Spectrum News: UC study provides window into woodpecker's world
UC geography student says maintaining wooded corridors helps animals survive in fragmented habitat
Spectrum News highlighted a geography study at the University of Cincinnati that examined the unique habitat needs of pileated woodpeckers in southwest Ohio.
UC College of Arts and Sciences Professor Susanna Tong and doctoral student Ruijia Hu compared 10 years of pileated woodpecker sightings with geographic data identifying the mature wooded habitat the birds prefer.
A pileated woodpecker. Photo/Michael Miller
Pileated woodpeckers are the largest woodpeckers in North America.
They prefer mature woodlands with dead timber that conceals grubs and other preferred food.
While they are listed today as a species of least concern, that hasn't always been the case. The birds declined across the United States as mature forest was cut down for agriculture.
The researchers concluded that the woodpeckers can survive in increasingly fragmented urban forests if there are wooded corridors that help them get from patch to patch.
“For nesting, pileated woodpeckers would like maple trees, hickory trees, and oak trees,” Hu said. “And they really need mature trees to make the nest.”
Hu presented her findings this year to the American Association of Geographers’ conference in Denver.
Featured image at top: UC geography student Ruijia Hu, left, and Professor Susanna Tong look for pileated woodpeckers in Burnet Woods. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
UC doctoral student Ruijia Hu studies evidence of woodpecker activity in the trunk of a tree at Burnet Woods. Photo/Andrew Higley/UC Marketing + Brand
Related Stories
Sugar overload killing hearts
November 10, 2025
Two in five people will be told they have diabetes during their lifetime. And people who have diabetes are twice as likely to develop heart disease. One of the deadliest dangers? Diabetic cardiomyopathy. But groundbreaking University of Cincinnati research hopes to stop and even reverse the damage before it’s too late.
Is going nuclear the solution to Ohio’s energy costs?
November 10, 2025
The Ohio Capital Journal recently reported that as energy prices continue to climb, economists are weighing the benefits of going nuclear to curb costs. The publication dove into a Scioto Analysis survey of 18 economists to weigh the pros and cons of nuclear energy. One economist featured was Iryna Topolyan, PhD, professor of economics at the Carl H. Lindner College of Business.
App turns smartwatch into detector of structural heart disease
November 10, 2025
An app that uses an AI model to read a single-lead ECG from a smartwatch can detect structural heart disease, researchers reported at the 2025 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association. Although the technology requires further validation, researchers said it could help improve the identification of patients with heart failure, valvular conditions and left ventricular hypertrophy before they become symptomatic, which could improve the prognosis for people with these conditions.