Avian Communities and Habitat Relationships in South Carolina Piedmont Beaver Ponds

• Published in: The American midland naturalist Vol. 141; no. 1; pp. 158 - 171
• Main Authors: EDWARDS, NICOLE T, OTIS, DAVID L
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Notre Dame University of Notre Dame 01.01.1999; University of Notre Dame, Department of Biological Sciences; American Midland Naturalist
• Subjects: Animal populations; Aves; Birds; Castor canadensis; Contents; Environmental aspects; Freshwater; Habitat (Ecology); Habitats; Piedmonts (Geology); Plants; Ponds; Shrubs; Vegetation; Waterfowl; Wetlands; Wildlife habitats; Wildlife management; Winter; South Carolina; USA, South Carolina
• DOI: 10.1674/0003-0031(1999)141[0158:ACAHRI]2.0.CO;2
• ISSN: 0003-0031

Beaver ponds are a widely distributed and abundant wetland resource in the southeastern United States, but their value as avian habitat is poorly documented. We sampled bird populations at six South Carolina Piedmont beaver ponds from April 1993 through June 1994 to examine seasonal community composition and discern microhabitat variables that are associated with bird group abundance and richness. The resident/short-distance migrant group and the neotropical migrant group were most abundant in the spring seasons and waterbirds were least abundant. In fall and winter the resident/short-distance migrant group was most abundant at all ponds with the exception of one pond in winter, which had very high use by waterfowl. Seasons were generally most important in predicting bird species richness and abundance of the resident/short-distance migrant group. Vegetation interspersion, patch evenness, plant richness and total area were most important in explaining abundance of waterfowl, waterbirds, neotropical migrants and woodpeckers, respectively.