Management effect on bird and arthropod interaction in suburban woodlands.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Experiments from a range of ecosystems have shown that insectivorous birds are important in controlling the populations of their invertebrate prey. Here, we report on a large field experiment testing the hypothesis that management for enhancing recreational values in suburban woodlands affects the intensity of bird predation on canopy-living arthropods. Bird exclosures were used in two types of management (understory clearance and dense understory) at two foraging heights in oak Quercus robur canopies and the experiment was replicated at two sites.

Results

The biomass and abundance of arthropods were high on net-enclosed branches but strongly reduced on control branches in both types of management. In woods with dense understory, the effect of bird predation on ar

SUBMITTER: Heyman E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3058007 | biostudies-literature | 2011 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature