Demographic effects of habitat selection by hermit thrushes wintering in a pine plantation landscape

Many species of migratory songbirds use silvicultural landscapes during the nonbreeding season. However, variation in habitat quality (i.e., the differential relative fitness value of habitats) resulting from different silvicultural management strategies and different age classes of these habitats is poorly understood. We studied the patterns of winter habitat selection by hermit thrushes (Catharus guttatus) among pine and hardwood habitats within a pine plantation landscape in southeastern Louisiana. We compared arrival patterns, relative abundance, territory size, body condition (mass, fat, and feather regrowth), between-winter site fidelity, and overwinter survivorship among birds in 3 age classes of even-aged loblolly pine (Pinus taeda) plantation and hardwood forest. We considered these demographic and condition measures as proximate estimates of relative fitness, and thus as indicators of habitat quality. Hermit thrushes in pole-stage (13-16 yr old) pine habitat had smaller territories, higher relative abundance, stayed leaner, and regrew feathers faster than birds in the other habitats, which suggests that this is the best habitat for wintering hermit thrushes among those we studied. Among other habitats, hardwood forest appears to be the lowest quality, but some measures (fat, territory size, and over-winter survivorship) indicate that the sapling stage pine habitat is the lowest quality. Early arriving birds, disproportionately adults, avoid hardwoods, but beyond this we could find no evidence of segregation by age, sex, or body size among habitats. Our findings suggest that relatively small differences in habitat type and within-season changes in habitat quality can have important effects on the overwinter success of hermit thrushes. Pine plantations that differ in age by less than 10 years differentially affect the condition and demographics of wintering hermit thrushes. For conservation strategies to be successful, the dynamic spatial and temporal variation in habitat quality must be incorporated into models of population processes. Although pine plantation managers should consider multiple wildlife species, they also must be aware that individual species may have differential success among suitable habitats.