Hurricane Katrina impacts the breeding bird community in a bottomland hardwood forest of the Pearl River basin, Louisiana

We monitored breeding bird communities and vegetation both before and after Hurricane Katrina category 2 winds severely damaged extensive bottomland hardwood forest of the Pearl River basin, south Louisiana. Many trees were felled by wind, most others were stripped of leaves and branches, and the canopy opened considerably (57%). Blackberry thickets sprouted and expanded to cover almost all of what was previously a patchily open forest understory. The bird community changed distinctively following the hurricane, driven primarily by increased density of species that prefer dense understory (regenerating) habitat. Individual species that increased significantly in density included one year-round resident, Carolina wren, and five breeding migrants, white-eyed vireo, Swainson's warbler, Kentucky warbler, hooded warbler, and yellow-breasted chat. These patterns were predictable responses to the opened canopy and increased density of understory vegetation. However, over three years following the storm, most species, especially canopy breeders, showed no distinct numerical response to the hurricane, which suggests that the initial bird community was resistant to hurricane disturbance. Only one species, Acadian flycatcher, declined significantly after the hurricane, presumably because of loss of its preferred open understory breeding and feeding habitat. Our results thus document and reinforce the important role hurricanes play along the Gulf coast in structuring forest bird communities by altering understory habitat. We expect habitat changes will continue as invasive plant species further change forest community structure, and as large storms increase in frequency in relation to global climate change. Thus, we also expect continued changes to the bird community, which may include additional future declines.

Research highlights▶ The bird community of a coastal forest changed following hurricane disturbance. ▶ Densities of species that prefer dense understory habitat increased. ▶ Most species did not change numerically, suggesting resistance to disturbance. ▶ Only one species declined, presumably because of loss of open understory habitat. ▶ Hurricanes help structure forest bird communities along the Gulf coast.