Pacific Southwest

Title: Suggestions for a Silvicultural Prescription for Cerulean Warblers in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley

Author: Hamel, Paul B.

Date: 2005

Source: In: Ralph, C. John; Rich, Terrell D., editors 2005. Bird Conservation Implementation and Integration in the Americas: Proceedings of the Third International Partners in Flight Conference. 2002 March 20-24; Asilomar, California, Volume 1 Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-191. Albany, CA: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: p. 567-575

Station ID: GTR-PNW-191

Description: Conservation of species with high Partners in Flight concern scores may require active habitat management. Cerulean Warbler (Dendroica cerulea) occurs at low numbers in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley in the western part of its breeding range. A study of the breeding ecology of the species was initiated in 1992 on three sites there. Characteristics of individual trees used by the birds have been measured in detail. Elements of the vegetation utilized by male Cerulean Warblers, by female Cerulean Warblers, and as nests have been identified. A silvicultural prescription designed to produce these elements is being prepared as an experimental manipulation of habitats for the birds. The development of this suggested silvicultural prescription offers an example for development of similar prescriptions for other forest canopy dwelling bird species. One difficulty may be in assessing the response of the birds to the treatments when the available habitat exceeds the amount needed to support the spatial needs of the local small population, whether the measured response is one of abundance or of productivity. This is because the response may be smaller than can be detected by the experimental design used to conduct the experiment; available birds may not be numerous enough to produce a detectable response.

Keywords: adaptive management, bottomland hardwoods, forest canopy, habitat management, habitat selection, mature forest, Parulidae

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Citation

Hamel, Paul B.  2005.  Suggestions for a Silvicultural Prescription for Cerulean Warblers in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley.   In: Ralph, C. John; Rich, Terrell D., editors 2005. Bird Conservation Implementation and Integration in the Americas: Proceedings of the Third International Partners in Flight Conference. 2002 March 20-24; Asilomar, California, Volume 1 Gen. Tech. Rep. PSW-GTR-191. Albany, CA: U.S. Dept. of Agriculture, Forest Service, Pacific Southwest Research Station: p. 567-575.