1. Breeding birds during 50 years of post-fire succession in the Sierra Nevada Martin G. Raphael, Daniel A. Airola, Gary A. Falxa, Roger D. Harris, and Peter A. Stine

2. 1960 - The Donner Fire burned ~18,000 ha on the eastern Sierra Nevada

3. 1965 – two 8.5-ha permanent plots established

4. Burned Plot Unburned Plot

5. Objectives  Examine and contrast changes in vegetation over ~50-yr time series  Estimate bird abundance and diversity and compare results on burned and unburned plots over 50-yr  Relate changes in bird community to changes in vegetation

6. Monitoring timeline Donner fire 1966-68 1975-79 1981-85 2010-14 196019701980199020002010

7. Burned plot has changed dramatically over time (no management or harvest) 19652012

8. Field equipment (and people) have changed too 19652012

9. Density of Snags (number > 38 cm/ha)

10. Percent Cover, Shrubs ( n = 1170 points)

11. Herbs & Grasses (% cover, n = 1170 points)

12. Basal Area of Conifers (m 2 /ha) Burned Unburned

13. Conifer Canopy Cover (%, n = 1170)

14. Total Bird Territories

15. Species Richness

16. Foraging guilds  Wood excavating (woodpeckers)  Bark gleaning (nuthatches, brown creeper)  Flycatching (nighthawk, flycatchers)  Canopy foliage searching (jays, chickadees, kinglets, vireos, warblers)  Ground/brush searching (quail, dove, hummingbirds, bluebird, solitaire, thrush, robin, towhee, juncos, finches, sparrows)

17. Wood Excavating

18. Bark gleaning

19. Flycatching

20. Canopy Foliage Searching

21. Ground/brush Searching

22. Percent Similarity (Ruzicka’s Index)

23. Major Changes in Species Abundance Increased Species1960s2010s Hermit warbler AbsentCommon Pileated woodpecker Common raven Osprey Northern goshawk AbsentRare Clark’s nutcracker Black- throated gray warbler Green-tailed towhee Decreased Species1960s2010s Mountain bluebird CommonAbsent Brewer’s sparrow Cooper’s hawk Sooty grouse ModerateAbsent House wren Pygmy nuthatch American kestrel Lazuli buntingRareAbsent Lewis’ woodpecker

24. Temperature has increased over time

25. Summary  Vegetation is still changing, 50 years after fire on the burned plot, but also on the unburned plot  Bird community structure (guilds and species represented) has changed dramatically on the burned plot in response to vegetation change  The bird community on the unburned plot has also changed, to a smaller degree  Overall species richness has been comparable on plots over time  Bird abundance (# territories) has increased by roughly 50% on both plots  Some bird population changes could be due to climate change

26. Thanks to  Sagehen Creek Field Station for accommodation and logistics  Station managers Jeff Brown and Faerthen Felix for help and advice  Carl and Jane Bock for initiating this work and suggesting our recent follow-up surveys  Meryl Sundove and Joe Batres for field assistance  Truckee Ranger District for protecting plots  Pacific Northwest and Pacific Southwest Research Stations for funding