Foraging Behaviour in Magellanic Woodpeckers Is Consistent with a Multi-Scale Assessment of Tree Quality

Vergara, Pablo M.; Soto, Gerardo E.; Moreira‐Arce, Darío; Rodewald, Amanda D.; Meneses, Luis O.; Pérez-Hernández, Christian G.

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0159096

Cited by 25 publications

(20 citation statements)

References 78 publications

(98 reference statements)

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“…Unlike saproxylic insects, woodpeckers foraged more on girdled trees in the clustered treatments than uniform treatments. Foraging decisions may be based on information gathered across multiple spatiotemporal scales, as demonstrated for the Magellanic Woodpecker (Campephilus magellanicus King [42]). Indeed, this species acts as a locally informed forager and uses visual clues from the immediate vicinity to select individual trees, whereas the time spent to forage on the same tree is rather influenced by their long-time memory of tree availability along the foraging route or within their home range and tree-level attributes (e.g., DBH, decay stage).…”

Section: Differences Between Snag-supply Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the Effect of Snag and Cavity Supply on Deadwood-Associated Species in a Managed Boreal Forest

Dufour-Pelletier

Tremblay

Hébert

et al. 2020

Forests

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Standing deadwood is an important attribute of old-growth boreal forests and it provides essential microhabitats for deadwood-associated species. In managed boreal forests, short rotations tend to limit the amount and diversity of standing deadwood. This study evaluates if the anthropogenic supply of deadwood attributes through tree girdling or by providing nest boxes may favor deadwood-associated species. We studied the short-term response of saproxylic beetles, foraging woodpeckers, and secondary cavity users to snag and cavity supply in 50 to 70-year-old black spruce stands. In spring 2015, we girdled 8000 black spruce according to two spatial distributions (uniform and clustered), and we also installed 450 nest boxes of six different sizes at three distances from the forest edge. Using trunk window traps, we captured significantly more beetles in sites with girdled trees than in control sites in both 2015 and 2016. We also recorded a trend of a greater abundance of beetles in clusters of girdled trees than within uniformly distributed girdled trees. Trypodendron lineatum (Oliver) dominated beetle assemblages, representing 88.5% of all species in 2015 and 74.6% in 2016. The number of beetles captured was 7× higher in 2015 than in 2016. In contrast, we observed greater amounts of woodpecker foraging marks in fall 2016 than in either fall 2015 or spring 2016. Woodpeckers foraged significantly more in clusters of girdled trees than within uniformly distributed girdled trees. Woodpeckers' foraging mark presence was positively associated with the proportion of recent cuts at 1 km around the study sites. Five Boreal Chickadee (Poecile hudsonicus Forster) pairs used nest boxes and occupied smaller box sizes that were located away from the forest edge. Our study showed that structural enrichment can be effective in rapidly attracting deadwood-associated species within managed forest stands.

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Section: Differences Between Snag-supply Treatmentsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Testing the Effect of Snag and Cavity Supply on Deadwood-Associated Species in a Managed Boreal Forest

Dufour-Pelletier

Tremblay

Hébert

et al. 2020

Forests

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“…Sampling points were randomly established in stands of different forest types (Table 1), at least 100 m from the stand edge. Because adult Magellanic Woodpeckers are conspicuous, noisy (e.g., Vergara et al 2016), and thus easily detected, we recorded all woodpeckers seen and heard within 100-m-radius (e.g., Ralph et al 1993). A single trained observer annually visited each point up to eight times between 1995 and 1998, and three to five times between November and March 2016.…”

Section: Abundance Surveysmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…PSRI uses red and green bands to measure chlorophyll degradation and carotenoid content of the tree canopy, with higher values indicating more advanced decay stage of trees (e.g., see . Previous studies have demonstrated that Magellanic Woodpeckers select individual trees based on their PRSI values (see details in Vergara et al 2016). These tree preferences are consistent with the occurrence pattern of the long-horned beetle Microplophorus magellanicus, one of the main prey of woodpeckers, which respond positively to tree senescence (Vergara et al 2017).…”

Section: Habitat Variablesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Magellanic Woodpeckers in three national parks of central-southern Chile: habitat effects and population variation over the last two decades

Vergara¹,

Meneses²,

Saavedra³

et al. 2017

ACE

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ABSTRACT. A major challenge for protected areas is providing wildlife with enough suitable habitat to cope with stochastic environment and increased pressure from the surrounding landscapes. In this study, we addressed changes in local populations of Magellanic Woodpeckers (Campephilus magellanicus) occupying three national parks of central-southern Chile. We compared the breeding and postbreeding abundance of woodpeckers during the 1990s with the present (2016) abundance (n = 4 years), and assessed the extent to which abundance was explained by forest type and quality of foraging habitat (as quantified through the plant senescence reflectance index; PSRI). Results show a distinctive temporal variation in woodpecker abundance at each park, with local populations of Magellanic Woodpeckers declining by 42.2% in Conguillío National Park, but increasing by 34.3% in Nahuelbuta National Park. Woodpeckers responded to forest conditions within each park such that their abundance increased with high quality of foraging habitat, i.e., large PSRI values, and the presence of old-growth Monkey puzzle (Araucaria araucana) -Nothofagus pumilio mixed forest. Anecdotal evidence suggests that populations of woodpeckers in Conguillío National Park might have responded negatively to large-scale disturbances from recent forest fires affecting part of the forest area within park. Because stochastic events seemed to strongly mediate population changes, our findings suggest that regional conservation of Magellanic Woodpeckers requires expanding the current conservation area network in central-southern Chile. Le Pic de Magellan dans trois parcs nationaux du centre-sud du Chili : effets de l'habitat et variation des populations durant les deux dernières décenniesRÉSUMÉ. Les aires protégées font face au défi important de fournir suffisamment d'habitat propice à la faune pour compenser le côté imprévisible de l'environnement et les pressions grandissantes provenant des paysages voisins. Dans le cadre de la présente étude, nous avons évalué les changements advenus dans les populations locales du Pic de Magellan (Campephilus magellanicus) qui fréquentent trois parcs nationaux du centre-sud du Chili. Nous avons comparé les effectifs de ce pic en nidification et en post-nidification dans les années 1990 avec ceux de 2016 (n = 4 années), et évalué dans quelle mesure les effectifs étaient reliés au type forestier et à la qualité des aires d'alimentation (quantifiée par l'indice de réflectance de la sénescence végétale; en anglais PSRI). Nos résultats montrent une variation temporelle des effectifs de pics distincte dans chaque parc : la population locale de Pics de Magellan a diminué de 42,2 % dans le parc national Conguillío, mais a augmenté de 34,3 % dans le parc national Nahuelbuta. Les pics se sont adaptés aux conditions forestières dans chaque parc, de sorte que leur abondance a augmenté là où les aires d'alimentation étaient de grande qualité, c.-à-d. avec des valeurs de PSRI élevées, et en fonction de la présence de forêt mélangée âgée de ...

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“…To our knowledge, no published study has assessed potential woodpecker excavation depth, nor identified from where in the tree structure larvae are extracted, nor which species are available for consumption. Albeit, recent research exists on their habitat selection (e.g., Vergara et al 2016, Soto et al 2017.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessment of larvae availability on Magellanic woodpecker foraging behavior

Wynia

Jiménez

2019

Bosque (Valdivia)

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The largest South American woodpecker, the Magellanic woodpecker (Campephilus magellanicus), as well as its habitat, Nothofagus spp. old-growth forests, are declining throughout their range. We mapped beetle larvae in two lenga (N. pumilio) trees on Navarino Island, Chile, to better understand prey availability and infer what factors might affect woodpecker foraging behavior. We further compared larvae locations with woodpecker foraging holes to infer prey accessibility. We extracted 35 total larvae from Cerambycidae and Lucanidae families and identified one Cerambycidae (Microplophorus magellanicus) and one Lucanidae (Erichius femoralis). Maximum woodpecker excavation depths were 71-90 mm; most larval gallery depths were 51-70 mm. Further research should examine tree characteristics associated with accessible larval prey to enable decision makers to make informed decisions for Magellanic woodpeckers' management and conservation.

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Foraging Behaviour in Magellanic Woodpeckers Is Consistent with a Multi-Scale Assessment of Tree Quality

Cited by 25 publications

References 78 publications

Testing the Effect of Snag and Cavity Supply on Deadwood-Associated Species in a Managed Boreal Forest

Testing the Effect of Snag and Cavity Supply on Deadwood-Associated Species in a Managed Boreal Forest

Magellanic Woodpeckers in three national parks of central-southern Chile: habitat effects and population variation over the last two decades

Assessment of larvae availability on Magellanic woodpecker foraging behavior

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