Effects of resource pulses caused by bark beetle outbreaks and other environmental factors on woodpecker populations

The project aims to assess how the abundance of spruce bark beetles affects populations of woodpeckers such as the three-toed woodpecker. Long-term datasets on the annual amount of sanitation-felled 'Käferholz' (spruce timber infested by bark beetles), bark beetle trap catch, and woodpecker abundance data, along with environmental variables, are being used to model these relationships. Woodpecker monitoring data were provided by the Swiss Bird Observatory (Vogelwarte Sempach). The project is co-directed by Gilberto Pasinelli of the Swiss Bird Observatory.

Marco Basile is working on this project as a postdoc.