Habitat Requirements of Breeding Black-Backed Woodpeckers (Picoides arcticus) in Managed, Unburned Boreal Forest

Abstract

We investigated home-range characteristics and habitat selection by Black-backed Woodpeckers (Picoides arcticus) in an unburned, boreal forest landscape managed by mosaic harvesting in Quebec, Canada. Habitat selection by this species was specifically examined to determine home-range establishment and foraging activities. We hypothesized that Black-backed Woodpeckers would respond to harvesting by adjusting their home-range size as a function of the amount of dead wood available. Twenty-two birds were tracked using radiotelemetry, and reliable estimates of home-range size were obtained for seven breeding individuals (six males and one female). The average home-range size was 151.5 ± 18.8 ha (range: 100.4-256.4 ha). Our results indicate that this species establishes home ranges in areas where both open and forested habitats are available. However, during foraging activities, individuals preferentially selected areas dominated by old coniferous stands. The study also showed that the spatial distribution of preferred foraging habitat patches influenced space use, with home-range area increasing with the median distance between old coniferous habitat patches available within the landscape. Finally, these data show that Black-backed Woodpeckers may successfully breed in an unburned forest with at least 35 m3 • ha-1 of dead wood, of which 42% (15 m3 • ha-1) is represented by dead wood at the early decay stage. © 2009. by the author(s).