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Mark T. Bidwell 
Richard H. G. Bonnycastle Fellowship in Wetland and Waterfowl Biology
Community Structure and Demography of Waterbirds in Southern Boreal Forests: Relationships with Environmental and Disturbance Gradients
For millennia, fires have shaped the expansive boreal forest ecosystems. Modern forestry approaches attempt to approximate the sizes and shapes of fires, but what impacts do they have on birds and other ecosystem processes. Mark’s project aims to determine whether abundance and distributions of waterbirds are affected by natural and human disturbance (i.e., forest fire and forest harvesting). From 2005 to 2007, aerial surveys were conducted on a 115,000 km2 study area in northeastern Alberta, about half of which is managed for hardwood timber production.
The study was designed to examine both the effect of type of disturbance and time since disturbance. Early analyses suggest that differences exist among waterbird communities in areas disturbed recently by fire versus forestry, suggesting that disturbances influence species in different ways. If these patterns persist, Mark’s research will yield useful information for improving forest harvest practices.
