Large trees and decay: Suppliers of a keystone resource for cavity‐using wildlife in old‐growth and secondary Andean temperate forests

Mean density of (a) total trees, (b) live trees and (c) dead trees or snags in old-growth and secondary forests and mean density (number/ha) of (d) total cavities, (e) nonexcavated cavities and (f) excavated cavities in old-growth and sec- ondary forests. [...] The role of tree size and decay on cavity DISCUSSION occurrence and relative abundances This study shows important differences in the supply For occurrence and relative abundances of both of a keystone habitat resource for tree cavity-using excavated and nonexcavated cavities, the top-ranked wildlife between old-growth and secondary forests in models included decay and DBH logarithm (bold a global. [...] for nesting in cavities supplied by large decaying and In the southern Andes, these habitat legacies increase dead trees (58% of nests) and nearly 75% of nests of structural complexity (Caviedes & Ibarra 2017) and secondary cavity nesters are located in nonexcavated positively influence nesting site selection of cavity-using cavities (produced by tree decay processes; Altami- wildlife in secondary. [...] As is a Millennium Nucleus supported by the Millen- mentioned earlier, the higher supply of nonexcavated nium Scientific Initiative of the Chilean Ministry of cavities correlates with the fact that 75% of nests of Economy, Development and Tourism. [...] (1998) Availability and diversity, distribution and conservation status of the tree- use of natural tree holes by cavity nesting birds in a cavity-nesting birds of the world.