Breeding bird species richness associated with a powerline right-of-way in a northern mixed forest landscape

Transmission powerline rights-of-way potentially represent a cause of fragmentation and loss of forest habitat. We hypothesized that rights-of-way and associated edge effect could increase local bird species richness in a forested landscape. To address this question, we determined breeding bird species richness and abundance in forest, right-of-way, and forest edge in a mixed forest landscape in central Quebec. Mean breeding bird species richness, cumulative richness, and Hurlbert richness index were higher in the forest and the edge than in the right-of-way. There was no significant difference between forest and edge. Cumulative richness in the edge was almost three times greater than in the right-of-way. No significant difference in abundance was observed between the edge and the forest for all bird species. Ten bird species in the forest and nine in the edge were more abundant than in the right-of-way. Three species were more abundant in the right-of-way than in the edge and the forest. The Chestnut-sided Warbler (Dendroica pensylvanica) was found only in the edge. Negative edge effect was limited at most to the Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia). The forest habitat provided most of the species richness observed; the right-of-way added a few species, while the edge added only one, the Chestnut-sided Warbler.