The effect of Hurricane Hugo on bird populations on St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands

Abstract

Bird populations were sampled along road transects eight months after Hurricane Hugo struck St. Croix, at sites previously sampled on similar dates in 1987. Surveys revealed 33 species both before and after the hurricane, of which 30 species were detected during both samples. However, the average number of birds per stop was significantly lower after the storms’ passage than before. No pattern was evident in the changes of aquatic species, but this may reflect limited sample sizes. Among terrestrial species, higher proportions of nectarivores and fruit/seedeaters declined than insectivores or raptors, suggesting that the storms’ greatest stress occurred after its passage rather than during its impact. Populations of the Pearly-eyed Thrasher (Margarops fuscatus) declined on one transect and increased on another, a pattern consistent with inter-habitat migration. The fruit/seed diet, low population size, and restriction to remnant forest fragments of the Bridled Quail-Dove (Geotrygon mystacea) may explain the significant population decline of this species and its disappearance from traditional sites.

Citation

Wauer, R. H., & Wunderle, J. M., Jr. 1992. The effect of Hurricane Hugo on bird populations on St. Croix, United States Virgin Islands. Wilson Bulletin, 104(4), 656-673. https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/wilson/v104n04/p0656-p0673.pdf