INVESTIGADORES
LAMMERTINK Jeroen Martjan
artículos
Título:
Global population decline of the Great Slaty Woodpecker (Mulleripicus pulverulentus)
Autor/es:
LAMMERTINK, M.; PRAWIRADILAGA DM; SETIORINI, U.; NAING TZ; DUCKWORTH JW; MENKEN SBJ
Revista:
BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION
Editorial:
ELSEVIER SCI LTD
Referencias:
Año: 2009 vol. 142 p. 166 - 179
ISSN:
0006-3207
Resumen:
The Great Slaty Woodpecker (Mulleripicus pulverulentus) of South and
Southeast Asia, the third largest woodpecker species in the world, is
currently in the IUCN Red List category of Least Concern. This
woodpecker appears associated with old-growth forests, and the rapid
reductions in forest cover and old-growth area in Southeast Asia urged
examination of its global population trends. We assessed population
densities, tree diameter use by the woodpecker, and logging disturbance
at 21 transects in four regions across the range of the species: west
Borneo, Lingga Island (Riau Archipelago, Indonesia), Tenasserim
(Myanmar), and west-central Myanmar. Transect survey effort was 937 km.
We assessed rates of deforestation and loss of old-growth forest in the
range of the species from expert review reports. By combining population
density and forest cover data sets we calculated the global population
trend of the species. We found a preference for large diameter trees by
foraging and nesting Great Slaty Woodpeckers, and a reduction of the
frequency of such trees in logged forests. Across the four study
regions, between old-growth forests and logged forests, densities of
Great Slaty Woodpeckers were reduced by 80-94%. Although Great Slaty
Woodpeckers occur in 15 countries, ca. 70% of the global population
occurs in just four countries (Myanmar, Indonesia, Cambodia, and
Malaysia), three of which have high annual rates of deforestation and
loss of old-growth forest. Our population calculations show that over
the past century at least 90% of the global population of the Great
Slaty Woodpecker has been lost. At present 26,000-550,000 individuals
remain. The current global decline rate of ca. 59% +/- SD 17% in three
generations justifies IUCN Vulnerable or Endangered status. Contributing
factors to the steep decline rate of the species are a long generation
time of 5.9-8.2 years and an association with old-growth, lower
elevation forests. The Great Slaty Woodpecker case adds an Asian example
to a global pattern of specialized woodpeckers that are associated with
old or natural forests.