Advanced Search Results Detail

Project ID: 03-3-3-26

Year: 2003

Date Started: 08/18/2003

Date Completed: 09/13/2006

Title: Effects of Wildland Fires on Buff-Breasted Flycatchers and Other Forest Birds in Southeastern Arizona

Project Proposal Abstract: Long-term fire suppression in Southwestern forests is thought to have influenced the distribution and abundance of many bird species, including rare species such as the buff-breasted flycatcher (Empidonax fulvifrons). Few studies have examined the effect of fire on forest birds in the southwest, despite the historical importance of wildfires in shaping these forest ecosystems and the recent increase of wild and prescribed fires in the region. Given the unforeseen wildfire season of 2002 and subsequent prescribed burns in the region, we now have a unique opportunity to collect post-burn data and critically evaluate the role of fire in influencing the distribution and abundance of buff-breasted flycatchers and other forest bird species in southeastern Arizona. We propose to evaluate the effects of recent wild and prescribed fires on populations of buff-breasted flycatchers and other forest bird species by repeating surveys on established bird survey routes (both burned routes and unburned control routes) in 2003 and 2004. We will compare post-burn data of presence and abundance with pre-burn data collected on these survey routes in 2000. Results from this study will provide managers from various federal and state agencies with vital information regarding the effects of fire on populations of buff-breasted flycatchers in the United States. Should fire increase the presence and/or abundance of buff-breasted flycatchers, we will have documented the importance of fire as a management tool to help restore habitat and increase population size for this extremely rare species. In addition to information on buff-breasted flycatchers, we will provide managers with data on the effects of fire for the entire avian community, including several other priority species of local management concern (e.g., elegant trogon [Trogon elegans], northern goshawk [Accipiter gentiles], and band-tailed pigeon [Columba fasciata]). Finally, results from this study will shed light on the effects of long-term fire suppression on the structure and composition of forest bird communities in the Southwest.

Principal Investigator: Chris Kirkpatrick

Agency/Organization: University of Arizona-Tucson

Branch or Dept: School of Natural Resources & the Environment

Other Project Collaborators

Type	Name	Agency/Organization	Branch or Dept
Federal Cooperator	Courtney J. Conway	University of Idaho	Department of Fish & Wildlife Resources

Project Locations

Consortium

Southwest

There are no project locations identified for this project.

Project Deliverables

Final Report ("Results presented in JFSP Final Reports may not have been peer-reviewed and should be interpreted as tentative until published in a peer-reviewed source.")

	ID	Type	Title
	9795	NonRefereed Publication	Fire This Time: Another Burn at Wildlife Refuge
	3517	NonRefereed Publication	Range Expansion of the Buff-Breasted Flycatcher (Empidonax fulvifrons) Into the Rincon Mountains, AZ

Supporting Documents

The following supporting documents are available for this project.

Brief

Convert PDF documents to an html document using Adobe's online conversion tool.