Long-term post-wildfire correlates with avian community dynamics in ponderosa pine forests [Chapter J]

Abstract

We used a 10-year data set to illustrate the long-term correlates of wildfire on avian species richness in the ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) forests of northern Arizona. This study was conducted in the vicinity of the Horseshoe and Hochderffer Fires, which occurred in 1996, and sampling began 1 year after the fires. Using point-count data from breeding seasons, we described how avian species richness, local colonization, and local extinction changed over time following the wildfires. We used Bayesian hierarchical models to describe occupancy as a function of burn severity (severe, moderate, or unburned), years since wildfire, and species, while accounting for variables that influenced detection probability, such as species and sampling effort. The avian species from our study followed general patterns predicted from changes in vegetation structure in response to fire based on foraging and nesting requirements. Our results indicated that landscape heterogeneity from a mixture of fire severities and time since fire increased overall species richness across the landscape. Avian species in pine forests evolved with fire. Given that some species demonstrated an affinity to severely burned forests suggests that similar conditions existed historically.

Citation

Sanderlin, Jamie S.; Block, William M.; Strohmeyer, Brenda E. 2016. Long-term post-wildfire correlates with avian community dynamics in ponderosa pine forests [Chapter J]. In: Ralston, Barbara E., ed. Proceedings of the 12th Biennial Conference of Research on the Colorado River Plateau. Scientific Investigations Report 2015-5180. Reston, VA: U.S. Geological Survey. p. 89-101.