Width of Forest Streamside Zones and Breeding Bird Abundance in Eastern Texas

Abstract

Abstract We evaluated breeding bird communities in forested streamside zones in eastern Texas to determine threshold widths of riparian forest that were associated with the addition of mature-forest-breeding birds and loss of shrub-breeding birds. We observed an association of shrub-breeding birds with narrow streamside zones and an increasing number of mature forest species within wider streamside zones. Streamside zones also provided song perches for many shrub breeding species. Although many bird species increased or decreased in a generally linear pattern as streamside zone width increased, some species appeared to have threshold widths associated with their presence. The Acadian Flycatcher (Empidonax virescens), Yellow-throated Vireo (Vireo flavifrons), and Yellow-billed Cuckoo (Coccyzus americanus) seemed to require at least 70 m of forest width before their abundance increased. In contrast, the Blue Grosbeak (Passerina caerulea), Painted Bunting (Passerina ciris), and Prairie Warbler (Dendroica dis...