Double-crested cormorant colony effects on soil chemistry, vegetation structure and avian diversity

FOREST ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT

卷:453

Article

Veum, Leah Moran¹  Dorr, Brian S.²  Hanson-Dorr, Katie C.²  Moore, R. J.³  Rush, Scott A.¹ 

[1] Mississippi State Univ, Dept Wildlife Fisheries & Aquaculture, POB 9690, Mississippi State, MS 39762 USA

[2] Wildlife Serv, USDA, Natl Wildlife Res Ctr, Mississippi Field Stn, POB 6099, Mississippi State, MS 39762 USA

[3] Tennessee Valley Author, Land & River Management, Nat Resources, 1010 Reservat Rd,MPB 1H-M, Muscle Shoals, AL 35662 USA

关键词: Waterbird;    Southeastern forest;    Diversity;    Vegetation;    Soil;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.foreco.2019.117588

来源: Elsevier

【 摘 要 】

Effects of Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax caritas) on vegetation, soil chemistry and tree health have been documented from their breeding colonies in the northern breeding grounds of Canada and the United States (U.S.) but not for areas within the southeastern United States where breeding activity is relatively novel. We compared vegetation and tree metrics such as structure diversity, and soil chemistry among colony islands, uninhabited islands, and abandoned colony islands within Guntersville Reservoir, a temperate forest ecosystem. Avian diversity and community structure were also quantified on these islands. Concentrations of potassium (K), phosphorus (P) and nitrate (NO3-) in soil were negatively related to cormorant use, while tree diversity was lower on historic (tree mean = 4.35 +/- 2.46 species) and colony (tree mean = 3.91 +/- 3.12 species) islands relative to reference islands (tree mean = 9.11 +/- 3.88 species). Canopy cover was less (min: < 20%), and midstories denser on colony and historic islands relative to reference islands. Avian diversity was significantly lower for colony islands (mean = 6 +/- 3 species) than both reference (11 +/- 7 species) and historic (10 +/- 7 species) islands. These effects of cormorant nesting can be seen even after 10 years of colony abandonment supporting that cormorants can have long-term effects on insular habitats in temperate forest ecosystems.

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