Bird populations in the Kluane Mountains, southwest Yukon, with special reference to vegetation and fire

• Published in: Canadian Journal of Zoology
• Main Author: Theberge, John B.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1976
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Yukon; Parkland; Kluane Ranges; Tundra
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z76-152; http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/z76-152

Bird populations were studied in relation to vegetation communities in the Kluane Ranges, Yukon. Information on species diversity and abundance was collected on 39 linear 4-ha plots in eight communities by noting birds heard and seen on repeated walks over each plot. Bird populations in tundra and subalpine communities were dissimilar from the six lowland communities, the latter all showing a marked similarity (lowland willow shrub, upland willow shrub, spruce–poplar forest, mature spruce, riparian poplar forest, balsam poplar parkland). Communities with greatest species diversity also had greatest total abundance. The tundra ranked lowest in diversity and abundance. Subalpine, however, held a high number of species, reflecting its ecotone position. Subalpine was distinctive in having few species of intermediate density compared with the density–dominance structure of birds in the other communities. The close similarity between bird populations in the lowland communities, despite distinctive differences in vegetation species and structure, was due to the overriding presence of three species that remained abundant throughout succession: dark-eyed junco, Swainson's thrush, and yellow-rumped warbler, which means that species not closely specialized to the vegetation predominate over most of the region.