Immediate Species Responses to Catastrophic Natural Disturbances: Windthrow Effects on Density, Productivity, Nesting Stand Choice, and Fidelity in Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis)

• Published in: The Auk
• Main Authors: Penteriani, Vincenzo, Mathiaut, Marie, Boisson, Guy
• Other Authors: Marti, C. D.
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press (OUP) 2002
• Subjects: Animal Science and Zoology; Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics; Accipiter gentilis; Northern Goshawk
• Online Access: http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/auk/119.4.1132; http://academic.oup.com/auk/article-pdf/119/4/1132/29687066/auk1132.pdf

Abstract In December 1999, an exceptional windstorm traveled across northern France (Côte d'Or). The severity of the stand damages ranged from <1 to >80%, and over 10% of the overall surface of several homogeneous woodlands (from ∼1,000 to 8,000 ha) was affected by the windstorm. Data were available on Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) density, productivity, and nesting stand preferences in that area before the disturbance. The species showed tolerance to the natural disturbance induced by the windstorm: we found no difference in density, nesting stand choice, or productivity between the six breeding seasons before the windthrow and in the one immediately after. Breeding pairs moved away (50–200 m) from their traditional nest stand only when its original structure was altered by >30% in the 50 m surrounding the nest tree. We hypothesize that the Northern Goshawk tolerance to windstorm damage may be the result of an adaptive response, which they have developed under both climate- and human-originated stresses.