The use of grey alder Alnus incana by foraging Black Woodpeckers Dryocopus martius during winter

Christer Olsson

doi:10.34080/os.v30.22397

Authors

Christer Olsson

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.34080/os.v30.22397

Keywords:

alder wood-wasp, foraging ecology, riparian forest, winter ecology, Xiphydria camelus

Abstract

Very few studies have been made on the Black Woodpecker’s Dryocopus martius feeding on deciduous trees in Scandinavia, especially at winter. This pilot study on the Black Woodpecker’s feeding in grey alder Alnus incana showed that the grey alder is a significant feeding tree during the winter months. The woodpeckers seem to prefer feeding in the southerly sector of grey alder trunks with a diameter of 13.5–15.4 centimetres, in their first dying stages. This study indicates that litter of a significant size, that is found beneath trees penetrated by woodpeckers, are from carvings made by the Black Woodpecker. Litter surveying may hence be an alternative investigational method to radio tracking for nutritional studies on the Black Woodpecker. This paper also discusses the role of a potential prey found in grey alders, the alder wood-wasp Xiphydria camelus, as a complementary food source at winter in different parts of Sweden, compared to the more well-described carpenter ants Camponotus herculeanus found in Norway spruce Picea abies.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

References

Angelstam P & Mikusiński G. 1994. Woodpecker assemblages in natural and managed boreal and hemiboreal forest—a review. Annales Zoologi Fennici 31: 157–172. Available at http://www.sekj.org/PDF/anzf31/anz31-157-172.pdf

Aulén G. 1988. Ecology and distribution history of the White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos in Sweden. PhD thesis, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala.

Brotons L, Mönkkönen M, Huhta E, Nikula A & Rajasärkkä A. 2003. Effects of landscape structure and forest reserve location on old-growth forest bird species in Northern Finland. Landscape Ecology 18: 377–393. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1026148825138

Burfield I & van Bommel F (eds). 2004. Birds in Europe: population estimates, trends and conservation status. BirdLife Conservation Series no. 12. BirdLife International, Cambridge, UK.

Bütler R, Angelstam P, Ekelund P & Schlaepfer R. 2004. Dead wood threshold values for the three-toed woodpecker presence in boreal and sub-Alpine forest. Biological Conservation 119: 305–318. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2003.11.014

Cramp S (ed). 1985. Handbook of the Birds in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa: The Birds of the Western Palearctic, Vol. IV. Oxford University Press, Oxford.

Carlsson, A. 2000. The effect of habitat loss on a deciduous forest specialist species: the White-backed Woodpecker (Dendrocopos leucotos). Forest Ecology and Management 131: 215–221. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(99)00215-7

Ehnström B & Axelsson R. 2002. Insektsgnag i bark och ved. Artdatabanken, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.

Fernandez C & Azkona P. 1996. Influence of forest structure on the density and distribution of the White-backed Woodpecker Dendrocopos leucotos and Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius in Quinto Real (Spanish western Pyrenees). Bird Study 43: 305–313. https://doi.org/10.1080/00063659609461023

Gunn J & Hagan JM III. 2000. Woodpecker abundance and tree use in uneven-aged managed, and unmanaged, forest in northern Maine. Forest Ecology and Management 126: 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(99)00078-X

Haila Y & Järvinen O. 1977. Competition and habitat selection in two large woodpeckers. Ornis Fennica 54: 73–78. Available at https://tinyurl.com/yabqdqtd

Hogstad O. 1991. The effect of social dominance on foraging by the Three-toed Woodpecker Picoides tridactylus. Ibis 133: 271–276. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1474-919X.1991.tb04569.x

Imbeau L, Mönkkönen M & Desrochers A. 2001. Long-term effects of forestry on birds of the eastern Canadian boreal forests: a comparison with Fennoscandia. Conservation Biology 15: 1151–1162. https://doi.org/10.1046/j.1523-1739.2001.0150041151.x

Imbeau L & Desrochers A. 2002. Area sensitivity and edge avoidance: the case of the Three-toed Woodpecker (Picoides tridactylus) in a managed forest. Forest Ecology and Management 164: 249–256. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0378-1127(01)00598-9

Johannesson H, Læssøe T & Stenlid J. 2000. Molecular and morphological investigation of Daldinia in northern Europe. Mycological Research 104: 275–280. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0953756299001719

Johansson T. 1999. Dry matter amounts and increment in 21- to 91-year-old common alder and grey alder and some practical implications. Canadian Journal of Forest Research 29: 1679–1690. https://doi.org/10.1139/x99-126

Johnsson K. 1993. The Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius as a keystone species in forest. PhD thesis, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala.

Kärki T, Maltamo M & Eerikäinen K. 2000. Diameter distribution, stem volume and stem quality models for grey alder (Alnus incana) in eastern Finland. New Forests 20: 65–86. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1006793616781

Liknes ET & Swanson DL. 1996. Seasonal variation in cold tolerance, basal metabolic rate, and maximal capacity for thermogenesis in White-breasted Nuthatches Sitta carolinensis and Downy Woodpeckers Picoides pubescens, two unrelated arboreal temperate residents. Journal of Avian Biology 27: 279–288. https://doi.org/10.2307/3677259

Matthysen E, Cimprich D & Grubb TC Jr. 1993. Home ranges and social behaviour of the Downy Woodpecker Picoides pubescens in winter. Belgian Journal of Zoology 123: 193–201. Available at https://tinyurl.com/y9y8c2ze.

Melletti M & Penteriani V. 2003. Nesting and feeding tree selection in the endangered White-backed Woodpecker, Dendrocopos leucotos lilfordi. The Wilson Bulletin 115: 299–306. https://doi.org/10.1676/03-022

Mikusiński G. 1995. Population trends in black woodpecker in relation to changes and characteristics of European forests. Ecography 18: 363–369. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0587.1995.tb00139.x

Mikusiński G. 1997. Winter foraging of the Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius in managed forest in south-central Sweden. Ornis Fennica 74: 161–166. Available at https://tinyurl.com/y8wa6rjq.

Mikusiński G. 1997. Woodpeckers in Time and Space. PhD thesis, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala.

Nilsson SG, Olsson O, Svensson S & Wiktander U. 1992. Population trends and fluctuations in Swedish woodpeckers. Ornis Svecica 2: 13–21. https://doi.org/10.34080/os.v2.22398

Olsson C & Wiklund J. 1999. Västerbottens fåglar. Västerbottens Ornitologiska Förening, Umeå.

Ottosson U, Ottvall R, Elmberg J, Green M, Gustafsson R, Haas F, Holmqvist N, Lindström Å, Nilsson L, Svensson M, Svensson S & Tjernberg M. 2012. Fåglarna i Sverige – antal och förekomst. Sveriges Ornitologiska Förening, Halmstad.

Raab B & Vedin H (eds). 1995. Klimat, sjöar och vattendrag. Sveriges Nationalatlas, band 14. Sveriges Nationalatlas Förlag, Stockholm.

Rolstad J & Rolstad E. 1995. Seasonal patterns in home range and habitat use of the Grey-headed Woodpecker Picus canus as influenced by the availability of wood. Ornis Fennica 72: 1–13.

Rolstad J & Rolstad E. 2000. Influence of large snow depths on Black Woodpecker Dryocopus martius foraging behavior. Ornis Fennica 77: 65–70.

SLU Artdatabanken. 2020. Spillkråka Dryocopus martius. Artfakta. Available at https://artfakta.se/naturvard/taxon/dryocopus-martius-100049

Uri V, Aosaar J, Varik M, Becker H, Ligi K, Padari A, Kanal A & Lõhmus K. 2014. The dynamics of biomass production, carbon and nitrogen accumulation in grey alder (Alnus incana (L.) Moench) chronosequence stands in Estonia. Forest Ecology and Management 327: 106–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foreco.2014.04.040.

Weiss, S. 2003. Erlänwälder als bisher unbeachteter Lebensraum des Mittelspechts Dendrocopos medius. Vogelwelt 124: 177–192.