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Harvard Forest REU Symposium Abstract 2010
- Title: Effects of an Urbanization Gradient on Arthropod Availability for Nesting Woodpeckers in Massachusetts
- Author: Autumn A Amici (University of Vermont (UVM))
- Abstract:
Urban sprawl and the resultant habitat loss have created a need for a new research focus. The encroachment of urbanization increases plant productivity and growth rate due to increased fertilizer use, changes the available habitat and alters the species composition, such as through increasing exotic and decreasing native vegetation. Any of these events can greatly affect the prey availability for nesting woodpeckers. Woodpeckers and other cavity nesters are important components of ecosystems as they provide habitat for a suite of other species. The goal of this project was to assess the effect of various levels of urban development on arthropod food sources for three species of nesting woodpeckers: Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens), Red-bellied Woodpecker (Melanerpes carolinus), and Yellow-bellied Sapsucker (Sphyrapicus varius) in central Massachusetts. I quantified food resources and nest provisioning along an urbanization gradient (wildland, small town, large town) using modified arboreal pitfall traps and nestling feeding observations, respectively. Preliminary results indicate that large town plots had the highest arthropod abundance, while small towns and wildland plots had the lowest arthropod abundance. A correlation between arthropod abundance and the number of visits shows a moderately negative trend. Understanding the impacts of urbanization on arthropod populations will provide crucial insight into both the potential impacts of urbanization on woodpeckers and other wildlife, as well as future management goals, including city planning methods.
- Research Category: Biodiversity Studies; Conservation and Management
