Does Red-cockaded Woodpecker excavation of resin wells increase risk of Bark Beetle infestation of cavity trees?
The Red-cockaded Woodpecker (Picoides borealis) is unique among North American woodpeckers in that it nests and roosts nearly exclusively in living pines (Pinus spp.). Red-cockaded Woodpeckers make daily excavations at small wounds, termed “resin wells,” around their cavity entrance and on the bole of their cavity tree, from which resin flows down the tree (Ligon 1970). The woodpeckers also flake off loose bark which results in a smoother surface on the pine trees bole. Those behaviors result in a resin barrier that serves as an effective defense against rat snakes (Elaphe spp.; Jackson 1974, Rudolph et al. 1990). Rat snakes regularly attempt to climb active Red-cockaded Woodpecker cavity trees (cavity trees currently in use for nesting and roosting) and are known to prey on Red-cockaded Woodpeckers when the resin barrier is inadequate (Jackson 1978b, Neal et al. 1993). The resin barrier is believed to increase the probability of a breeding pair’s nest success and survival of roosting
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