WOOD THRUSH (HYLOCICHLA MUSTELINA) NESTING ECOLOGY IN RELATION TO PRESCRIBED BURNING OF MIXED-OAK FOREST IN OHIO

Abstract

Abstract Prescribed burning is increasingly being used to restore and maintain oak-dominated (Quercus spp.) forests in the eastern United States. We assessed effects of prescribed burning on the nesting ecology of the Wood Thrush (Hylocichla mustelina). Recent declines in Wood Thrush populations have prompted concern about their conservation status. Low-intensity surface fires in mixed-oak forests resulted in reductions in midstory vegetation, a documented habitat requirement for Wood Thrushes, but local population levels of Wood Thrushes did not differ between burned and unburned areas. Wood Thrushes inhabiting recently burned areas selected nest sites where leaf litter cover, fern cover, densities of shrubs and saplings, and moisture levels were higher and where fire intensity was lower in comparison to random sites. Wood Thrushes also placed their nests higher off the ground, and in taller and larger-diameter trees and shrubs, in burned than in unburned areas. Reproductive success did not differ betwee...