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Breeding birds during 50 years of post-fire s uccession in the Sierra Nevada

Martin G. Raphael, Daniel A. Airola , Gary A. Falxa , Roger D. Harris, and Peter A. Stine. Breeding birds during 50 years of post-fire s uccession in the Sierra Nevada. 1960 - The Donner Fire burned ~18,000 ha on the eastern Sierra Nevada. 1965 – two 8.5-ha permanent

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Breeding birds during 50 years of post-fire s uccession in the Sierra Nevada

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  1. Martin G. Raphael, Daniel A. Airola, Gary A. Falxa, Roger D. Harris, and Peter A. Stine Breeding birds during 50 years of post-fire succession in the Sierra Nevada

  2. 1960 - The Donner Fire burned ~18,000 ha on the eastern Sierra Nevada

  3. 1965 – two 8.5-ha permanent plots established

  4. Burned Plot Unburned Plot

  5. Objectives • Examine and contrast changes in vegetation over ~50-yr time series • Estimate bird abundance and diversity and compare results on burned and unburned plots over 50-yr • Relate changes in bird community to changes in vegetation

  6. Monitoring timeline Donner fire 1975-79 1966-68 1981-85 2010-14

  7. Burned plot has changed dramatically over time (no management or harvest) 1965 2012

  8. Field equipment (and people) have changed too 1965 2012

  9. Density of Snags(number > 38 cm/ha)

  10. Percent Cover, Shrubs(n = 1170 points)

  11. Herbs & Grasses(% cover, n = 1170 points)

  12. Basal Area of Conifers(m2/ha) Burned Unburned

  13. Conifer Canopy Cover(%, n = 1170)

  14. Total Bird Territories

  15. Species Richness

  16. Foraging guilds • Wood excavating (woodpeckers) • Bark gleaning (nuthatches, brown creeper) • Flycatching (nighthawk, flycatchers) • Canopy foliage searching (jays, chickadees, kinglets, vireos, warblers) • Ground/brush searching (quail, dove, hummingbirds, bluebird, solitaire, thrush, robin, towhee, juncos, finches, sparrows)

  17. Wood Excavating

  18. Bark gleaning

  19. Flycatching

  20. Canopy Foliage Searching

  21. Ground/brush Searching

  22. Percent Similarity(Ruzicka’s Index)

  23. Major Changes in Species Abundance Increased Decreased

  24. Temperature has increased over time

  25. Summary • Vegetation is still changing, 50 years after fire on the burned plot, but also on the unburned plot • Bird community structure (guilds and species represented) has changed dramatically on the burned plot in response to vegetation change • The bird community on the unburned plot has also changed, to a smaller degree • Overall species richness has been comparable on plots over time • Bird abundance (# territories) has increased by roughly 50% on both plots • Some bird population changes could be due to climate change

  26. Thanks to • Sagehen Creek Field Station for accommodation and logistics • Station managers Jeff Brown and Faerthen Felix for help and advice • Carl and Jane Bock for initiating this work and suggesting our recent follow-up surveys • Meryl Sundove and Joe Batres for field assistance • Truckee Ranger District for protecting plots • Pacific Northwest and Pacific Southwest Research Stations for funding

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