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Wind damage to nest trees of Great Spotted Woodpeckers Dendrocopos major by a tropical cyclone

fires are important processes in the forest ecosystem and study of such disturbances represents a basic element of ecology allowing us to recognize the structure, function, and composition of the ecosystem. Several authors have reported on the effects of tropical cyclones (hurricanes or typhoons) on bird populations and habitats (Wunderle et al. 1992; Wunderle 1995; Torres & Leberg 1996; Seki 2005), although only a few have done so on the nest trees of woodpeckers, however, Engstrom and Evans (1990) and Williams and Lipscomb (2002) described the mortality rate of woodpecker cavity trees and the types of damage incurred as a result of hurricanes. On 8 September 2004, the tropical cyclone Typhoon T0418 (Songda) moved northeast towards the western coast of Hokkaido, the northern island of Japan. Such strong winds blew across western Hokkaido, that the Sapporo District Meteorological Observatory recorded a maximum instantaneous wind speed of 50.2 m/s in Sapporo, the highest wind speed recorded since records began there in 1943 (Japan Meteorological Agency 2004). The cyclone caused widespread damage to forest trees, and also affected the nest trees of the Great Spotted Woodpecker (GSW; Dendrocopos major). Cavities excavated by GSWs are important resources for secondary cavity users (Kotaka & Matsuoka 2002) and the sudden elimination of available cavities is thought likely to adversely affect survival, breeding or roosting behavior of such species. The purpose of this paper is to describe the effect of strong wind on GSW nest cavity trees. METHODS