An overview of woodpecker research in the Atlantic Forest of Northeast Argentina

We present an overview of the past, present, and future of woodpecker research in the northeast Argentina, particularly in the diverse and threatened Atlantic Forest. Fifteen woodpecker species have been recorded in northeast Argentina. The majority, i.e. nine, of these woodpeckers are associated with the Atlantic Forest. As northeast Argentina maintains relatively large areas of this biome, globally important populations of these species occur here. Northeast Argentina maintains two old-growth Atlantic Forest sites that have been reference sites in comparative studies. Scientific collecting between 1949 and 1961 revealed the early distributions of rare woodpeckers in northeast Argentina. Research into the nesting ecology of cavity nesters including woodpeckers has been under way in northeast Argentina since 2003. Our research since 2008 has advanced the knowledge on roosting, nesting, and foraging ecology, and home range patterns, of Atlantic Forest woodpeckers, particularly of the globally threatened Helmeted Woodpecker Celeus galeatus. Our research points to the peculiar roosting ecology of Helmeted Woodpecker in decay-formed cavities as the key to its scarcity. Plumage convergence between the three largest Atlantic Forest woodpeckers may be driven by intraspecific (rather than interspecific) competition, and by Batesian mimicry in predator avoidance. Our current research addresses regional variations in densities and the composition of Atlantic Forest woodpecker species communities, and continent wide patterns in plumage and voice convergence. Regarding open questions, three of the northeast Argentina woodpeckers are typically seen in small groups while little is known about their reproductive systems. One species, Campo Flicker Colaptes campestris, has a contact zone in northeast between two subspecies, regarded as two species by some. Despite advances in recent years, there remains much research to be done into various aspects of woodpecker biology in the Atlantic Forest.

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