Henschel, Christopher M.Sc. - Advisor: Prof. T.D. Nudds

USING NULL MODELS TO TEST FOR EFFECTS OF HABITAT FRAGMENTATION ON SPECIES RICHNESS OF FOREST SONG BIRDS

I tested the hypothesis that forest passerines experience faunal collapse in forest fragments by comparing species-area curves for contiguous forest and fragments. Additionally, I assessed the sensitivity of the contiguous species-area curves to the scale at which they were generated. The species-area curve generated for contiguous forest over a range of large areas differed significantly in slope and intercept from the contiguous curve generated over the same size range as the fragments. One should therefore test for faunal collapse by comparing species-area curves from forest fragments to curves from contiguous forest generated on the same spatial scale. Species classified as forest interior specialists appear to suffer from faunal collapse. The minimum critical area to avoid this collapse for forest interior species is estimated to be 55 ha in southeastern Ontario (95% CI: 22-138ha).