Red-cockaded Woodpecker Research Articles

Lidar-based MaxEnt models to support conservation planning for endangered Red-cockaded Woodpeckers in urbanizing environments

Sensitive and intensively managed species require carefully thought-out management plans to promote and maintain specific habitat conditions. Urban features and land-use change must be assimilated into these habitat management plans, as they become increasingly present globally. As a case study, several MaxEnt species distribution models were developed that could enable habitat management efforts for the endangered Red-cockaded Woodpecker (RCW) in moderate to increasingly urbanized environments. Model development began with a classification of fine-scale, lidar-based habitat indicators with the area normalized at the stand level and developed around known habitat characteristics of RCW. Other explanatory rasters included distance to different urban features, and experimentation with spectral layers outside the visible light spectrum. Models were trained using presence data from a relatively small but comprehensively surveyed population in Montgomery County, Texas, and three compartments that were recently pedestrian surveyed for RCWs on the Sam Houston National Forest. The former is experiencing moderate levels of urbanization, and the latter is in earlier stages. The best performing model predicted RCW presence 94% of the time at a 0.4 probability threshold and resulted in an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.88. Successful model development required a specific combination of steps and data processing, including the use of lidar-based habitat indicators created using data fusion and machine learning classification, land-use features, and non-visible spectra. These methods can provide valuable insights into strategic habitat planning for the RCW and other sensitive species in urbanizing landscapes. This study reinforces what habitat characteristics promote RCW success, while providing valuable insights to guide management activities around urbanization. These could include mapping suitable recruitment areas that remain unoccupied, spatially identifying where habitat quality was lacking or sufficient, and predicting the impact of future land-use change. This case study demonstrates that species distribution modelling can be successfully applied at subpopulation and fine scales, and for the practical purpose of enabling habitat and conservation planning where anthropogenic activities are adding challenging complexities.

Assessing the potential impact of retaining native off‐site tree species in woodland restoration

Reestablishing appropriate tree species is an important step in converting off‐site monocultures into woodlands. Species conversion is often necessary, as off‐site exotic species rarely function like woodland species. However, when off‐site tree species are native, and functionally redundant to woodland species, conversion may be unnecessary. To explore this possibility in the southeastern United States, we reviewed the literature on trait differences among the primary southern pines and qualitatively assessed the effect of their identity at the species and stand‐levels. In this region, woodland restoration focuses on removing loblolly (Pinus taeda) and slash pine (P. elliottii) to reestablish longleaf (P. palustris) or shortleaf pine (P. echinata). Our review found minimal variation among species in understory flammability, fire resistance at maturity, and Red‐cockaded Woodpecker (Leuconotopicus borealis) habitat at the stand‐level. Longleaf and shortleaf pine were generally more resistant to abiotic and pest disturbance at the tree‐level; however, stand‐level differences in wind, drought, and boring insect resistance among southern pines growing in open forests were considered minimal. Retaining loblolly and slash pine will improve stand‐level productivity in the short term, but creates regeneration problems due to low juvenile fire resistance and resilience. Ice resistance and long‐term carbon sequestration will also likely be reduced by retaining loblolly and slash pine. Collectively, these results suggest that southern pine species are generally interchangeable at the stand‐level in woodlands; although woodlands featuring loblolly and slash pine may be less stable in the face of disturbance than those dominated by shortleaf and longleaf pine.

Patterns of Florida Bonneted Bat Occupancy at the Northern Extent of Its Range

Abstract The Florida bonneted bat Eumops floridanus is a rare, endemic bat of South Florida that roosts in woodpecker cavities and anthropogenic structures such as roofing tiles, chimneys, and bat houses. The northernmost occurrences of the bonneted bat are from mature pine forests at the Avon Park Air Force Range, Florida. We used ultrasonic acoustic recorders to understand bonneted bat activity and habitat occupancy. We modeled occupancy using a hierarchical Bayesian analysis and included site- and time-specific covariates of detection probability and site-specific covariates of occupancy. Probability of detection was low throughout Avon Park Air Force Range but increased with Julian date. In most habitats, occupancy was poorly estimated, except for flatwood mature pinelands where occupancy was low (0.23 ± 0.06). As distance from red-cockaded woodpecker colonies increased, occupancy decreased (β = −1.19 ± 0.26 SD). At the northernmost extent of the range, and throughout much of the historic range, increasing the expanse of mature, fire-maintained forest systems will increase habitat for the bonneted bat and lead to faster population recovery.

Remotely sensed habitat quality index reliably predicts an umbrella species presence but not demographic performance: A case study with open pine forests and red-cockaded woodpeckers

Remote sensing data can be a powerful and cost-effective method for determining the extent, composition, and structure of ecosystems across large areas. To use this tool for effective conservation of individual species, we need to test the assumption that remotely sensed habitat indices correspond to both patch suitability (i.e., presence) and value (i.e., demographic rates) for the species reliant on those habitats. We built an open pine habitat quality index (HQI) from remotely sensed spectral data to identify the condition of pine stands. We correlated the HQI with presence, group size, and fledgling production of an avian species (red-cockaded woodpecker, Dryobates (=Picoides) borealis, RCW) associated with longleaf pine (Pinus palustris) using Bayesian logistic regressions and structural equation models. The HQI was correlated with RCW cavity tree and foraging area presence, with 10.8 and 16.0 increased odds of RCW presence with each unit increase in the HQI, respectively. However, the HQI was not correlated with RCW demographic performance. Given that RCWs are an umbrella species and are currently limited by habitat, that the HQI successfully identifies areas of higher quality habitat for RCW is useful for conservation planning. Improving the specificity of the remotely sensed index could improve the link between the HQI and RCW demographic performance, but might limit its application to RCW, instead of the entire open pine endemic community. Our study suggests that linking generalized habitat indices to species habitat suitability is possible and strengthens the justification for their use in cost-effective, large-scale conservation of imperiled ecosystems.

Red-cockaded woodpecker habitat characteristics associated with partial brood loss in the Upper East Gulf Coastal Plain, USA

Some red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) Dryobates borealis populations remain understudied. This is notable because management that incorporates population demographics and site characteristics may benefit RCW recovery. The Oakmulgee Ranger District of the Talladega National Forest (Alabama, USA) has no wiregrass Aristida stricta, small forest stand sizes, rolling topography, and contains an understudied RCW population. Our goal in the Oakmulgee was to characterize RCW habitat, possibly identify ways in which habitat differed from other regions, and estimate associations between habitat and reproductive output. We found that 70.2 and 92.5% of sampled stands met recovery standard thresholds for small and large pine basal area (BA) as defined in the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) RCW Recovery Plan. While 74.6% of longleaf pine Pinus palustris-dominated stands met the threshold for overstory hardwood canopy composition, 60.0% of loblolly pine P. taeda-dominated stands did not. Few stands met the recommended percentage of herbaceous understory (19.8%) or recommended absence of hardwood midstory. A lower rate of partial brood loss was associated with a greater area of large pines (≥25.4 cm diameter at breast height; DBH), a smaller area of small pines (≥10 and <25.4 cm DBH), a larger area burned in the dormant season, and higher RCW density. In our models, hardwood overstory and midstory did not influence egg or hatchling production. Hardwoods in the Oakmulgee could contribute to unfavorable habitat, as indicated in the USFWS RCW Recovery Plan, as well as relate to variation in habitat across the RCW’s range. Regions of the RCW’s range are understudied, and limited staffing and funding impede advances in understanding and conservation.

UAS-Based Real-Time Detection of Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Cavities in Heterogeneous Landscapes Using YOLO Object Detection Algorithms

In recent years, deep learning-based approaches have proliferated across a variety of ecological studies. Inspired by deep learning’s emerging prominence as the preferred tool for analyzing wildlife image datasets, this study employed You Only Look Once (YOLO), a single-shot, real-time object detection algorithm, to effectively detect cavity trees of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers or RCW (Dryobates borealis). In spring 2022, using an unmanned aircraft system (UAS), we conducted presence surveys for RCW cavity trees within a 1264-hectare area in the Sam Houston National Forest (SHNF). Additionally, known occurrences of RCW cavity trees outside the surveyed area were aerially photographed, manually annotated, and used as a training dataset. Both YOLOv4-tiny and YOLOv5n architectures were selected as target models for training and later used for inferencing separate aerial photos from the study area. A traditional survey using the pedestrian methods was also conducted concurrently and used as a baseline survey to compare our new methods. Our best-performing model generated an mAP (mean Average Precision) of 95% and an F1 score of 85% while maintaining an inference speed of 2.5 frames per second (fps). Additionally, five unique cavity trees were detected using our model and UAS approach, compared with one unique detection using traditional survey methods. Model development techniques, such as preprocessing images with tiling and Sliced Aided Hyper Inferencing (SAHI), proved to be critical components of improved detection performance. Our results demonstrated the two YOLO architectures with tiling and SAHI strategies were able to successfully detect RCW cavities in heavily forested, heterogenous environments using semi-automated review. Furthermore, this case study represents progress towards eventual real-time detection where wildlife managers are targeting small objects. These results have implications for more achievable conservation goals, less costly operations, a safer work environment for personnel, and potentially more accurate survey results in environments that are difficult using traditional methods.

The influence of forest management practices on seasonal bat species occurrence and activity at the Kisatchie National Forest in Louisiana, USA

In the southeastern United States, where forests are the primary land cover type, understanding how forest stand characteristics and forest management practices influence bat distributions is critical for bat conservation and management. We deployed passive acoustic monitors to record bat calls at sites representing six forest types at the Kisatchie National Forest in central Louisiana during two winter (January–February 2020 and December 2020–February 2021) and two summer (June–August 2020 and 2021) periods. We also collected environmental data at the landscape and local scales to help explain patterns in bat species occurrence. We detected big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus), eastern red/Seminole bats (Lasiurus borealis/L. seminolus), Myotis species, tricolored bats (Perimyotis subflavus), Mexican free-tailed bats (Tadarida brasiliensis), and hoary bats (Aeorestes cinereus) during both periods, and additionally detected evening bats (Nycticeius humeralis) during the summer. We observed seasonal differences in habitat use, and found that three bat species were more active during the summer in pine forests with group selection harvest, pine forests managed for red-cockaded woodpeckers (Leuconotopicus borealis), and pine forests that were clearcut within five years of our study when compared to unmanaged pine forests, thinned pine forests, and bottomland hardwood forests. Contrary to other studies, we found that the predicted probability of occupancy decreased with increasing proximity to riparian areas for four bat species, which could reflect the complex understory vegetation conditions that we observed along the riparian corridors in our study area. Our research identified forest characteristics and management practices that promote bat species diversity and activity in central Louisiana and demonstrated that pine forests with open understories and small openings in the canopy provide important foraging habitat for bats that occur in our study area and possibly other regions in the southeast.

Managing for red‐cockaded woodpeckers is more complicated under climate change

AbstractOpen pine (Pinus spp.) savannas are home to the federally endangered red‐cockaded woodpecker (Leuconotopicus borealis). Frequent fires are essential for maintaining the open canopy and wiregrass (Aristida stricta) groundcover preferred by these woodpeckers, which face ongoing threats from climate change, hurricanes, and land use change. Our objective was to project future changes in habitat for red‐cockaded woodpeckers at the Fort Bragg military installation in North Carolina, USA, under different scenarios of climate and disturbances from 2000 to 2050. We used a spatially explicit, forest simulation model (LANDIS‐II) to simulate climate change, hurricanes, and forest management (prescribed fire, thinning, harvesting). We examined the relative risks of climate change and hurricanes to red‐cockaded woodpecker habitat and quantified the capacity of management practices to promote their habitat, given hurricanes and projected changes in climate. Climate change had little direct effect on red‐cockaded woodpecker habitat, but it reduced the capacity of managers to use prescribed fire, as currently practiced. This effect became more pronounced in the scenario with low prescribed fire frequency, which caused a 10% decline in habitat under climate change. Hurricanes had a more substantial impact on red‐cockaded woodpecker habitat than climate change or management, causing an average decline in extent by 41% compared to scenarios without hurricanes. Our work suggests that hurricanes pose a greater threat to red‐cockaded woodpecker habitat than climate change, but despite these threats, overall habitat will likely still increase until 2050, which bodes well for this endangered species. Deployment of prescribed burning became more challenging under climate warming, and if this trend continues, it may threaten red‐cockaded woodpecker conservation efforts over the next century.

Effects of cavity orientation on nesting success inferred from long-term monitoring of the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker

Animals that create structures often display non-random patterns in the direction of their constructions. This tendency of oriented construction is widely presumed to be an adaptive trait of the constructor’s extended phenotype, but there is little empirical support for this hypothesis. Particularly, for cavity nesting-birds there is a lack of studies examining this issue. In this study of a primary cavity excavator, the endangered red-cockaded woodpecker (Dryobates borealis), we show that cavity entrances exhibited a strong westward bias in all 11 of the populations examined throughout the geographic range of the species in the southeastern United States. This species requires cavities in living pine trees for roosting and nesting that often take many years to complete, resulting in many incomplete excavations on the landscape. We used population monitoring data to show that orientation was stronger among completed cavities than incomplete cavities. There was a significant correlation between latitude and average cavity direction among populations, turning northward with increasing latitude, suggesting adaptation to local conditions. Long-term monitoring data showed that cavity orientation and breeding group size are correlated with egg hatching rates, fledging rates, and the total number of fledglings produced per nest. Our results provide empirical evidence from extensive long-term data that directional orientation in animal constructions is an important feature of the extended animal phenotype and have immediate implications for animal ecology and the conservation of endangered species.

Do Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Dryobates borealis) cavity locations provide olfactory concealment from predators?

Nest site selection is crucial for survival and fecundity of birds. Predators find nests using visual, aural, thermal, and olfactory cues, yet few studies have evaluated olfactory concealment of nests. Rat snakes (Pantherophis spp.) are common nest predators that use ground-level olfactory cues to detect nest locations. In Arkansas, USA, we evaluated if cavity locations of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Dryobates borealis, RCW), a species that experiences nest predation by rat snakes, were associated with airflow conditions known to provide olfactory concealment for other bird species. We used a 3-dimensional sonic anemometer to measure ground-level air velocity, turbulence, and turbulence intensity at cavity trees and unused trees, and at cavity and opposite orientations on trees. For all airflow variables, we found no differences between used and unused trees and orientations. Other factors such as landscape-scale vegetation cover, forest stand structure, and tree characteristics may be more important for providing visual concealment or optimal foraging conditions. However, it remains possible that such factors also convey olfactory concealment. For example, savannah-like forests preferred by RCWs may have greater air turbulence than closed forests. Further research on RCWs and other bird species to address additional aspects of olfactory concealment, and relationships between different dimensions of concealment (e.g., between visual and olfactory concealment), would give insight into how habitat management could provide multiple benefits to birds.

Classifying Forest Structure of Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Habitat Using Structure from Motion Elevation Data Derived from sUAS Imagery

Small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) and relatively new photogrammetry software solutions are creating opportunities for forest managers to perform spatial analysis more efficiently and cost-effectively. This study aims to identify a method for leveraging these technologies to analyze vertical forest structure of Red-cockaded Woodpecker habitat in Montgomery County, Texas. Traditional sampling methods would require numerous hours of ground surveying and data collection using various measuring techniques. Structure from Motion (SfM), a photogrammetric method for creating 3-D structure from 2-D images, provides an alternative to relatively expensive LIDAR sensing technologies and can accurately model the high level of complexity found within our study area’s vertical structure. DroneDeploy, a photogrammetry processing app service, was used to post-process and create a point cloud, which was later further processed into a Canopy Height Model (CHM). Using supervised, object-based classification and comparing multiple classifier algorithms, classifications maps were generated with a best overall accuracy of 84.8% using Support Vector Machine in ArcGIS Pro software. Appropriately sized training sample datasets, correctly processed elevation data, and proper image segmentation were among the major factors impacting classification accuracy during the numerous classification iterations performed.

Arthropods and Fire Within the Biologically Diverse Longleaf Pine Ecosystem.

The longleaf pine Pinus palustris Miller (Pinales: Pinaceae) ecosystem once covered as many as 37 million hectares across the southeastern United States. Through fire suppression, development, and conversion to other plantation pines, this coverage has dwindled to fewer than 2 million hectares. A recent focus on the restoration of this ecosystem has revealed its complex and biologically diverse nature. Arthropods of the longleaf pine ecosystem are incredibly numerous and diverse—functionally and taxonomically. To provide clarity on what is known about the species and their functional roles in longleaf pine forests, we thoroughly searched the literature and found nearly 500 references. In the end, we tabulated 51 orders 477 families, 1,949 genera, and 3,032 arthropod species as having been stated in the scientific literature to occur in longleaf pine ecosystems. The body of research we drew from is rich and varied but far from comprehensive. Most work deals with land management objective associated taxa such as pests of pine, pests of—and food for—wildlife (red-cockaded woodpecker, northern bobwhite quail, gopher tortoise, pocket gopher, etc.), and pollinators of the diverse plant understory associated with longleaf pine. We explored the complex role frequent fire (critical in longleaf pine management) plays in determining the arthropod community in longleaf pine, including its importance to rare and threatened species. We examined known patterns of abundance and occurrence of key functional groups of longleaf pine-associated arthropods. Finally, we identified some critical gaps in knowledge and provide suggestions for future research into this incredibly diverse ecosystem.

Lagrangian Relaxation Techniques for Scalable Spatial Conservation Planning

We address the problem of spatial conservation planning in which the goal is to maximize the expected spread of cascades of an endangered species by strategically purchasing land parcels within a given budget. This problem can be solved by standard integer programming methods using the sample average approximation (SAA) scheme. Our main contribution lies in exploiting the separable structure present in this problem and using Lagrangian relaxation techniques to gain scalability over the flat representation. We also generalize the approach to allow the application of the SAA scheme to a range of stochastic optimization problems. Our iterative approach is highly efficient in terms of space requirements and it provides an upper bound over the optimal solution at each iteration. We apply our approach to the Red-cockaded Woodpecker conservation problem. The results show that it can find the optimal solution significantly faster---sometimes by an order-of-magnitude---than using the flat representation for a range of budget sizes.

Synthesis of Red-cockaded Woodpecker management strategies and suggestions for regional specificity in future management

AbstractThe Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Dryobates borealis, RCW) was listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 1973 due to significant population declines resulting from habitat loss and fragmentation, and the species has been intensively managed since then. We reviewed management strategies commonly used to conserve the RCW, emphasizing studies conducted after publication of the most recent Recovery Plan in 2003, to evaluate the efficacy of each strategy across the RCW’s range and identify demographic and environmental factors that influence the success of each strategy. Of the management strategies reviewed, outcomes from prescribed fire vary the most across the RCW’s range, because prescribed fire is influenced by the site’s vegetation, abiotic conditions, and land use history. The abundance of cavity kleptoparasites varies across sites, but kleptoparasite control is only a high priority in small RCW populations. The long-term effectiveness of artificial cavities and translocations, which are highly effective across the RCW’s range in the short-term, requires suitable habitat, which is strongly influenced by prescribed fire. Regional variation in RCW management may be needed, because RCW populations that are not in archetypical suitable habitat (sensu Recovery Plan Standards) may benefit from management methods that are not suitable for large RCW populations in archetypical habitats (e.g., installing many cavity restrictor plates and cavity inserts). RCW management strategies have been studied most in the South Central Plains and Southeastern Plains ecoregions, and more research in other ecoregions would be valuable. We encourage consideration of how management varies according to population demographics and site characteristics as opposed to a “one-size fits all” management approach for the RCW, which inhabits broad geographic ranges and sites of varying productivity and will continue to rely on management efforts after downlisting or delisting from the Endangered Species Act.

Predation of a Cavity Kleptoparasite by an Eastern Rat Snake (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) at an Active Nest Cavity of a Red-Cockaded Woodpecker (Dryobates borealis)

I report a case of predation by Pantherophis alleghaniensis (Eastern Rat Snake) on an adult Melanerpes erythrocephalus (Red-headed Woodpecker) at an active nest cavity of a Dryobates borealis (Red-cockaded Woodpecker [RCW]) in the North Carolina Sandhills. The first RCW nest in this cavity failed during the nestling stage, either from the activities of the snake or the Red-headed Woodpecker. I believe this is the first documentation of a predation event of a kleptoparasite at an active nest cavity of a RCW by a rat snake. The resident RCWs re-nested successfully in the same cavity, illustrating the complex species interactions among rat snakes, cavity kleptoparasites, and RCWs in the Pinus palustris (Longleaf Pine) ecosystem.

Breeder age, group size, and fledgling production in the cooperatively breeding Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Dryobates borealis)

Field studies of the factors that influence reproductive success are crucial to life history theory. We investigate annual fledgling production by the monogamous, cooperatively breeding Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Dryobates borealis) in relation to breeder age, experience, and group size at Brosnan Forest, South Carolina, and evaluate several associated hypotheses. Productivity in both female and male breeders increased nonlinearly with age, peaked at 6 and 7 years, respectively, and then declined. We tested if the early increase in productivity with age was associated with age, per se (general skills), or breeding experience. We found for both males and females that the productivity of novice breeders increased significantly with age, indicating age effects independent of prior experience, but that experienced breeders were no more productive than novices the same age. We conclude that the basic skills that accrue with age, but not prior breeding experience, explain increasing success among young birds. The probability of a group nesting increased nonlinearly with female and male age, reaching 100% among females ≥ 7 and males ≥ 11 years old. We found support for both the constraint and restraint hypotheses for young males, but only for the constraint hypothesis among young females. Declining productivity with senescence counters the restraint hypothesis's prediction of increased effort late in life, while the maximal propensity to nest among older birds supports it. Differential survival failed to explain increasing productivity with age. Holding breeder ages constant, we found a linear effect of group size on annual fledgling production, with productivity increasing by 12% with each added helper through the largest group sizes. This suggests (1) no evidence of net compensation as group size increased, (2) no evidence of negative feedback from reproductive or resource competition in large groups, and (3) inclusive fitness is a selective force in helping.

Interannual climate variation influences nest initiation date and nest productivity of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker at the northwestern edge of its range

AbstractClimate change, including directional shifts in weather averages and extremes and increased interannual weather variation, is influencing demography and distributions for many bird species. The Ouachita Mountains ecoregion in southeast Oklahoma and west-central Arkansas contains 2 populations of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Dryobates borealis, RCW), a federally endangered, cooperatively breeding species. Since this region is at the RCW’s northwestern range periphery, ecological thresholds likely are limiting for the species. Therefore, populations in this region may be more sensitive to climate change-associated weather variation and unpredictability. We used 26 years of nesting data (1991–2016) from the 2 RCW populations to determine if interannual weather variation has affected nesting phenology and productivity. For each population, we used daily temperature and precipitation data for 3 periods (30 and 60 days before nesting; 40 days overlapping the nesting period) to determine how weather influences median nesting date and average clutch size and numbers of fledglings. In a separate analysis, we used shorter time windows with individual nests as replicates to determine how discrete weather events (e.g., minimum and maximum temperatures and intense precipitation events) affect nest success and partial brood loss. For both Oklahoma and Arkansas populations, warmer early spring temperatures generally advanced nesting and increased clutch size and fledgling number. However, the effects of average precipitation varied depending on the amount and duration of precipitation in different time periods. At the nest level, most variables reflecting discrete temperature and precipitation events were unrelated to nest success and brood loss, suggesting that factors other than weather (e.g., habitat quality and predation) more strongly influenced the nesting output of individual RCW broods. Our results indicate RCWs are responding to interannual weather variation in complex and variable ways. However, warming trends may generally be having positive effects on the species at the northwestern edge of its range.

Better Representation Is Needed in U.S. Endangered Species Act Implementation

In the United States, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service uses the concepts of resilience, redundancy, and representation—often known as the “3Rs”—to guide implementation of the Endangered Species Act, which requires the U.S. government to designate imperiled species as threatened or endangered, and take action to recover them. The Service has done little, however, to relate the 3Rs to the statutory requirements of the Act. Here we focus on interpreting the concept of representation given core tenets of science and conservation policy. We show that the Service's current interpretation, which focuses on a narrow set of characteristics intrinsic to species that facilitate future adaptation, falls far short of a reasonable interpretation from the scientific literature and other policy, and has significant consequences for the conservation of threatened and endangered species, including those found in other countries. To illustrate the shortcomings in practice, we discuss the cases of the Lower 48 gray wolf (Canis lupus) delisting, the proposed Red-cockadedWoodpecker (Picoides borealis) downlisting, and the possible downlisting of the Canada lynx (Lynx canadensis). We then propose an alternative interpretation of representation that accommodates the Service's narrow interpretation and broadens it to include the importance of intraspecific variation for its own sake as well as extrinsic characteristics such as a species' role in ecological communities. We argue that this interpretation better reflects the intent of the Endangered Species Act, the best available science, and policy needs for conserving imperiled wildlife, all of which recognize the importance not only of preventing global extinction but also of preventing ecological extinction and extirpation across significant portions of a species' range.

Public Preferences for Longleaf Pine Restoration Programs in the Southeastern United States

Abstract Longleaf pine (LLP) (Pinus palustris Mill.) is well known for its role in supporting healthy ecosystems in the southeastern (SE) United States (US). The decline of LLP forest ecosystems has led to a consensus among stakeholders that restoration efforts are needed. However, there is still a lack of robust understanding of the utilization of nonmarket ecosystem services of LLP forests. These challenges have presented major barriers to landowner acceptance of subsidized LLP restoration programs. Understanding the tradeoffs between forest ecosystem services is critical to restoring LLP in the SE US. This study employs the best-worst choice (BWC) method to assess public preferences toward hypothetical LLP restoration programs that consider ecosystem services such as recreation, timber production, carbon sequestration, water yield, and wildlife diversity. We surveyed a representative sample of n = 953 respondents from Alabama, Mississippi, Georgia, and Florida, and results showed that residents in all four states are willing to pay for LLP restoration, with the highest average willingness to pay (WTP) for forest recreation ($20.39), followed by red-cockaded woodpecker (RCW) conservation ($13.37) and carbon sequestration ($13.32). This research provides important public preference information on ecosystem services that is critical in forming sustainable LLP restoration programs.

Aggregations of Polistes Wasps Over-Wintering in Artificial Red-Cockaded Woodpecker Cavities

We document blockage of artificial Dryobates borealis (Red-cockaded Woodpecker) cavities by family Sphecidae (mud daubers) and large mixed-species aggregations of wintering Polistes (paper wasps) in cavity inserts at Great Dismal Swamp NWR in southeast Virginia. The large aggregations that we encountered are the only known cases of more than 2 paper wasp species cohabitating. Activity of Red-cockaded Woodpeckers within a cluster lessened the likelihood that paper wasps will aggregate in cavities, but not the likelihood that mud daubers will nest in cavities. The moist and saturated soils that predominate our field site may explain why these insects are more abundant compared to drier, upland habitats. Additionally, removal of hardwood trees may increase the breeding season habitat quality for paper wasps that hunt and nest in areas that are more open, while simultaneously limiting potential winter hibernacula habitat, typically found in mature hardwood tree cavities for Red-cockaded Woodpeckers. Common cavity management and translocation techniques may need to be altered to mitigate greater paper wasp and mud dauber activity at Red-cockaded Woodpecker cavity inserts in Pinus serotina (Pond Pine) pocosin habitat. We suggest using graduated rubber stoppers rather than screens that fail to exclude insect taxa or conducting translocations prior to the formation of winter aggregations of paper wasps.