Nest selection by cavity-nesting birds in subtropical montane forests of the Andes: Implications for sustainable forest management

NATALIA POLITI; MALCOLM HUNTER, JR.; LUIS O. RIVERA

BIOTROPICA

The Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation Inc.

Año: 2009 vol. 41 p. 354 - 360

0006-3606

Development of sustainable forestry has been hampered in tropical countries by a scarcity of research on the ecological effects of logging. We focused on cavity-nesting birds, a group known to be sensitive to logging. Cavities used for nesting were not a random subset of all available suitable cavities. Birds selected cavities that were relatively high above the ground, had smaller entrances, and were excavated by woodpeckers. The use of tree species was also not random: Calycophyllum multiflorum, Blephalocalyx gigantea, and Podocarpus parlatorei were disproportionately important. Cavity nests were also more likely to be found in patches with high mean DBH. This study emphasizes the need to maintain some unlogged patches within logging areas and retain certain species of trees. In Argentina, there is a current opportunity to incorporate our results into forest management because a new law mandates sustainable forest use and many land owners want to receive green certification.