Effect of forest age, structural elements, and prey density on the relative abundance of pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus abieticola) on south-eastern Vancouver Island (British Columbia)

The relative abundance of pileated woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus abieticola) in four 1450-ha landscapes of differing forest ages was correlated with ecological variables using call-playback surveys, habitat surveys, GIS, and insect trapping in dry Douglas-fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii) forests in the Coastal Western Hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla) Biogeoclimatic Zone (CWH) on south-eastern Vancouver Island in 1996-1997. Pileated woodpeckers did not utilise intensively managed forests {dollar}<{dollar}80 years old due to the structures of young forest stands, the absence of large snags and logs, and the presence of low densities of prey. Carpenter ants (Camponotus spp.) were more prevalent in young forests with old-growth remnants but carabid beetles (Carabidae) were more abundant in mature forests. The relative abundance of pileated woodpecker was greatest in a landscape with 51% of {dollar}>{dollar}140-year-old stands, although the relative abundance was not significantly different from an immature forest landscape with 49% {dollar}>{dollar}80 year old forests, or a forest landscape with of 70% {dollar}>{dollar}140-year-old stands. Recommendations for forest management are provided. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...