Moneglia P. (2010). Corsican nuthatch (Sitta whiteheadi) and Corsican pine (Pinus nigra ssp. laricio var. corsicana): Food resource and fire impact. PhD thesis, Ecole Pratique des Hautes Etudes, Laboratoire de Biogéographie et Ecologie des Vertébrés. 141 p.
Abstract:
The Corsican nuthatch (Sitta whiteheadi) is a commensal species of the Corsican pine (Pinus nigra subsp. laricio var. corsicana). The present study is a contribution to the knowledge of the relationships between these two endemics. It focuses on the availability and the possible limiting effect of the main food resource for nuthatch in winter, the Corsican pine seeds, and on the impact of fires on the nuthatch.
Our results show a large temporal and spatial variability of seed production, which can occasionally place nuthatches in very difficult situations. However, we show that the nuthatch has developed a strategy (hoarding behavior and large home range) that allows her to tolerate the fluctuations of the food resource.
Corsican pine is a habitat-resource for which the fire represents a major disturbance that consequently affects the Corsican nuthatch. Our postfire monitoring shows a decline up to 67% of nuthatch population after fire. We show that this decline is long-lasting, and that the degree of alteration of the canopy (fire severity) is the key factor of the maintenance of the bird within its home range after fire.
Due to its endemism and to its specialization, the Corsican nuthatch can be considered as a good biological indicator of the condition of the laricio pine ecosystem. Our work helps to define guidance for maintaining or increasing the surface and the quality of nuthatch habitat.
Key words:
Sitta whiteheadi; Pinus nigra laricio; seed and cone production; forest birds; feeding ecology of birds; commensal; endemic; fire severity; salvage logging; bird conservation; Corsica.
