Coexistence between primary and secondary cavity-nesting birds in Chelia-Ouled Yagoub National Park of Algeria
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Date
2023
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Algerian Journal of Biosciences
Abstract
In forest ecosystems, the cavity-nesting community is strongly dependent on the availability of
tree cavities in which the breeding season takes place. This work aims to investigate links
between two ecological groups as primary and secondary cavity-nesting species. The
investigations carried out using the count point method, during two breeding seasons from
Mars to July 2018 and 2019, made it possible to distinguish eight species of cavity-nesting
birds; only the Levaillant’s Woodpecker Picus vaillantii constitutes a primary cavity able to
dig its cavities. In the Chelia-Ouled Yagoub National Park, the modeling of the occurrence
data highlights a significant coexistence between the latest species and only three secondary
cavity-nesting species, namely the Atlas Pied Flycatcher Ficedula speculigera, the Eurasian
Hoopoe Upupa epops, and the Short-toed Treecreeper Certhia brachydactyla. This result
supports the consideration of woodpeckers as keystone species for biodiversity, whose
protection leads to the conservation of forest balance in general.