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Science 31 March 1995:
Vol. 267. no. 5206, pp. 1987 - 1990
DOI: 10.1126/science.267.5206.1987
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Articles

Regional Forest Fragmentation and the Nesting Success of Migratory Birds

Scott K. Robinson 1, Frank R. Thompson III 2, Therese M. Donovan 3, Donald R. Whitehead 4, and John Faaborg 3

1 Illinois Natural History Survey, 607 East Peabody Drive, Champaign, IL 61820, USA.
2 North Central Forest Experiment Station, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
3 Division of Biological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, USA.
4 Department of Biology, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405, USA.

Forest fragmentation, the disruption in the continuity of forest habitat, is hypothesized to be a major cause of population decline for some species of forest birds because fragmentation reduces nesting (reproductive) success. Nest predation and parasitism by cowbirds increased with forest fragmentation in nine midwestern (United States) landscapes that varied from 6 to 95 percent forest cover within a 10-kilometer radius of the study areas. Observed reproductive rates were low enough for some species in the most fragmented landscapes to suggest that their populations are sinks that depend for perpetuation on immigration from reproductive source populations in landscapes with more extensive forest cover. Conservation strategies should consider preservation and restoration of large, unfragmented "core" areas in each region.

Submitted on October 24, 1994
Accepted on January 30, 1995


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