Relationships between bird species and tree species assemblages in forested habitats of eastern North America

Abstract Rapid high-intensity molt of flight feathers occurs in many bird species and can have several detrimental consequences, including reductions in flight capabilities, foraging performance, parental care, and plumage quality. Many migratory New World warblers (family Parulidae) are known to have intense remigial molt, and recent work has suggested that simultaneous replacement of the rectrices may be widespread in the family as well. However, the phylogenetic distribution of simultaneous rectrix molt, and high-intensity flight feather molt more generally, has not been systematically investigated in warblers. We addressed this issue by examining flight feather molt in 13 species, representing 7 different warbler genera, at Powdermill Avian Research Center in southwestern Pennsylvania, USA. All 13 species replaced their 12 rectrices simultaneously, with the onset of rectrix molt occurring in the early-middle stages of high-intensity primary molt. As expected, single-brooded early migrants molted earlier than double-brooded species whose nesting activities extend into late summer. However, our finding that late-molting species replaced their primaries more slowly and less intensively than early molting species was unexpected, as late-molting species are widely hypothesized to be under stronger migration-related time constraints. This surprising result appears to be at least partially explained by a positive association between the pace of molt and daylength; shorter late-summer days may mandate reduced daily food intake, lower molt intensity, and a slower pace of molt. In comparison to other passerines, flight feather molt in warblers of eastern North America is extraordinarily intense; at its peak, individuals are simultaneously replacing 50–67% of their 48 flight feathers (all 12 rectrices and 6–10 remiges on each wing) for 2–3 weeks or more. Because molt of this intensity is likely to present numerous challenges for flight, avoiding predators, foraging, and parental care, the period of flight feather molt for warblers constitutes a highly demanding phase of their annual cycle.

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Late Quaternary extinction of a tree species in eastern North America

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.96.24.13847 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 96 (24) ◽

pp. 13847-13852 ◽

Cited By ~ 108

Author(s):

S. T. Jackson ◽

C. Weng

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Tree Species ◽

Late Quaternary ◽

Eastern North America

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Critical Seed Transfer Distances for Selected Tree Species in Eastern North America

Journal of Ecology ◽

10.1111/1365-2745.13605 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

John H. Pedlar ◽

Daniel W. McKenney ◽

Pengxin Lu

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Tree Species ◽

Eastern North America ◽

Seed Transfer

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Ecology of Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus in the Southeastern United States: Incriminating Vector and Host Species Responsible for Virus Amplification, Persistence, and Dispersal

Journal of Medical Entomology ◽

10.1093/jme/tjab076 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Nathan D Burkett-Cadena ◽

Jonathan F Day ◽

Thomas R Unnasch

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Phylogenetic Analyses ◽

Mosquito Species ◽

Severe Disease ◽

Bird Species ◽

Encephalitis Virus ◽

Eastern North America ◽

Eastern Equine Encephalitis Virus ◽

Eastern Equine Encephalitis ◽

Equine Encephalitis Virus

Abstract Eastern equine encephalitis virus (EEEV; family Togaviridae, genus Alphavirus) is a mosquito-borne pathogen found in eastern North America that causes severe disease in humans and horses. The mosquito Culiseta melanura (Coquillett) (Diptera: Culicidae) is the primary enzootic vector of EEEV throughout eastern North America while several mosquito species belonging to diverse genera serve as bridge vectors. The ecology of EEEV differs between northern and southern foci, with respect to phenology of outbreaks, important vertebrate hosts, and bridge vector species. Active transmission is limited to roughly half of the year in northern foci (New York, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut), while year-round transmission occurs in the southeastern region (particularly Florida). Multiple phylogenetic analyses indicate that EEEV strains circulating in northern foci are likely transported from southern foci by migrating birds. Bird species that overwinter or migrate through Florida, are bitten by Cs. melanura in late spring, and arrive at northern breeding grounds in May are the most likely candidates to disperse EEEV northward. Available data indicate that common yellowthroat and green heron satisfy these criteria and could serve as virus dispersers. Understanding the factors that drive the phenology of Cs. melanura reproduction in the south and the timing of avian migration from southern foci could provide insight into how confluence of these biological phenomena shapes outbreaks of EEE throughout its range. This information could be used to develop models predicting the likelihood of outbreaks in a given year, allowing vector control districts to more efficiently marshal resources necessary to protect their stakeholders.

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Trends in seedling growth and carbon-use efficiency vary among broadleaf tree species along a latitudinal transect in eastern North America

Global Change Biology ◽

10.1111/gcb.12427 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 20 (3) ◽

pp. 908-922 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Dylan N. Dillaway ◽

Eric L. Kruger

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Seedling Growth ◽

Tree Species ◽

Eastern North America ◽

Carbon Use Efficiency ◽

Latitudinal Transect ◽

Broadleaf Tree ◽

Use Efficiency

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Hemlock Legacy Project (HeLP)

Progress in Physical Geography Earth and Environment ◽

10.1177/0309133312469218 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 37 (1) ◽

pp. 114-129 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Amy Hessl ◽

Neil Pederson

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Environmental History ◽

Tree Species ◽

Foundation Species ◽

American Chestnut ◽

Eastern North America ◽

Old Growth ◽

Translational Ecology ◽

Dead Material ◽

Extensive Body

Eastern North American forests have effectively lost two major tree species (American chestnut and American elm) in the last 100 years and two more, eastern and Carolina hemlock, will be functionally extinct over much of their ranges within a couple of decades. The loss of eastern hemlock is of particular concern because hemlock is: (1) a foundation species; (2) one of the longest-lived tree species over much of temperate eastern North America; and (3) sensitive to climatic variation and ecosystem disturbance, making it an ideal species for the reconstruction of environmental history. Unlike American chestnut, we have a small window of opportunity to salvage environmental histories from hemlock before they are lost. In this progress report, we review the extensive body of science derived from this paleoenvironmental archive and urge scientists from eastern North America to sample and archive old-growth hemlock while living and dead material remain. Here we describe a community-based approach to salvaging paleoenvironmental archives that could serve as a model for collections from other foundation species currently threatened by exotic forests pests and pathogens (e.g. whitebark pine, ash). The approach supports Schlesinger’s (2010) call for ‘translational ecology’ by building connections between scientists, students, environmental NGOs, and land managers focused on old-growth forests.

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Contrasting Litter Nutrient and Metal Inputs and Soil Chemistry among Five Common Eastern North American Tree Species

Forests ◽

10.3390/f12050613 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (5) ◽

pp. 613

Author(s):

Neil F. J. Ott ◽

Shaun A. Watmough

Keyword(s):

North America ◽

Tree Species ◽

Soil Chemistry ◽

Mineral Soil ◽

Abies Balsamea ◽

Base Cations ◽

Forest Composition ◽

Eastern North America ◽

Betula Alleghaniensis ◽

Yellow Birch

Forest composition has been altered throughout Eastern North America, and changes in species dominance may alter nutrient cycling patterns, influencing nutrient availability and distribution in soils. To assess whether nutrients and metals in litterfall and soil differed among sites influenced by five common Ontario tree species (balsam fir (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.), eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis (L.) Carr.), white pine (Pinus strobus L.), sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.), and yellow birch (Betula alleghaniensis Britt.)), litterfall and soil chemistry were measured at a managed forest in Central Ontario, Canada. Carbon (C) and macronutrient (nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), potassium (K), calcium (Ca), and magnesium (Mg)) inputs in litterfall varied significantly among sites, primarily due to differences in litterfall mass, which was greatest in deciduous-dominated sites, while differences in elemental concentrations played relatively minor roles. Trace metal inputs in litterfall also varied, with much higher zinc (Zn) and cadmium (Cd) in litterfall within yellow birch dominated stands. Mineral soil oxide composition was very similar among sites, suggesting that differences in soil chemistry were influenced by forest composition rather than parent material. Litter in deciduous-dominated stands had lower C/N, and soils were less acidic than conifer-dominated sites. Deciduous stands also had much shorter elemental residence times in the organic horizons, especially for base cations (Ca, Mg, K) compared with conifer-dominated sites, although total soil nutrient pools were relatively consistent among sites. A change from stands with greater conifer abundance to mixed hardwoods has likely led to more rapid cycling of elements in forests, particularly for base cations. These differences are apparent at small scales (100 m2) in mixed forests that characterize many forested regions in Eastern North America and elsewhere.

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