TY - JOUR
T1 - Importance of an urban pine barrens for the conservation of early-successional shrubland birds
AU - Gifford, Neil A.
AU - Deppen, Jamie M.
AU - Bried, Jason T.
N1 - Funding Information:
NAG and JTB contributed equally to this work. We thank field technicians N. Tregger and K. Nelson, and J. Liner for her assistance with the study design. We are grateful to S. Solie, K. Adams, and four anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions that greatly improved the manuscript. We dedicate the manuscript to Albany Pine Bush Preserve Commission staff and volunteers. B. Stratton prepared Fig. 1 and A. Deakin provided assistance with GIS modeling. Project funding was provided by the New York State Environmental Protection Fund.
Copyright:
Copyright 2009 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2010/1/15
Y1 - 2010/1/15
N2 - Shrubland birds have become one of the most conservation-reliant avian groups in the Northeastern United States. Their contemporary distribution is restricted to regenerating commercial forests, utility rights-of-way, and other types of managed early-successional habitat. This study explored whether a highly fragmented urban pine barrens can have conservation value for shrubland birds. Specifically, we estimated the amount of core early-successional habitat available to shrubland birds in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve (East-central New York State) and quantified bird-habitat associations from systematic point count surveys. This 1255 ha urban preserve contains approximately 150 ha of core early-successional habitat dominated by pitch pine and scrub oaks. Eighty-two species, including 24 shrubland birds, were observed in one breeding season. Many of these birds have shown regional population declines and six are species of greatest conservation need in New York. Two shrubland species previously extirpated were common across the preserve, and on average shrubland species were similarly abundant to non-shrubland species. Several shrubland species were strongly associated with the limited early-successional habitat, and the prairie warbler is recommended as the best potential avian indicator for monitoring ecosystem health and management effectiveness in this globally rare pine barrens. Twenty years of ecosystem restoration, including prescribed fire and invasive plant management, is buffering the effects of fire suppression, habitat loss, and fragmentation on shrubland birds in this landscape. When managed appropriately, urban shrublands can provide suitable breeding habitat and may aid in the regional conservation of early-successional shrubland birds.
AB - Shrubland birds have become one of the most conservation-reliant avian groups in the Northeastern United States. Their contemporary distribution is restricted to regenerating commercial forests, utility rights-of-way, and other types of managed early-successional habitat. This study explored whether a highly fragmented urban pine barrens can have conservation value for shrubland birds. Specifically, we estimated the amount of core early-successional habitat available to shrubland birds in the Albany Pine Bush Preserve (East-central New York State) and quantified bird-habitat associations from systematic point count surveys. This 1255 ha urban preserve contains approximately 150 ha of core early-successional habitat dominated by pitch pine and scrub oaks. Eighty-two species, including 24 shrubland birds, were observed in one breeding season. Many of these birds have shown regional population declines and six are species of greatest conservation need in New York. Two shrubland species previously extirpated were common across the preserve, and on average shrubland species were similarly abundant to non-shrubland species. Several shrubland species were strongly associated with the limited early-successional habitat, and the prairie warbler is recommended as the best potential avian indicator for monitoring ecosystem health and management effectiveness in this globally rare pine barrens. Twenty years of ecosystem restoration, including prescribed fire and invasive plant management, is buffering the effects of fire suppression, habitat loss, and fragmentation on shrubland birds in this landscape. When managed appropriately, urban shrublands can provide suitable breeding habitat and may aid in the regional conservation of early-successional shrubland birds.
KW - Early-successional habitat
KW - Habitat fragmentation
KW - Indicator species
KW - Pine barrens
KW - Shrubland birds
KW - Urban ecosystem
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=70350589116&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=70350589116&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2009.07.017
DO - 10.1016/j.landurbplan.2009.07.017
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:70350589116
SN - 0169-2046
VL - 94
SP - 54
EP - 62
JO - Landscape and Urban Planning
JF - Landscape and Urban Planning
IS - 1
ER -