Comparison of Nesting Ecology of Three Co-Existing Atlantic Forest Woodpeckers Reveals Narrow Specialization in the Helmeted Woodpecker Celeus galeatus

Abstract

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Home range patterns of Helmeted Woodpecker (Celeus galeatus), Lineated Woodpecker (Dryocopus lineatus), and Robust Woodpecker (Campephilus robustus) in Misiones, Argentina, in a global perspective

“…The woodpeckers were color-banded and outfitted with Holohil Ltd. (Carp, Ontario) radio-tags of < 3% body mass, zip-tied and glued to the central tail feathers. Study sites, capture methods, radiotagging and woodpecker body masses were described in more detail in Fernández et al (2020) and Lammertink et al (2019Lammertink et al ( , 2020b. Between scouting, trapping, and radio-tracking our effort was 724 field days during July-December of 2012 through 2019.…”

“…The Helmeted Woodpecker co-exists throughout its range with the larger Lineated Woodpecker (Dryocopus lineatus) and still larger Robust Woodpecker (Campephilus robustus). The three species are strikingly similar in plumage colors and patterns, and in spite of considerable differences in body mass they are rather similar in overall size, in part because of the increasingly larger crests of Lineated and Helmeted Woodpeckers (Lammertink et al 2020b). The plumage convergence of the three species has been proposed to be driven by interference competition for foraging resources (Prum and Samuelson 2016).…”

“…Plausible links that explain the association of this species with mature forests include its use of decay-formed cavities in mature trees, in tree species that are sought-after for timber, for year-round overnight roosting (Lammertink et al 2019) and its use of large, decaying laurel (Nectandra sp.) trees for nest cavity excavation (Lammertink et al 2020b). Although the dependence on mature forests in other specialist woodpeckers is often related to the availability of foraging resources (Tanner 1942, Czeszczewik 2009, Lammertink et al 2009, Tremblay et al 2010, Helmeted Woodpeckers forage mostly in younger, medium-sized trees and on bamboo substrates (Fernández et al 2020).…”

“…Plumage convergence may instead aid in deceiving predators, and provide advantages in intraspecific competition by deceiving conspecific territory interlopers into mistaking the co-existing species for conspecifics (Fernández et al 2020). Lineated Woodpecker and Robust Woodpecker are more flexible than Helmeted in adapting to smaller trees in logged forests for cavity excavation (Lammertink et al 2020b), use both excavated and decay-formed cavities for roosting (M. Lammertink and J. M. Fernández, unpublished data), generally are more common than Helmeted Woodpecker (see https://ebird.org/home), and often persist in selectively logged forests and fragmented forests (Krauczuk andBaldo 2004, Krauczuk 2008).…”

Population structure of understory, canopy/emergent tree species in Brazilian Atlantic Forest remnants with different Conservation status

“…However, this Biome has a widespread devastation scenario in which most remaining forests are small isolated fragments and under intense anthropic pressure (Callaghan et al, 2019;Liebsch et al, 2016). Considering the anthropic pressures, selective logging has a major impact on these forests (Brocardo et al, 2018;Cunha et al, 2021;Eisenlohr et al, 2015;Lammertink et al, 2020;Rutishauser et al, 2016;Silva & Vibrans, 2019).…”