A COMPARISON OF BIRD COMMUNITIES IN BURNED AND SALVAGE-LOGGED, CLEAR-CUT, AND FORESTED FLORIDA SAND PINE SCRUB

We hypothesized that similar bird assemblages will occur in like-struc tured habitat that results from both clearcutting and high-intensity w ildfire followed by salvage logging. To test this, we compared bird co mmunities of sand pine scrub in mature forest and three disturbance tr eatments (1) high-intensity wildfire, salvage logged, and naturally re generated, (2) clearcut, roller chopped, and broadcast seeded, and (3) clearcut and bracke-seeded. We analyzed communities based on residenc y status and nesting guilds. Migatory breeding birds were nearly restr icted to mature forest. Bird communities of mature forest were signifi cantly more species rich and diverse than those of disturbance treatme nts in spring. However, species richness and diversity of migratory wi nter residents did not differ among treatments, indicating that they a re habitat-structure generalists on their wintering grounds. Canopy- a nd cavity-nesters and canopy- and bark-foraging species were virtually restricted to mature forest. Most species recorded in mature sand pin e forest or disturbance treatments were either habitat-structure gener alists or also occurred in other similarly structured vegetation types . However, the threatened and endemic Florida Scrub Jay (Aphelocoma c. coerulescens) occurred only in disturbance treatments (no differences ). Silvicultural disturbance appears to mimic the natural high-intensi ty disturbance regime by creating habitat structural features required by open scrub species and may be an important habitat management tool where the use of wildfire is impractical. However, long-term effects, unsalvaged burns, and landscape patterns created by clearcutting were not addressed and may also be important in structuring bird communiti es of sand pine scrub.