TY - JOUR
T1 - Short-term effects of fire and fire-surrogate treatments on avian nest survival
T2 - A national-scale analysis
AU - Farris, Kerry L.
AU - Converse, Sarah J.
AU - Zack, Steve
AU - Robinson, Douglas W.
AU - Amacher, Andrew J.
AU - Contreras, Thomas
AU - Gaines, William L.
AU - Kilpatrick, Eran S.
AU - Lanham, Drew J.
AU - Miles, Donald
AU - Rompré, Ghislain
AU - Sieving, Kathryn E.
AU - Pierson, Jennifer C.
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - We examined the initial response of avian nest success to mechanical thinning, prescribed fire, and thinning/ prescribed fire combination treatments, designed to reduce fuel loads, at study sites throughout the continental USA as part of the National Fire and Fire Surrogate (FFS) Project. We modeled the daily nest survival of ground-, shrub-, tree-, and snag-nesting bird species to test for effects of: (1) overall treatment (2) specific treatment category (i.e., burn, thin, thin/burn); (3) time since treatment; and (4) study site. Of the 7 species examined, only 2 had top models that included effects of the FFS treatments, the remainder had either constant survival rates, or rates that varied only by study site. The Eastern Towhee had top models that included effects of treatment and study site, while the Red-bellied Woodpecker had top models that included effects of treatment category, time since treatment, and study site. All estimates of treatment, treatment category, and study site were statistically weak with confidence intervals including zero. The lack of clear response patterns observed in this study is likely a consequence of the variability inherent across forest types and taxonomic groups we examined. Forest managers should use our results cautiously and also be encouraged to facilitate opportunities for studies of avian nest survival as a function of fire-surrogate treatments that are regional specific, encompass longer time frames and larger spatial scales.
AB - We examined the initial response of avian nest success to mechanical thinning, prescribed fire, and thinning/ prescribed fire combination treatments, designed to reduce fuel loads, at study sites throughout the continental USA as part of the National Fire and Fire Surrogate (FFS) Project. We modeled the daily nest survival of ground-, shrub-, tree-, and snag-nesting bird species to test for effects of: (1) overall treatment (2) specific treatment category (i.e., burn, thin, thin/burn); (3) time since treatment; and (4) study site. Of the 7 species examined, only 2 had top models that included effects of the FFS treatments, the remainder had either constant survival rates, or rates that varied only by study site. The Eastern Towhee had top models that included effects of treatment and study site, while the Red-bellied Woodpecker had top models that included effects of treatment category, time since treatment, and study site. All estimates of treatment, treatment category, and study site were statistically weak with confidence intervals including zero. The lack of clear response patterns observed in this study is likely a consequence of the variability inherent across forest types and taxonomic groups we examined. Forest managers should use our results cautiously and also be encouraged to facilitate opportunities for studies of avian nest survival as a function of fire-surrogate treatments that are regional specific, encompass longer time frames and larger spatial scales.
KW - Avian nest survival
KW - Fire surrogates
KW - Forest management
KW - Prescribed fire
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=82755165437&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.2174/1876325101004010053
DO - 10.2174/1876325101004010053
M3 - Article
SN - 1876-3251
VL - 4
SP - 53
EP - 62
JO - Open Environmental Sciences
JF - Open Environmental Sciences
IS - SPEC. ISSUE
ER -