Density, Distribution, and Attributes of Tree Cavities in an Old‐Growth Tropical Rain Forest

Boyle, W. Alice; Ganong, Carissa N.; Clark, David B.; Hast, Marisa

doi:10.1111/j.1744-7429.2007.00357.x

Cited by 42 publications

(49 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…Few comparable data exist on cavity availability from other tropical forests, particularly Africa [10]. A site in Costa Rica had 58 cavities/ha [20] and a study in Argentina reported four natural cavities per ha [10]. In Peru, piedmont forests had 4.1 cavities/ha and 3.9/ha in cloud forest [66].…”

Section: Availability Of Cavities In Trees and Cavity Census Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus censuses of cavity availability based solely on ground observation are suspect [17,48]. Repeated observations where use by animals can be observed could increase accuracy [19,65], but observing cavity use is difficult and requires substantial effort [20]. It is unlikely that counts of inconspicuous cavities in tropical rainforests can be trusted in absolute terms, but such quantification might still be useful for comparative studies.…”

Section: Availability Of Cavities In Trees and Cavity Census Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Cavities are often hard to detect from the ground [18] and often can only be detected by following cavity-using animals to concealed cavities [19] or by inspecting downed trees [17]. Relatively few reliable data exist on the availability of cavities in tropical forests [20], and it is believed that logging often significantly reduces availability of cavities [5,16,21,22]. There are fewer cavities in secondary tropical forests than in unlogged primary forest [16,20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Woodpeckers are crucial components of many forests and substantially increase the availability of tree cavities [20,33,34]. The absence of woodpeckers in New Guinea suggests tree cavities might be less available and more limiting than some other forests, and that cavity-using species are more reliant on processes of decay that create cavities [10].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Relatively few reliable data exist on the availability of cavities in tropical forests [20], and it is believed that logging often significantly reduces availability of cavities [5,16,21,22]. There are fewer cavities in secondary tropical forests than in unlogged primary forest [16,20].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Tree Cavity-Using Wildlife and the Potential of Artificial Nest Boxes for Wildlife Management in New Guinea

Warakai¹,

Okena²,

Igag³

et al. 2013

Tropical Conservation Science

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Little is known of the frequency of use and reliance upon tree cavities by wildlife, nor the natural availability of cavities in New Guinea forests. We surveyed the literature for records of cavity use by birds and mammals in New Guinea. We examined every standing tree on one hectare of primary forest and one hectare of secondary forest for cavities, then carefully assessed every tree for cavities after they were felled. We put up 190 artificial nest boxes of five designs in three sites and monitored occupancy. At least 50 species (23.6%) of New Guinea terrestrial mammals and 118 species (17.7%) of non-marine or aquatic bird species are recorded in the literature as using tree cavities. Ground observation identified 36 suspected cavities in a hectare of lowland primary forest and 10 in nearby secondary forest. Upon inspection of all trees after felling, these figures changed to 26 and 0 respectively. Ground censuses are not accurate. Cavities were more commonly found in large trees. In less than a year, nest box occupancy reached exceeded 33%, with Phalanger spp. and Sugar gliders, Petaurus breviceps, being most common. Some bird use was detected by the presence of feathers; snakes and geckos were also found in boxes. Occupancy increased with time and would probably be higher after a second year. The larger boxes had greater occupancy, as did boxes placed higher in the trees. Bees occupied and probably excluded other users from 10% of boxes. As Papuan forests are disturbed by logging, hunting practices and gardening, conservationists might need to manage practices to ensure cavity availability. Artificial nest boxes might have utility for wildlife conservation and research.

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Section: Availability Of Cavities In Trees and Cavity Census Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Availability Of Cavities In Trees and Cavity Census Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Tree Cavity-Using Wildlife and the Potential of Artificial Nest Boxes for Wildlife Management in New Guinea

Warakai¹,

Okena²,

Igag³

et al. 2013

Tropical Conservation Science

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Density and characteristics of tree cavities inside and outside Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Niringiyimana

Nzarora

Twahirwa

et al. 2022

Ecology and Evolution

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Tree cavities, formed by animal excavation or processes of fungal decay and mechanical damage, may provide nesting, roosting, or resting opportunities to many invertebrate and vertebrate species. Although cavity availability has been linked to patterns of biodiversity and ecosystem functioning elsewhere, there have been few such studies in the Afrotropics. Here, we present a baseline survey of cavity availability inside the high elevation (2200-3714 m) Afromontane forest ecosystems of Volcanoes National Park (VNP), Rwanda. We aimed to provide such reference data in the form of summary statistics on cavity density and characteristics in a collection of 400 m 2 plots that together cover 8.8 ha inside and 0.68 ha outside VNP. We also explored the relative importance of fungal decay vs. excavators in the formation of cavities, tested for the relative role of standing dead trees and living trees as cavity substrates, considered differences in diameter and height between cavity-bearing trees and trees without cavities, tested whether cavity density varies across elevation, and determined the orientation of cavity entrances. We found 109 cavities in 52 cavity-bearing trees (dominated by Hagenia abyssinica) inside VNP, for a density of 12.4 cavities and 5.9 cavity-bearing trees per hectare, and none outside the park. More cavities were decay-formed (n = 90) than excavated (n = 19), and though most cavities were found in living trees (n = 44), the number of cavities in dead trees (n = 8) was high relative to dead tree substrate availability. We also found that cavity-bearing trees were larger than those without cavities, that excavated cavities were predominantly oriented toward the southeast and decay-formed cavities to the northeast, and that cavity density declined with increases in elevation. Our results show that large and dead trees of particular species are important cavity substrates that need to be given attention in conservation and management, as is clearly illustrated by the lack of cavities in the highly managed Eucalyptus stands outside VNP.

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Resource requirements of parrots: nest site selectivity and dietary plasticity of Psittaciformes

et al. 2015

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Parrots (Order Psittaciformes) are secondary cavity-nesters that depend on existing cavities for nest sites, and consume plant resources of fruits, seeds, and flowers that are highly variable, but little is known of resource selectivity by parrots, or how they deal with variable environments. We reviewed published studies of nest-cavity use by parrots, and those evaluating parrot diet and their relationship with food resources. Most studies have been conducted within the last 20 years and these present data on resource use for only one-third of parrot species worldwide. However, basic information on resource requirements is lacking for the vast majority of Psittaciformes, particularly for species from the Asian region. Nesting studies have found that parrots use nest cavities in large trees, high above the ground, with large nest chambers, of 0.5-1 m deep, and entrance diameters related to body size of the parrot species. A few studies demonstrate that parrots select nest sites based on cavity characteristics, which may influence nest success, but a complete evaluation of adaptive nest site selection by Psittaciformes is lacking. Parrots have varied diets and may employ a combination of strategies of diet switching, habitat shifts, and movements to track food resources. This plasticity in diet and foraging strategy may influence the extent to which parrots can respond to anthropogenic pressures of global change. Parrots may also play an important functional role in forest ecosystems, yet little is currently known of plant-animal interactions of parrots, or the impact of parrot populations on forest dynamics. Based on our review of the literature, we suggest that to meet their resource requirements, parrots employ resource selection strategies of hierarchical nest site selection to increase the likelihood of nest success, and plasticity in diet and foraging strategy to track variable food resources. Future studies need to evaluate resource selection and the consequences of this for fitness in order to assess the potential impacts of global change on parrot populations, and to identify characteristics which make species vulnerable to human pressures.

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Density, Distribution, and Attributes of Tree Cavities in an Old‐Growth Tropical Rain Forest

Cited by 42 publications

References 21 publications

Tree Cavity-Using Wildlife and the Potential of Artificial Nest Boxes for Wildlife Management in New Guinea

Tree Cavity-Using Wildlife and the Potential of Artificial Nest Boxes for Wildlife Management in New Guinea

Density and characteristics of tree cavities inside and outside Volcanoes National Park, Rwanda

Resource requirements of parrots: nest site selectivity and dietary plasticity of Psittaciformes

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