Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus)

Tremblay, Junior A.; Dixon, Rita D.; Saab, Victoria A.; Pyle, Peter; Patten, Michael A.

doi:10.2173/bow.bkbwoo.01

Cited by 10 publications

(23 citation statements)

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“…In these old‐growth forests, the dynamics shaping the structural characteristics and complexity of these stands began decades, if not centuries, ago (Oliver and Larson 1996, Wirth et al 2009). Secondary disturbances therefore ensure a continuous input of recent snags (Harper et al 2005, Aakala et al 2007, Martin et al 2019), which is the preferred foraging substrate of the black‐backed woodpecker (Tremblay et al 2010, 2020 a , Nappi et al 2015). Similarly, we observed a high density of large snags, having either recent or old foraging marks.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We also ensured that variables included in model selection were not correlated; for this, we used an R < 0.7 (Pearson's correlation) threshold running the pairs.panel function from the psych package (Revelle 2020). We based our selection of variables by choosing forest attributes that characterize old‐growth forest types (Martin et al 2018) and foraging selection by the black‐backed woodpecker (Tremblay et al 2010, 2020 a , Nappi et al 2015). As a complement to the linear model selection, we also performed a bootstrapped linear regression (Davidson and Hinkley 1997) to determine the confidence interval of the obtained R 2 value.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…2). Such excavated foraging marks are characteristic of the black-backed woodpecker when individuals forage for wood-boring beetles from within dying or recently dead coniferous trees (Tremblay et al 2010(Tremblay et al , 2020a. The American three-toed woodpecker (Picoides dorsalis) is the other woodpecker species that is a specialist to conifers in the study area; however, this species may also forage by excavation, but would most of the time remove bark scales to feed on bark beetles (Nappi et al 2015, Tremblay et al 2020b).…”

Section: Study Territory and Field Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In unburned forests, this species forages almost exclusively in coniferous forest stands that are more than 90 yr old (Tremblay et al 2009), and preferentially on recent snags (Tremblay et al 2010, 2020 a , Nappi et al 2015). As noted for other woodpecker species (Drever et al 2008, Roberge et al 2008), the presence of black‐backed woodpeckers within a given area likely indicates the presence of other vulnerable species related to old‐growth forests, where secondary disturbances, such as windthrows, produce early‐decay snags.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This pattern of use can help identify the most vital old‐growth forest types for this species and thus contribute to better target forests that need to be protected. Furthermore, foraging activities by woodpeckers, especially while excavating to attack preys (Tremblay et al 2020 a ), produce marks on trees that remain for a long period of time. Hence, surveying foraging marks is an efficient way to assess woodpecker habitat use (Cadieux and Drapeau 2017, Dufour‐Pelletier et al 2020).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An indicator species highlights continuous deadwood supply is a key ecological attribute of boreal old‐growth forests

et al. 2021

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Study Territory and Field Samplingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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An indicator species highlights continuous deadwood supply is a key ecological attribute of boreal old‐growth forests

et al. 2021

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Deadwood Biodiversity

Löfroth

Birkemoe

Shorohova

et al. 2023

Advances in Global Change Research

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Deadwood is a key component for biodiversity and ecosystem services in boreal forests; however, the abundance of this critical element is declining worldwide. In natural forests, deadwood is produced by tree death due to physical disturbances, senescence, or pathogens. Timber harvesting, fire suppression, and salvage logging reduce deadwood abundance and diversity, and climate change is expected to bring further modifications. Although the effects of these changes are not yet fully understood, restoring a continuous supply of deadwood in boreal forest ecosystems is vital to reverse the negative trends in species richness and distribution. Increasing the availability of deadwood offers a path to building resilient forest ecosystems for the future.

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Is green the new black? Black-backed Woodpecker vital rates do not differ between unburned and burned forests within a pyrodiverse landscape

Kerstens

Rivers

2023

Ornithological Applications

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Woodpeckers often reflect rapid changes to forest health and serve as indicator species to help guide forest management decisions. The Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus) is known for its strong association with recently burned forests and is a species of conservation concern due to habitat loss stemming from post-fire management of burned forest. Several studies have found the Black-backed Woodpecker occupying extensive areas of unburned (i.e., green) forests in the western part of its range during the breeding season, raising questions about whether green forests can support viable nesting populations in this region. We studied breeding Black-backed Woodpeckers in southern Oregon, USA to evaluate whether two vital rates critical to population recruitment—nest survival and post-fledging survival—differed between green and burned forests. During 2018, 2019, and 2021, we monitored 91 Black-backed Woodpecker nests (n = 34 in green forest, n = 57 in burned forest) and found that neither daily nest survival rate nor reproductive output (i.e., the number of fledglings per successful nest) differed between nests located in green and burned forest; however, nestling body condition was slightly enhanced in green forest. We also quantified survival of recently fledged individuals using VHF radio telemetry and found that the survival rate of birds in green forest was nearly identical to those in burned forest, with most mortalities occurring within 4 weeks of fledging. Our results indicate that Black-backed Woodpeckers in green forests were equally successful at breeding as conspecifics in recently burned forest, although densities of nesting pairs in green forest were lower than those in burned forest. Our findings indicate certain types of green forest, particularly mature lodgepole pine, can support viable populations of the Black-backed Woodpecker in the western portion of its range. This finding has conservation implications given that green forest occupies much of the forested landscape in this region and is often juxtaposed to areas subjected to high severity fire. Therefore, practices that promote pyrodiversity—landscape-level spatial and temporal variability in fire effects—as well as connectivity between green and burned forest within fire-prone landscapes are likely to provide the greatest conservation benefit for this species.

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Black-backed Woodpecker (Picoides arcticus)

Cited by 10 publications

References 0 publications

An indicator species highlights continuous deadwood supply is a key ecological attribute of boreal old‐growth forests

An indicator species highlights continuous deadwood supply is a key ecological attribute of boreal old‐growth forests

Deadwood Biodiversity

Is green the new black? Black-backed Woodpecker vital rates do not differ between unburned and burned forests within a pyrodiverse landscape

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