forested ecosystems of northwestern North America

Haire²,

et al. 2016

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“…Black‐backed woodpeckers are attracted to postwildfire conditions because of the abundance of larvae of a number of wood‐boring beetle species that are attracted to the fire‐killed trees (Murphy and Lehnhausen , Rota et al. ). Several of these beetle species are themselves relatively restricted to recently burned forests (Saint‐Germain et al.…”

Section: Severely Burned Forests Create Biologically Unique Conditionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Toward a more ecologically informed view of severe forest fires

et al. 2016

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Abstract.We use the historical presence of high-severity fire patches in mixed-conifer forests of the western United States to make several points that we hope will encourage development of a more ecologically informed view of severe wildland fire effects. First, many plant and animal species use, and have sometimes evolved to depend on, severely burned forest conditions for their persistence. Second, evidence from fire history studies also suggests that a complex mosaic of severely burned conifer patches was common historically in the West. Third, to maintain ecological integrity in forests born of mixed-severity fire, land managers will have to accept some severe fire and maintain the integrity of its aftermath. Lastly, public education messages surrounding fire could be modified so that people better understand and support management designed to maintain ecologically appropriate sizes and distributions of severe fire and the complex early-seral forest conditions it creates.

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“…The black‐backed woodpecker ( Picoides arcticus ) is a post‐fire specialist that appears closely tied to areas burned at high severity across much of its range (Hutto, ). Black‐backed woodpeckers depend on snags for nest sites and foraging (Rota, Rumble, Lehman, Kesler, & Millspaugh, ; Seavy, Burnett, & Taille, ). In the western U.S., the species primarily feeds on the larvae of wood‐boring beetles (Cerambycidae and Buprestidae), which reproduce in dead and dying trees, especially after fire (Murphy & Lehnhausen, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Past studies of habitat selection have indicated that some fledgling passerines select habitat with greater cover than adults, likely providing increased protection from predators (Jones, Brawn, & Ward, 2017;King, Degraaf, Smith, & Buonaccorsi, 2006). Habitat use in adult black-backed woodpeckers is linked to areas with high food availability (Rota et al, 2015;Tingley, Wilkerson, Bond, Howell, & Siegel, 2014), yet open, snag-dominated stands containing high food concentrations often have less cover than surrounding areas. Fledgling woodpeckers generally do not forage for themselves during the period when they are dependent on food provisioning from adults.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Age‐dependent habitat relationships of a burned forest specialist emphasise the role of pyrodiversity in fire management

Stillman

Siegel

Wilkerson

et al. 2019

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Variation in fire characteristics, termed pyrodiversity, plays an important role in structuring post‐fire communities, but little is known about the importance of pyrodiversity for individual species. The availability of diverse post‐fire habitats may be key for fire‐associated species if they require different resources at different life‐history stages. We tested for age‐specific habitat relationships in the black‐backed woodpecker, a post‐fire specialist. We used radio‐telemetry to track fledgling and adult woodpeckers in burned forests and built resource selection functions to compare the effect of stand‐, tree‐ and snag‐level covariates between adults and fledglings. Fledgling black‐backed woodpeckers selected habitat with more live trees than adults and used more heterogeneous habitats burned at lower severity, illustrating strong age‐dependent effects on habitat selection. Within selected stands, fledglings were less likely to use snags and more likely to use live trees when compared to adults, but both age classes showed strong positive selection for larger‐diameter trees (live and dead). Over the 60 days after leaving their nests, fledglings showed an increasing propensity to use snags rather than live trees. Our results provide evidence that the predation–starvation hypothesis, which posits a trade‐off between foraging efficiency and the need to minimise predation risk, plays a role in structuring the age‐dependent habitat use of a burned forest specialist. Adult black‐backed woodpeckers selected resources associated with food availability, but these resources occurred in relatively open, exposed habitat. Fledglings selected habitat that provided increased cover, perhaps as a strategy to reduce predation risk. Synthesis and applications. Globally, fires are increasing in severity and extent, leading to increased focus on fire‐associated species that play keystone roles in facilitating biodiversity resilience. Our findings suggest that a diversity of patches burned at different severities may benefit post‐fire specialists like the black‐backed woodpecker at multiple life‐history stages. The increasing prevalence of large, homogeneously high‐severity ‘megafires’ may present an emerging threat even to post‐fire specialists, and we urge land managers to consider opportunities to promote pyrodiversity in the face of novel fire regimes.

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Apparent foraging success reflects habitat quality in an irruptive species, the Black-backed Woodpecker

Cited by 26 publications

References 45 publications

Topographic and fire weather controls of fire refugia in forested ecosystems of northwestern North America

Topographic and fire weather controls of fire refugia in forested ecosystems of northwestern North America

Toward a more ecologically informed view of severe forest fires

Age‐dependent habitat relationships of a burned forest specialist emphasise the role of pyrodiversity in fire management

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