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An unexpected backyard hunter: breeding Barred Owls exhibit plasticity in habitat selection along a development gradient

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Abstract

Despite extensive accounts in the literature describing Barred Owls (Strix varia) as obligate forest-interior species, Barred Owls have increasingly been observed in urbanized landscapes. To determine if certain habitat characteristics, such as mature urban trees, facilitate the occurrence of Barred Owls in developed regions, we deployed GPS transmitters on 20 breeding Barred Owls in northwestern South Carolina. We selected territories containing a gradient of development density and habitat types to examine predictors of home range size and habitat selection along an urban-rural gradient. We related nocturnal locations to habitat features using resource selection functions (RSFs). We explored differential use along a development gradient by modeling interactions between habitat parameters and measures of development in the home range. Home range size varied from 0.38 km2 to 3.38 km2; size increased with the percentage of treeless area in the territory such as agricultural fields and power lines. Distance to nest, tree height, and distance to canopy edge were the most important predictors of owl use. Barred Owl selection for roadsides and aquatic features increased with degree of fragmentation in the home range. This is the first resource selection study using GPS data to examine habitat use of Barred Owls in the context of development. Our results highlight the behavioral plasticity of a species previously described as sensitive to anthropogenic impacts. The presence of this large avian predator in urban forests suggests that retaining key habitat features can promote multi-trophic communities even when other aspects of the habitat are highly altered.

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Acknowledgements

Our work was made possible by gracious funds from the Margaret H. Lloyd SmartState Endowment for Urban Ecology and Restoration, the Clemson Creative Inquiry Program, as well as from private donations. We thank Rob Bierregaard, Mike Bisignano and Kathy Clark for lending both their expertise and/or trapping supplies to our tracking effort. We are obliged to Pat Layton for her help in acquiring public support and additional funds for the project. Our project’s mechanical owl was built thanks to the help of Melissa Fuentes, Brandon Zalinsky and Piper Kimbel. We are grateful to Julia Shonfield and Patrick Jodice for their help in reviewing the manuscript, as well as Joe Bible for his statistical expertise and John Parrish for his help with university permits. We could not have completed this project without all the hard work of our technician, Daniel Watson, as well as our interns, Sarah Parham, Christian Feldt, Kirsten Brown, Christiana Huss, Delaney Kern, Alexis Kinslow, Chris Murphy, Katrina Sneed and Kaylee Wooten. Finally, we are indebted to all homeowners who participated in the project and graciously allowed us to work on their property.

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  1. Department of Forestry and Environmental Conservation, Clemson University, Clemson, SC, USA

    Marion A. Clément, Kyle Barrett, Robert F. Baldwin, Catherine M. Bodinof Jachowski & Addie Carter

  2. Natural Heritage Program, Maryland Department of Natural Resources, Annapolis, MD, USA

    David Brinker

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  1. Marion A. Clément
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  2. Kyle Barrett
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  3. Robert F. Baldwin
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  4. Catherine M. Bodinof Jachowski
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Correspondence to Marion A. Clément.

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Clément, M.A., Barrett, K., Baldwin, R.F. et al. An unexpected backyard hunter: breeding Barred Owls exhibit plasticity in habitat selection along a development gradient. Urban Ecosyst 24, 175–186 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-020-01031-0

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