Register      Login
Emu Emu Society
Journal of BirdLife Australia
RESEARCH ARTICLE

The gradual loss and episodic creation of Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) nest-trees in a fire- and cyclone-prone habitat

Stephen A. Murphy A B and Sarah M. Legge A
+ Author Affiliations
- Author Affiliations

A School of Botany and Zoology, The Australian National University, Canberra, ACT 0200, Australia. Present address: Australian Wildlife Conservancy, PMB 925, Derby, WA 6728, Australia.

B Corresponding author. Email: Steve@australianwildlife.org

Emu 107(1) 1-6 https://doi.org/10.1071/MU06012
Submitted: 23 March 2006  Accepted: 10 January 2007   Published: 26 February 2007

Abstract

We present information regarding the rate of loss of nest-hollows over a long period in the tropics, and a dramatic episode of nest-hollow creation following two tropical cyclones. We followed the fate of 61 Palm Cockatoo (Probosciger aterrimus) nest-trees over a period of 6 years (1999 to 2005). On average, 48 trees were monitored each year. During this time 16 (26.2%) were rendered unusable for Palm Cockatoos; their final cause of loss was fire (n = 10; 62.5%), wind (n = 4; 25%), and intense decay where the tree was left standing but unusable (n = 2; 12.5%). On average, 5.2% of nest-trees were lost each year. Dead trees were more likely to be destroyed than living trees. Individual Palm Cockatoos build nests in multiple hollows, a subset of which are used for actual breeding whereas the rest are used for display purposes only (inactive nest-trees). Inactive nest-trees were also more likely to be destroyed than active trees, suggesting Palm Cockatoos actually breed in nest-trees that are more durable. We revisited our study area in July 2006, following two severe tropical cyclones. Most of the known nest-trees that we visited after the cyclones were still standing. The first cyclone created ~0.02 new nesting opportunities per hectare, whereas the second created 0.19. The differences between the two cyclones can be explained by their different paths and different radii of destructive winds in relation to our study area. While the loss of nest-trees owing to fire is significant, and should be monitored given that they are a limiting resource (Murphy et al. 2003), our results suggest that fire management should focus more on maintaining adequate recruitment of large trees, which could be affected by excessively frequent burning.


Acknowledgements

Financial support for this project was provided by The World Parrot Trust, Birds Australia (Stuart Leslie Bird Research Award), The Gould League, The Michael White Award (ANU) and Priam Psittaculture. We thank G. and A. Daniels for logistical support in the field. R. Hill kindly loaned telescopic nest-checking equipment. A. Cockburn, S. Garnett and R. Heinsohn helped throughout the study. D. Parer and R. Dundas (ABC Natural History Unit) assisted both financially and in the field on our post-cyclone surveys. A. Cockburn and three anonymous referees provided helpful comments on the manuscript. This work was carried out with ethics approval from The Animal Experimentation Ethics Committee at ANU (Protocol No.: F.BTZ.95.99), and scientific approval from Queensland Parks and Wildlife (Permit No.: F1/000244/99/SAA).


References

Abenspergtraun, M. , and Milewski, A. V. (1995). Abundance and diversity of termites (Isoptera) in unburnt versus burnt vegetation at the Barrens in Mediterranean Western Australia. Australian Journal of Ecology 20, 413–417.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Birdlife International (2004). ‘2004 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.’ www.iucnredlist.org [accessed 16 October 2005].

Bowman, D. , and Panton, W. (1995). Munmarlary revisited: response of a north Australian Eucalyptus tetrodonta savanna protected from fire for 20 years. Australian Journal of Ecology 20, 526–531.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Braithwaite R., and Estbergs J. (1985). Fire patterns and woody vegetation trends in the Alligator Rivers region of Northern Australia. In ‘Ecology and Management of the World’s Savannas.’ (Eds J. Tothill and J. Mott.) pp. 359–364. (Australian Academy of Science: Canberra.)

Bureau of Meteorology (2006a). ‘Severe Tropical Cyclone Monica.’ Available at http://www.bom.gov.au/announcements/sevwx/nt/nttc20060417.shtml (Bureau of Meteorology, Northern Territory Regional Office: Casuarina, NT.) [accessed 17 August 2006].

Bureau of Meteorology (2006b). ‘Tropical Cyclone Ingrid.’ Available at http://www.bom.gov.au/announcements/sevwx/tc_ingrid/index.shtml (Bureau of Meteorology: Melbourne.) [accessed 17 August 2006].

Bureau of Meteorology (2007). ‘Tropical Cyclone Information Resources.’ Available at http://www.bom.gov.au/catalogue/warnings/WarningsInformation_TC_Ed.shtml (Bureau of Meteorology: Melbourne.) [accessed 7 February 2007].

Fensham, R. , and Bowman, D. (1992). Stand structure and the influence of overwood on regeneration in tropical eucalypt forest on Melville Island. Australian Journal of Botany 40, 335–352.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Garnett S., and Crowley G. (2000). ‘The Action Plan for Australian Birds 2000.’ (Environment Australia: Canberra.)

Greaves, T. (1962). Studies of foraging galleries and the invasion of living trees by Coptotermes acinaciformis and C. brunneus (Isoptera). Australian Journal of Zoology 10, 630–651.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Igag P. (2002). The conservation of large rainforest parrots. A study of the breeding biology of Palm Cockatoos, Eclectus Parrots and Vulturine Parrots. M.Sc. Thesis, Australian National University, Canberra.

Inions, G. , Tanton, M. , and Davey, S. (1989). Effect of fire on the availability of hollows in trees used by the Common Brushtail Possum, Trichosurus vulpecula Kerr, 1792, and the Ringtail Possum, Pseudocheirus peregrinus Boddaerts, 1785. Australian Wildlife Research 16, 449–458.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | MacKowski C. (1984). The ontogeny of hollows in blackbutt (Eucalyptus pilularis) and its relevance to the management of forests for possums, gliders and timber. In ‘Possums and Gliders’. (Eds A. P. Smith and I. D. Hume.) pp. 553–567. (Australian Mammal Society: Sydney.)

Murphy, S. (2002). Observations of the ‘Critically Endangered’ bare-rumped sheathtail bat Saccolaimus saccolaimus Temminck (Chiroptera: Emballonuridae) on Cape York Peninsula, Queensland. Australian Mammalogy 23, 185–187.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Murphy S. A. (2006). The ecology and conservation biology of palm cockatoos Probosciger aterrimus. Ph.D. Thesis, Australian National University, Canberra.

Neldner V. J., and Clarkson J. R. (1995). ‘Vegetation Mapping and Survey of Cape York Peninsula.’ (Cape York Peninsula Land Use Strategy, Office of the Co-ordinator General of Queensland: Brisbane.)

Perry, D. H. , Lenz, M. , and Watson, J. A. L. (1985). Relationships between fire, fungal rots and termite damage in Australian forest trees. Australian Forestry 48, 46–53.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar | Quin B. R., and Baker-Gabb D. (1993). Conservation and management of the Turquoise Parrot Neophema pulchella in north-east Victoria. Technical Report Series 125. Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research, Melbourne.

Rowley I. (1997). Family Cacatuidae (Cockatoos). ‘Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 4. Sandgrouse to Cuckoos’. (Eds J. del Hoyo, A. Elliot and J. Sargatal.) pp. 246–279. (Lynx Edicions: Barcelona.)

Russell-Smith, J. , Stanton, P. J. , Whitehead, P. J. , and Edwards, A. (2004). Rain forest invasion of eucalypt-dominated woodland savanna, Iron Range, north-eastern Australia: I. Successional processes. Journal of Biogeography 31, 1293–1303.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Saunders, D. A. (1979). The availability of tree hollows for use as nest sites by white-tailed black cockatoos. Australian Wildlife Research 6, 205–216.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Sedgwick, J. A. , and Knopf, F. L. (1992). Cavity turnover and equilibrium cavity densities in a cottonwood bottomland. Journal of Wildlife Management 56, 477–484.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Setterfield, S. A. (1997). The impact of experimental fire regimes on seed production in two tropical eucalypt species in northern australia. Australian Journal of Ecology 22, 279–287.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Smith, A. P. , and Murray, M. (2003). Habitat requirements of the squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) and associated possums and gliders on the New South Wales central coast. Wildlife Research 30, 291–301.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Williams, R. J. , and Douglas, M. (1995). Windthrow in a tropical savanna in Kakadu National Park, northern Australia. Journal of Tropical Ecology 11, 547–558.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Wood, G. (1984). Tool use by the Palm Cockatoo Probosciger aterrimus during display. Corella 8, 94–95.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |

Wormington, K. , Lamb, D. , McCallum, H. I. , and Moloney, D. J. (2002). Habitat requirements for the conservation of arboreal marsupials in dry sclerophyll forests of southeast Queensland, Australia. Forest Science 48, 217–227.
Crossref | GoogleScholarGoogle Scholar |