2003 Volume 8 Issue 1 Pages 11-17
The effects of burrow-nesting by streaked shearwaters (Calonectris leucomelas) on the growth and survival of Persea thunbergii seedlings was studied in a warm-temperate evergreen forest on Kanmurijima Island, Kyoto, central Japan. The author used 20 protected and unprotected plots to explore seedling survival and growth. The P. thunbergii seedlings that survived the disturbances of burrow nesters were significantly taller and had a larger leaf area than those of dead P. thunbergii seedlings. Seedlings of this species were found to have a small total leaf area, independent of the height growth, in comparison with seedlings of the same species in forest areas not used by streaked shearwaters. These results at the seedling stage suggest that there is a strong relationship between lower survivorship of P. thunbergii seedlings and the negative effects on seedling growth caused by burrow-nesting disturbances. This paper also discusses the conservation of the warm-temperate evergreen forest as suitable habitats for streaked shearwaters.
