Are Boreal Ovenbirds, Seiurus aurocapilla, More Prone to Move across Inhospitable Landscapes in Alberta's Boreal Mixedwood Forest than in Southern Québec's Temperate Deciduous Forest?

Marc Bélisle,André Desrochers,Jean-François Gobeil,Marc-André Villard

doi:10.5751/ace-00153-020201

Abstract

Bélisle, M., A. Desrochers, J.-F. Gobeil, and M. Villard. 2007. Are boreal Ovenbirds, Seiurus aurocapilla, more prone to move across inhospitable landscapes in Alberta’s boreal mixedwood forest than in southern Québec’s temperate deciduous forest? Avian Conservation and Ecology - Écologie et conservation des oiseaux 2(2): 1.http://dx.doi.org/10.5751/ACE-00153-020201

Highlights

A tenet of natural disturbance emulation is that ecosystems and their associated species should be resilient to alterations closely reflecting the natural disturbance regime characteristic of the region (Mutch 1970, Bunnell 1995)
Our results do not support the prediction that wing loading for Alberta Ovenbird is lower than that for Québec Ovenbird, Fig. 1
Our translocation results indicate no strong difference in the ability of Alberta vs. Québec Ovenbird to move quickly through landscapes, even though an evidence ratio of 4.9 against the model containing regional differences is insufficient to rule out the hypothesis (Royall 1997)

Summary

Introduction

A tenet of natural disturbance emulation is that ecosystems and their associated species should be resilient to alterations closely reflecting the natural disturbance regime characteristic of the region (Mutch 1970, Bunnell 1995). Emulating natural disturbance has recently become standard management policy in several jurisdictions, its underlying principle has rarely been tested (Perera et al 2004). Such a test could take the form of a field experiment, whereby population parameters are compared between landscape units that are undergoing natural disturbances and others that are subjected to harvest prescriptions inspired by the same natural disturbances. The lifehistory traits that allow individuals from these populations to better tolerate anthropogenic disturbances should be more prevalent in populations experiencing intense natural disturbance regimes, i.e., with disturbances occurring at a high frequency and covering a vast extent, than in those inhabiting regions with lower-intensity natural disturbance regimes

Methods

Results

Conclusion