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Pecking Order: What Types of Post-Fire Snag Areas Do Woodpeckers Prefer?
Trees that are dead but still standing are called snags. Even though snags are dead, they are still are important parts of the forest. Snags provide benefits to the environment, especially to the animals that live nearby. Because the population of Black-backed woodpeckers had fallen in the Sierra Nevada, scientists wanted to study what types of postfire habitats this woodpecker liked best.
Pecking Order: What Types of Post-Fire Snag Areas Do Woodpeckers Prefer?
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In this FACTivity, you will research black-backed woodpeckers and learn about what they eat and where they prefer to build nests. Then you will pretend to be a black-backed woodpecker...FACTivity – Pecking Order
In this FACTivity, you will research black-backed woodpeckers and learn about what they eat and where they prefer to build nests. Then you will pretend to be a black-backed woodpecker...
Glossary
View All Glossaryanalyze
(a nǝ līz): To study or find out the nature and relationship of the parts of something.
ecological
(ē kə lä ji kəl): Of or relating to the environments of living things or to the relationships between living things and their environments.
forage
(fȯr ij): (noun) Food for browsing or grazing animals.
(verb) To wander in search of forage or food.
habitat
(ha bә tat): The place or environment where a plant or animal naturally or normally lives and grows.
lichen
(lī kən): Any of numerous plantlike living things made up of an alga and a fungus growing together on a solid surface (such as a rock or a tree).
sample
(sam pəl): A small subset group, representative of the entire group.
severity level
(sə ver ə tē le vəl): In terms of fire, a measure of the number of trees that are killed due to a fire.
species
(spē sēz or spē shēz): A category of living things that ranks below a genus, is made up of related individuals able to produce fertile offspring, and is identified by a two-part scientific name.
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Chad Hanson
Fire Ecologist | Forest Ecologist
My favorite experiences as a scientist are when I’m doing field work in burned forest habitat. I like working in fire areas where most of the trees were killed by...View Profile -
Malcolm North
Forest Ecologist
“My favorite science experience was climbing into the top of a 175-foot-tall red fir to collect lichen samples during a wind storm.” “[Another] favorite science experience is climbing into the...View Profile
Standards addressed in this Article:
Social Studies Standards
- People, Places, and Environments
- Science, Technology, and Society
- Time, Continuity, and Change
Note To Educators
The Forest Service's Mission
The Forest Service’s mission is to sustain the health, diversity, and productivity of the Nation’s forests and grasslands to meet the needs of present and future generations. For more than 100 years, our motto has been “caring for the land and serving people.” The Forest Service, an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), recognizes its responsibility to be engaged in efforts to connect youth to nature and to promote the development of science-based conservation education programs and materials nationwide.
What Is the Natural Inquirer?
Natural Inquirer is a science education resource journal to be used by students in grade 6 and up. Natural Inquirer contains articles describing environmental and natural resource research conducted by Forest Service scientists and their cooperators. These scientific journal articles have been reformatted to meet the needs of middle school students. The articles are easy to understand, are aesthetically pleasing to the eye, contain glossaries, and include hands-on activities. The goal of Natural Inquirer is to stimulate critical reading and thinking about scientific inquiry and investigation while teaching about ecology, the natural environment, and natural resources.
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Meet the Scientists
Introduces students to the scientists who did the research. This section may be used in a discussion about careers in science.
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What Kinds of Scientist Did This Research?
Introduces students to the scientific disciplines of the scientists who conducted the research.
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Thinking About Science
Introduces something new about the scientific process, such as a scientific habit of mind or procedures used in scientific studies.
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Thinking About the Environment
Introduces the environmental topic being addressed in the research.
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Introduction
Introduces the problem or question that the research addresses.
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Method
Describes the method the scientists used to collect and analyze their data.
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Findings & Discussion
Describes the results of the analysis. Addresses the findings and places them into the context of the original problem or question.
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Reflection Section
Presents questions aimed at stimulating critical thinking about what has been read or predicting what might be presented in the next section. These questions are placed at the end of each of the main article sections.
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Number Crunches
Presents an easy math problem related to the research.
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Glossary
Defines potentially new scientific or other terms to students. The first occurrence of a glossary word is bold in the text.
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Citation
Gives the original article citation with an internet link to the original article.
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FACTivity
Presents a hands-on activity that emphasizes something presented in the article.
Science Education Standards
You will find a listing of education standards which are addressed by each article at the back of each publication and on our website.
We Welcome Feedback
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Contact
Jessica Nickelsen
Director, Natural Inquirer program -
Email
Lessons
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In small groups (or individually), students will read a Natural Inquirer or Investi-gator article and write a letter to the scientist, asking for clarification on at least four questions. This...Lesson Plan – Letter to a Scientist
In small groups (or individually), students will read a Natural Inquirer or Investi-gator article and write a letter to the scientist, asking for clarification on at least four questions. This...Part Of
Wildland Fire 2 - Vol. 13 No. 1
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The purpose of this lesson plan is to give students a chance to reflect on their reading and create poems to express what they have learned. The lesson plan is...Lesson Plan – Forest Poems
The purpose of this lesson plan is to give students a chance to reflect on their reading and create poems to express what they have learned. The lesson plan is...Part Of
Wildland Fire 2 - Vol. 13 No. 1
Education Files
Project Learning Tree
If you are a trained Project Learning Tree educator, you may use “Living with Fire” and “Trees as Habitats” as additional resources.