Short-Term Effects of Fire and Fire-Surrogate Treatments on Avian Nest Survival: A National-Scale Analysis

Farris, Kerry L.; Converse, Sarah J.; Zack, Steve; Robinson, W. Douglas; Amacher, Andrew J.; Contreras, Thomas A.; Gaines, William L.; Kilpatrick, Eran S.; Lanham, J. Drew; Miles, Donald B.; Rompré, Ghislain; Sieving, Kathryn E.; Pierson, Jennifer C.

doi:10.2174/1876325101004010053

Cited by 5 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Because no other study has compared directly the rates of nest predation on the same site before and after the disturbance, it is difficult to make strong generalizations, especially because the effect of the study site may overwhelm any effect of disturbance and make it difficult to compare data between plots (Farris et al 2010). Similar to the finding in the current study, predation rates for Red-headed Woodpeckers (Vierling and Gentry (2008) and Hairy Woodpeckers (Kozma and Kroll 2012) were higher in burned areas than in unburned plots.…”

Section: Nesting Success As a Results Of Firementioning

confidence: 99%

“…About 40% of existing flicker cavities were destroyed by fire on the sites and as a response, rates of excavation of new cavities increased during the first two years after fire. Fire often reduces snag density, leading to a reduction in habitat quality for cavity nesters (Farris et al 2010), but it has the potential to produce new snags by killing trees (Bagne et al 2008). However, there is unlikely to be a quick pulse of new nest sites into the system because many excavators require a soft tree with some heart rot (Ganey and Vojta 2004, Blanc and Martin 2012, Cockle et al 2012.…”

Section: Excavation Behavior and Its Consequences For Reproductive Sumentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Driscoll et al (2010) argued that a mechanistic understanding of species responses to fire was one of the most pressing knowledge gaps; we need to understand behavioral responses at the level of individuals to predict consequences for population persistence on the landscape scale. After any immediate mortality caused by the fire itself, it is important to know how individuals disperse and colonize habitat patches (e.g., Watson et al 2012), how they obtain required resources such as nesting sites or food, and how this translates to reproductive success (Farris et al 2010).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Responses of cavity‐nesting birds to fire: testing a general model with data from the Northern Flicker

Wiebe

2014

Ecology

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Census‐based studies document changes in population size of animal species in response to wildfires, but mechanisms involving behavior of individuals and the effects on reproductive success are usually unknown. I developed a conceptual model explaining the persistence of cavity‐nesting birds on the landscape after fires depending on carrying capacity (food supply) of the habitat and the philopatry and territoriality of the species. The breeding density, nest site characteristics, and reproductive success of Northern Flickers Colaptes auratus was studied before and after low‐ to moderate‐severity fires on replicated plots. The density and spatial distribution of nests did not change in a consistent way after fires, but the rates of cavity excavation increased and characteristics of nest sites changed as such decay class of the tree. Laying dates were delayed and clutches were smaller in freshly excavated vs. reused cavities on the burned sites. Breeding philopatry caused a shift to older age classes in the population. Depredation of nests by small mammals increased during the first three years after fires, reducing the number of young produced per nest attempt on burned plots. The study shows that, even when fire does not reduce the density of breeding pairs, there may be detrimental effects detected only by monitoring the behavior and reproduction of individuals.

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Section: Nesting Success As a Results Of Firementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Excavation Behavior and Its Consequences For Reproductive Sumentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Responses of cavity‐nesting birds to fire: testing a general model with data from the Northern Flicker

Wiebe

2014

Ecology

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“…Several studies of avian nest survival are included in this issue, including a continent-wide analysis and three site-specific studies. Sample size issues were most challenging with the continent-wide analysis [7]. When attempting such comparisons, one has few species that are shared across all study sites so the temptation is to compare closely related species or members of the same guild so that sample sizes can be boosted.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The more distantly related species are, in general, the less confidence we have in results of comparisons that group species together. For the few comparisons Farris et al [7] were able to conduct, it appeared that no major treatment effects emerged and that the level of habitat heterogeneity in areas around plots might be more important than the treatments themselves on nest survival.…”

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confidence: 99%

The Challenges of Studying Vertebrates in Habitat Treatment Plots

Robinson¹

2010

TOENVIRSJ

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The Challenges of Studying Vertebrates in Habitat Treatment Plots Managers need information about effects of environmental change on populations of species. Such data often come from experiments where habitat components are manipulated and subsequent changes in population size, productivity, or behavior are measured. Research biologists, however, are often reluctant, or unable, to publish data about responses of uncommon organisms because small sample sizes reduce strength of inference as statistical power declines. These challenges to inference are real, but should not completely eliminate access to data that could be valuable to managers [1]. In general, many managers would say some data is better than no data at all. They would prefer to have some data that could be added to their own personal knowledge of a system than to have no data at all. Multiple factors influence habitat management decisions, so managers are typically keen to acquire all data they can before making decisions, even if those data are sparse. An example of this situation comes from attempts to study responses of terrestrial vertebrates to habitat manipulation experiments designed to study plants. Such experiments are often quite expensive so many are designed to incorporate just enough area and replication to identify responses of plants, but are typically too small to ensure that sample sizes of wideranging mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians are large enough to allow population or demographic responses to be measured with confidence. Analytical methods that estimate habitat-associated changes in population size, reproductive success, or survival are often quite data hungry. When samples are small, confidence intervals around estimated parameters are inevitably quite large, leading to a reduction in power to detect treatment effects.

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Ecological effects of alternative fuel-reduction treatments: highlights of the National Fire and Fire Surrogate study (FFS)

McIver

Stephens

Agee

et al. 2013

Int. J. Wildland Fire

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The 12-site National Fire and Fire Surrogate study (FFS) was a multivariate experiment that evaluated ecological consequences of alternative fuel-reduction treatments in seasonally dry forests of the US. Each site was a replicated experiment with a common design that compared an un-manipulated control, prescribed fire, mechanical and mechanical + fire treatments. Variables within the vegetation, fuelbed, forest floor and soil, bark beetles, tree diseases and wildlife were measured in 10-ha stands, and ecological response was compared among treatments at the site level, and across sites, to better understand the influence of differential site conditions. For most sites, treated stands were predicted to be more resilient to wildfire if it occurred shortly after treatment, but for most ecological variables, short-term response to treatments was subtle and transient. Strong site-specificity was observed in the response of most ecosystem variables, suggesting that practitioners employ adaptive management at the local scale. Because ecosystem components were tightly linked, adaptive management would need to include monitoring of a carefully chosen set of key variables. Mechanical treatments did not serve as surrogates for fire for most variables, suggesting that fire be maintained whenever possible. Restoration to pre-settlement conditions will require repeated treatments over time, with eastern forests requiring more frequent applications.

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Short-Term Effects of Fire and Fire-Surrogate Treatments on Avian Nest Survival: A National-Scale Analysis

Cited by 5 publications

References 41 publications

Responses of cavity‐nesting birds to fire: testing a general model with data from the Northern Flicker

Responses of cavity‐nesting birds to fire: testing a general model with data from the Northern Flicker

The Challenges of Studying Vertebrates in Habitat Treatment Plots

Ecological effects of alternative fuel-reduction treatments: highlights of the National Fire and Fire Surrogate study (FFS)

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