<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> Despite previous inventories and atlas of the avifauna in the Basque Country, Northern Spain, the dense population of the Middle-spotted Woodpecker Leiopicus medius in the Izki forest was not discovered until the 1990’s. This population mainly occupies a 3,700 ha Quercus pyrenaica forest, showing an average density of 0.89 territories/10 ha. The occurrence and abundance of territories is positively associated to the density of large caducifolious Quercus trees (>35 cm diameter). While nesting trees are apparently easily available, large trees for foraging could be a more limiting resource, given the historical exploitation regime of the forest. There are several other massifs in the region with smaller populations, but the functional connectivity, demographic and dispersal dynamics relating the core Izki and the peripheral areas have not been investigated. The conservation relevance of the Izki population in the Spanish context is high and given the need to understand the effects of forest management, future research should include spatial ecology, breeding performance as well as population monitoring.</p></abstract>

Despite previous inventories and atlas of the avifauna in the Basque Country, Northern Spain, the dense population of the Middle-spotted Woodpecker Leiopicus medius in the Izki forest was not discovered until the 1990’s. This population mainly occupies a 3,700 ha Quercus pyrenaica forest, showing an average density of 0.89 territories/10 ha. The occurrence and abundance of territories is positively associated to the density of large caducifolious Quercus trees (>35 cm diameter). While nesting trees are apparently easily available, large trees for foraging could be a more limiting resource, given the historical exploitation regime of the forest. There are several other massifs in the region with smaller populations, but the functional connectivity, demographic and dispersal dynamics relating the core Izki and the peripheral areas have not been investigated. The conservation relevance of the Izki population in the Spanish context is high and given the need to understand the effects of forest management, future research should include spatial ecology, breeding performance as well as population monitoring.

The Middle-spotted Woodpecker Leiopicus medius in the Basque Country, Northern Spain: review of current ecological status

Hazi Foundation, 01192 Arkaute, Álava, Spain

Ornis Hungarica

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Despite previous inventories and atlas of the avifauna in the Basque Country, Northern Spain, the dense population of the Middle-spotted Woodpecker Leiopicus...

The Middle-spotted Woodpecker Leiopicus medius in the Basque Country, Northern Spain: review of current ecological status

Published Online: Jul 14, 2016

Page range: 42 - 54

Received: Jan 21, 2016

Accepted: Feb 24, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/orhu-2016-0002

Keywords
Picidae, Quercus pyrenaica, forest, Iberian Peninsula, conservation

© 2016

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

The Middle-spotted Woodpecker Leiopicus medius in the Basque Country, Northern Spain: review of current ecological status

Published Online: Jul 14, 2016

Page range: 42 - 54

Received: Jan 21, 2016

Accepted: Feb 24, 2016

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1515/orhu-2016-0002

KeywordsPicidae, Quercus pyrenaica, forest, Iberian Peninsula, conservation

© 2016

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 License.

Keywords
Picidae, Quercus pyrenaica, forest, Iberian Peninsula, conservation