There have been studies addressing some of this. Amphibians and = reptiles are strongly influence by the number of fallen logs on the = forest floor. This has been estimated in several publications in = herpetology. Depending on the species of woodpecker, dead trees can be = a significant influence on the number of adults in an area. These are = referred to as SNAGS in the literature. IF you do a lit search you = should find numberous references in which abundance of snags are = examined. THis research has led to establishing the "wildlife tree" = program in which snags are deliberately maintained for wildlife use. I = don't have the citations for you but maybe this will help you find some. = use "snags," "tree hole," fallen timber, etc. as search terms in a = good lit search. =20 Malcolm L. McCallum Assistant Professor Department of Biological Sciences Texas A&M University Texarkana 2600 Robison Rd. Texarkana, TX 75501 O: 1-903-233-3134 H: 1-903-791-3843 Homepage: https://www.eagle.tamut.edu/faculty/mmccallum/index.html =20
________________________________ From: Ecological Society of America: grants, jobs, news on behalf of = Abraham de Alba Sent: Sun 12/25/2005 2:20 PM To: [email protected] Subject: Forest DEcay Greetings to all: The comment on the woodpecker's ecological role (ivory) has been in my mind for a while, particularly because I work in forests that are actively been used by people that are after the wood, that is in developing countries, the price of gas does impact directly on the amount of wood burning, and M=E8xico has been on an energy cruch at the personal level (high oil prices don't necessarly reflect on one's pocket). So, something that has always impressed me of mexican forests is that they are very easy to walk around, no fallen dead trees no obstructing big branches that I remermer form my younger years at the US. I wonder if anyone has done some deadwood "load" effects on other biotic niches or guilds, most of us would almost acertain that a large load should be essential for a "healthy" forest ecosystem, is there any avidence supporting that?? What would be a good indicator?? number of beetles per sq. meter? Cheers and happy holidays <P>Abraham de Alba Avila</P> <P>Terrestrial Plant Ecology</P> <P>INIFAP-Ags</P> <P> Ap. postal 20,</P> <P> Pabell=F3n Arteaga, 20660</P> <P> Aguascalientes, MEXICO</P> <P> Tel: (465) 95-801-67, & 801-86 ext. 118, FAX ext 102 alternate: [EMAIL PROTECTED]</P> =20 =20 __________________________________ Yahoo! for Good - Make a difference this year. http://brand.yahoo.com/cybergivingweek2005/
