Pine as fast food: Foraging ecology of an endangered cockatoo in a forestry landscape

W.D. Stock; H. Finn; J. Parker; K. Dods

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0061145

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Pine as fast food: Foraging ecology of an endangered cockatoo in a forestry landscape

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Pine as fast food: Foraging ecology of an endangered cockatoo in a forestry landscape

W.D. Stock, H. Finn, J. Parker and K. Dods

PLoS ONE, Vol.8(4)

2013

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0061145

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Abstract

Pine plantations near Perth, Western Australia have provided an important food source for endangered Carnaby's Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus latirostris) since the 1940s. Plans to harvest these plantations without re-planting will remove this food source by 2031 or earlier. To assess the impact of pine removal, we studied the ecological association between Carnaby's Cockatoos and pine using behavioural, nutritional, and phenological data. Pine plantations provided high densities of seed (158 025 seeds ha-1) over a large area (c. 15 000 ha). Carnaby's Cockatoos fed throughout these plantations and removed almost the entire annual crop of pine cones. Peak cockatoo abundance coincided with pine seed maturation. Pine seed had energy and protein contents equivalent to native food sources and, critically, is available in summer when breeding pairs have young offspring to feed. This strong and enduring ecological association clearly suggests that removing pine will have a significant impact on this endangered species unless restoration strategies, to establish alternative food sources, are implemented.

Details

Title: Pine as fast food: Foraging ecology of an endangered cockatoo in a forestry landscape
Authors/Creators: W.D. Stock (Author/Creator) - Edith Cowan University
H. Finn (Author/Creator) - Murdoch University
J. Parker (Author/Creator) - Agriculture and Food
K. Dods (Author/Creator) - ChemCentre
Publication Details: PLoS ONE, Vol.8(4)
Publisher: Public Library of Science
Identifiers: 991005540428507891
Copyright: © 2013 Stock et al.
Murdoch Affiliation: School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology; School of Veterinary and Life Sciences
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article
Note: This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

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Collaboration types: Domestic collaboration
Citation topics: 3 Agriculture, Environment & Ecology; 3.35 Zoology & Animal Ecology; 3.35.33 Avian Ecology
Web Of Science research areas: Zoology
ESI research areas: Plant & Animal Science