SELECTED HABITAT CHARACTERISTICS AND PINE VOLE ABUNDANCE IN PENNSYLVANIA APPLE ORCHARDS

In the past, researchers from The Pennsylvania State University have Investigated specific aspects of the pine vole (Microtus pinetorum) and its biology (Fisher 1976, Gettle 1975, Simpson 1978). In our current research, we are Investigating many factors of the pine vole\u27s orchard habitat and examining these factors collectively. Our objectives are: 1) To determine what combinations of habitat characteristics relate best to abundance of pine voles in Pennsylvania apple orchards. 2) To recommend strategies on how to consider or modify those habitat characteristics to maintain the lowest possible numbers of pine voles

Species of street tree is important for southern hemisphere bird trophic guilds

Published in Austral Ecology, 2007; 32 (5):541-550 at www.interscience.wiley.comUrban environments are highly modified with unique assemblages of bird species. Much of the research on urban bird assemblages comes from the northern hemisphere. Southern hemisphere bird assemblages differ from northern hemisphere assemblages in that they contain a large proportion of nectarivores. In this study we focus on bird use of street trees in Australia. We investigate the relative influence of tree species (plane tree, Platanus x acerifolia; red gums, Eucalyptus camaldulensis; jacaranda, Jacaranda mimosifolia; bottlebrush, Callistemon citrinus), season and the environment surrounding street trees, on the abundance and species richness of birds in Adelaide, South Australia. Our study considers birds in terms of granivore, nectarivore and insectivore trophic guilds. Nectarivores accounted for the greatest proportion of observations, in terms of abundance, in each of the tree species investigated. Species of street tree was a significant influence on bird use of the trees for all birds and each dietary guild. Red gums were used more than the other tree species by nectarivores, while plane trees were used more than the other trees by insectivores. Use of the tree species by granivores varied with the season. The measures of the environment surrounding street trees were largely unimportant with the exception of traffic for nectarivores in some cases. Urban avifauna use street trees and the species of tree will strongly influence its use by birds. However, the pattern of use of street tree species varied at different times of year and differed between different trophic guilds of birds. The dominance of nectarivores in the southern avifauna will likely produce different patterns of urban environment use to northern hemisphere avifaunas.Karen M. Young, Christopher B. Daniels and Greg Johnsto