Tracking Eastern Whip-poor-will ( Antrostomus vociferus ) habitat use within a disturbance-dependent ecosystem

Land-use patterns have changed habitat structure in the eastern United States, including on protected land via disturbance suppression. Pine barrens have been particularly susceptible to these changes, and they have become globally rare despite supporting high species diversity. Eastern Whip-poor-wills (Antrostomus vociferus) are considered indicators of pine barrens habitat quality. A pine barrens in northern New York State, the Altona Flat Rock, has experienced frequent, natural disturbances and hosts a large, dense population of whip-poor-wills. To better inform forest management practices at pine barrens, we used animal-borne GPS-loggers (n = 3, ~18–28 days logged) to understand how this healthy population of whip-poor-wills is using the heterogeneous habitat at the Altona Flat Rock. We found that whip-poor-wills are using closed canopy forest more than expected, especially during foraging hours. Our findings contribute to the emerging thought that whip-poor-wills may be more disturbance-dependent than shrubland-obligate and highlight the importance of disturbance regimes for species conservation.