Apex predators are integral parts of every ecosystem, having top‐down roles in food web maintenance. Understanding the environmental and habitat characteristics associated with predator occurrence is paramount to conservation efforts. However, detecting top order predators can be difficult due to small population sizes and cryptic behaviour. The endangered Tasmanian masked owl (Tyto novaehollandiae castanops) is a nocturnal predator with a distribution understood to be associated with high mature forest cover at broad scales. With the aim to gather monitoring data to inform future conservation effort, we trialled an occupancy survey design to model masked owl occurrence across ~800 km² in the Tasmanian Southern Forests. We conducted 662 visits to assess masked owl occupancy at 160 sites during July–September 2018. Masked owl site occupancy was 12%, and estimated detectability was 0.26 (±0.06 SE). Cumulative detection probability of masked owls over four visits was 0.7. Occupancy modelling suggested owls were more likely to be detected when mean prey count was higher. However, low detection rates hindered the development of confident occupancy predictions. To inform effective conservation of the endangered Tasmanian masked owl, there is a need to develop novel survey techniques that better account for the ecology of this rare, wide‐ranging and cryptic predator. We discuss the potential to combine novel census approaches that exploit different aspects of masked owl ecology to obtain more robust and detailed data.

中文翻译：

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整个森林景观中的尖头鸟类捕食者的居住模式

Apex捕食者是每个生态系统的组成部分，在食物网维护中具有自上而下的作用。了解与捕食者发生有关的环境和栖息地特征对于保护工作至关重要。但是，由于人口规模小和行为不明，检测顶级掠食者可能很困难。濒临灭绝的塔斯马尼亚蒙面猫头鹰（Tyto novaehollandiae castanops）是夜间捕食者，其分布与大范围成熟森林覆盖率有关。为了收集监视数据以为将来的保护工作提供信息，我们试用了占用调查设计，以模拟约800 km ^2内被掩盖的猫头鹰的发生在塔斯马尼亚南部森林中。我们进行了662次访问，以评估2018年7月至9月在160个站点中的隐蔽猫头鹰占用率。隐蔽猫头鹰站点占用率为12％，估计可检测性为0.26（±0.06 SE）。在四次访问中蒙面猫头鹰的累积检测概率为0.7。占用模型表明，当平均猎物数较高时，更容易发现猫头鹰。但是，低的检测率阻碍了可靠的占用率预测的发展。为了有效保护濒临灭绝的塔斯马尼亚蒙面猫头鹰，有必要开发新颖的调查技术，以更好地说明这种稀有，分布广泛且神秘的捕食者的生态状况。我们讨论了结合新颖的普查方法的潜力，这些方法可以利用被掩盖的猫头鹰生态学的不同方面来获得更强大和详细的数据。