DEFINING CRITICAL FOREST HABITAT FOR AREA-SENSITIVE FOREST SONGBIRDS IN PENNSYLVANIA

Abstract

Marcellus Shale natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania forests has and will continue to cause forest fragmentation. Populations of forest area-sensitive bird species are negatively affected by forest fragmentation, as they generally are found only in large forests and have poor reproductive success in small forests. I used breeding bird counts for 40 forest birds in Pennsylvania to assess whether settlement patterns were consistent with area-sensitivity. This information was then used to identify areas of Pennsylvania that support high numbers and diversity of forest area-sensitive species. These areas were determined to be the Allegheny National Forest and ten Pennsylvania State Forests, suggested to be critical forests for forest bird conservation. The forests are sufficiently large to support area-sensitive species and should be protected to remain intact as any fragmentation could be detrimental to forest area-sensitive bird species that currently are found in Pennsylvania.