Characteristics of tree hollows used by Australian birds and bats

Abstract

Many hundreds of species of wildlife worldwide are dependent on tree hollows (cavities) for their survival.

Tree cavities and associated vertebrate fauna in a coniferous forest of Dhirkot, Azad Jammu and Kashmir part of Pakistan

“…Our study revealed that the reason cavity height above ground was significantly higher for excavated cavities than for decay-formed cavities relates to an assumption that excavators tend to prefer higher nest sites to avoid predation. The mean height of occupied cavities above ground (4.28 ± 0.55 m) was similar to that reported by Goldingay (2009), who found that more than 75% of 33 parrot species had cavity entrances within 5 m of the ground. A positive relationship found between cavity entrance diameter and cavity depth is supported by the findings of , in which the cavity entrance size was strongly positively correlated with internal cavity volume in a mixed broad-leaf-podocarp rainforest of New Zealand.…”

“…Our data show that the majority (13 out of 19) of the recorded animal species were associated with snags, and apparently this is related to the higher occurrence (59%) of cavities in snags than in live trees. A similar relationship is evident from Australia where tree cavities frequently used by birds, bats, and squirrels were located in dead trees, as these were more likely to contain cavities (Beyer, 2008;Goldingay, 2009). Likewise, in temperate forests of North America, the majority of nest sites of cavity-nesting birds were found in dead trees (Scott et al, 1980;Raphael and White, 1984).…”

“…Although many studies are available on this ecological resource, it is only well documented and reviewed in Australia, Europe, and North America (Goldingay, 2009;Remm and Lohmus, 2011). Cockle et al (2011) and Remm and Lohmus (2011) analysed biotic and abiotic factors contributing to the distribution, creation, and formation of tree cavities on the world scale.…”

“…Although tree cavities are a critical component of forest ecosystems worldwide and are well studied in temperate Europe, North America, and Australia (Goldingay, 2009;Remm and Lohmus, 2011), there is not much known about their characteristics and occupancy rates in Asia. Indeed, no report is available on such data from the wildlife ecologies of Pakistan and its associated territories.…”

Nature conservation on agricultural land: a case study of the endangered Carnaby’s Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus latirostris breeding at Koobabbie in the northern wheatbelt of Western Australia

“…Throughout southern Australia there have been major losses in extent and connectivity of temperate woodlands, and deterioration in the quality of the remainder (State of the Environment Advisory Council 1996, Gibbons and Lindenmayer 2002, Saunders et al 2003, 2014a). This has a major impact on those species that are dependent on hollows for breeding and shelter (Goldingay 2009(Goldingay , 2011, both in terms of the loss of existing large hollow-bearing trees, and competition for the remaining hollows.…”