Date of Award
8-2024
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science - Forestry
Department
Forestry
First Advisor
Kathryn R. Kidd
Second Advisor
Daniel Saenz
Third Advisor
Clifford E. Shackelford
Fourth Advisor
Reuber Antoniazzi
Abstract
Bottomland hardwood forests in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley have been extensively reduced due to agriculture conversion and altered hydrology. Remnant forests have undergone further degradation from sources such as a lack of forest management, invasive species, and reduced regeneration of oaks (Quercus spp.). Recent restoration efforts of bottomland hardwood forests have focused on implementing wildlife forestry practices that prioritize restoring wildlife habitat while retaining profitable timber harvests. In this study I surveyed bird communities in bottomland hardwood forests in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley along a successional chronosequence. Birds were sampled using automated recording units over 10 days across 149 sites for the breeding bird seasons of 2021 and 2022. Sites were categorized into one of eight forest classes based on age and time since silviculture treatment. Additionally, single-species occupancy models were developed for these four species of concern: northern parula (Setophaga americana), prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea), wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina), and Acadian flycatcher (Empidonax virescens).
Species richness and diversity were not significantly different among forest classes. Bird communities in the grass/shrub forest class were significantly distinct from any other bird community, due to an absence of an overstory stratum. We were able to
successfully use forest class to compare bird communities. We found that, due to inconsistency in intensity of management practices and site conditions, forest structure was highly variable in the Lower Mississippi Alluvial Valley making it difficult to categorize sites into distinct forest classes. Rather, forest structure variables provided more insight into bird community composition. Hardwood basal area (from 0 to 26.6 m2/ha) was found to be positively correlated with occupancy for all four species of concern identified by Partners in Flight. The larger bird community was unaffected by forest management, but since occupancy of species of concern was influenced by increasing hardwood basal area managers should take efforts to maintain some forests with a higher basal area to serve as a sanctuary for these species.
Repository Citation
Thurmond, Eamonn Alasdair, "AVIAN COMMUNITIES MONITORED ALONG A SUCCESSIONAL CHRONOSEQUENCE IN BOTTOMLAND HARDWOOD FORESTS IN THE LOWER MISSISSIPPI ALLUVIAL VALLEY" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 564.
https://scholarworks.sfasu.edu/etds/564
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