Abstract
Red-headed woodpecker populations are near-threatened. Their habitat selection and reproductive success may be related to the availability of arthropods. We sampled the arthropod community within 0.04 ha plots surrounding known nests and compared these findings to plots without nests in the same fragments of forest or park in Cook County, IL. After 14 days, the traps were recovered, yielding close to 45,000 arthropods across 10 orders. Nest and control site differences were not statistically significant. Differences between park and forest diversity were not statistically significant either, but the greater diversity values in forests were consistent with expectations. We conclude that factors other than arthropod availability are likely controlling red-headed woodpecker habitat selection.
Recommended Citation
Lordon, Michael C.
(2014)
"Arthropod Communities and Red-headed Woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus) Habitat Selection,"
DePaul Discoveries: Volume 3, Article 12.
Available at:
https://via.library.depaul.edu/depaul-disc/vol3/iss1/12