Breeding Season Home Range and Habitat Use of Mexican Spotted Owls (<i>Strix occidentalis lucida</i>) Below the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park

Bowden, Tim S.; Ferguson, Jake M.; Ward, Rolla V.; Taper, Mark L.; Willey, David W.

doi:10.1676/15-004.1

Cited by 9 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…All 3 spotted owl subspecies typically nest and roost in mature or old‐growth forests (Forsman et al , LaHaye et al , Hershey et al , May et al , Ganey et al ), although Mexican spotted owls also nest and roost in rocky canyonlands (Rinkevich and Gutiérrez , Willey and van Riper III , Bowden et al ). Because of the strong association between spotted owls and old forests containing large trees and high canopy cover (Forsman et al , Hershey et al , May et al , Ganey et al , North et al ), commercial timber harvest historically was considered the most important threat to spotted owls throughout their range (USDI , ; Verner et al ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing emerging threats to spotted owls

et al. 2018

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The 3 spotted owl (Strix occidentalis) subspecies in North America (i.e., northern spotted owl [S. o. caurina], California spotted owl [S. o. occidentalis], Mexican spotted owl [S. o. lucida]) have all experienced population declines over the past century due to habitat loss and fragmentation from logging. Now, the emerging influences of climate change, high-severity fire, and barred owl (Strix varia) invasion also appear to be synergistically and differentially affecting population trends of each subspecies. Our objective was to review the existing literature on the spotted owl to describe historical and emerging threats and whether those threats have been adequately examined for each subspecies. Using 527 publications from a Web of Science search of the literature from 1900-2015, we statistically evaluated the emphasis placed on each subspecies regarding 4 influences: mechanical tree removal, fire, climate change, and barred owl invasion. There were 98 papers that explicitly examined the effects of !1 of these influences. Most of these papers were focused on the northern spotted owl, and for all 3 subspecies, most papers examined short-term effects only. We used our results to identify significant information gaps relative to historical and emerging threats. Commercial timber harvesting remains a potential threat for all 3 spotted owl subspecies, but effects from forest thinning may be increasing because of the heightened emphasis on fuels reduction and forest restoration treatments on public lands. Owl response to mechanical tree removal, especially forest thinning, remains understudied. Climate change also may threaten all 3 subspecies. Changes in climate likely affect survival and reproduction of spotted owls and their prey, and alter habitat availability by affecting disturbance regimes and vegetation composition and succession, but little empirical information is available describing specific responses to climate change. The literature on response to high-severity fire is sparse for some subspecies, primarily short-term in nature, and not consistent. Barred owl invasion is a major threat to the northern spotted owl and the California spotted owl but does not currently threaten the Mexican spotted owl. Rigorous research on the response of spotted owls to all factors influencing population change, particularly for the Mexican spotted owl, is needed. The most useful information for predicting owl response to these threats stems primarily from long-term studies of owl demography. The lack of such studies within the range of the Mexican spotted owl greatly limits our understanding of its population dynamics and our ability to predict the effects of various threats on Mexican spotted owl populations. For all 3 subspecies, we encourage long-term studies of their responses to threats, using uniquely marked owls across large spatial extents to account for spatiotemporal variability in ecological conditions within and among subspecies. Ó 2018 The Wildlife Society.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Managing emerging threats to spotted owls

et al. 2018

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“…All three subspecies of spotted owls are most common in coniferous or conifer-hardwood forest types (Gutiérrez et al, 1995), but both the California and Mexican subspecies also occur in oak (Quercus spp. )-dominated forest and woodland types (Ganey et al, 1992;Gutiérrez et al, 1992) and the Mexican subspecies occurs in rocky canyonlands (Rinkevich and Gutiérrez, 1996;Willey and van Riper III, 2007;Bowden et al, 2015). Forest types occupied by spotted owls range from mesic forests which generally experienced high-severity fire at infrequent intervals to drier forest types that typically experienced frequent (generally 5-25 years), low-moderate intensity fires (Agee, 1993;Covington and Moore, 2004).…”

Section: Spotted Owl Habitat and Fire Regimesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Recent and Projected Future Wildfire Trends Across the Ranges of Three Spotted Owl Subspecies Under Climate Change

2019

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A major task for researchers in the twenty-first century is to predict how climate-mediated stressors such as wildfires may affect biodiversity under climate change. Previous model predictions typically did not address non-stationarity in climate-fire relationships across time and space. In this study, we applied spatially-explicit non-stationary area burned projection models to evaluate recent and future climate-driven trends in area burned across the ranges of three spotted owl subspecies in the western United States. We also used high-severity fire probability models to evaluate the risk of high-severity fire in recent times. Results suggest that the proportion of area burned will increase within the range of all three subspecies under climate change, but the extent of that increase will vary both among subspecies and among ecoregions within subspecies. Similarly, the current risk of high-severity wildfire varies both among subspecies and among regions within subspecies. The Mexican spotted owl is expected to have a 13-fold increase in area burned within its range by the 2080s. The combination of increased climate-driven fire extent and risk of high-severity fire suggests a potential for large-scale future loss or modification of spotted owl habitat. We recommend conducting further studies to understand the interaction and synergistic effects of climate change and wildfire on the spotted owl, especially in regions that are understudied such as Mexico.

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“…Estos resultados son similares a los reportados para el estado de Chihuahua (Tarango et al, 1997), Aguascalientes (Tarango et al, 2001) y Zacatecas (Palma et al, 2014) quienes indican que el tecolote moteado mexicano prefiere laderas con exposición norte, noroeste y noreste que le provean microambientes más fríos. Los tecolotes del Parque Nacional del Gran Cañón anidan exclusivamente en acantilados y utilizan las rocas o cuevas como territorios de descanso (Bowden et al, 2015); aunque también ocupan hábitats fríos como bosques de coníferas y caducifolios con dosel cerrado y en laderas orientadas hacia el norte (Barrows, 1981;Ganey & Balda, 1989); por el contrario, en Arizona y Nuevo México tienden a perchar en pendientes moderadas, orientadas al oeste, en las partes medias y altas de las laderas (Ganey et al, 2000). Esta subespecie selecciona hábitats con características que en conjunto le aseguren un microclima fresco (May et al, 2004).…”

Section: Región Estado Territorio De Descanso Diurno (Ha) Superficieunclassified

Patrón temporal de vocalizaciones y territorios de descanso del tecolote moteado mexicano (Strix occidentalis lucida Nelson 1903; Strigiformes: Strigidae) en el centro-norte de la Sierra Madre Occidental, México

Rafael-Valdez

Tarango-Arámbula

Martínez-Montoya

et al. 2019

AZM

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El tecolote moteado mexicano (TMM; Strix occidentalis lucida), para mantener comunicación con su pareja y tecolotes vecinos, emite vocalizaciones, las cuales varían con el sexo, la estación del año y condiciones climáticas. El TMM, para protegerse de depredadores y condiciones climáticas adversas, selecciona sitios específicos y establece territorios de descanso. Strix occidentalis lucida es una subespecie amenazada debido a la pérdida y fragmentación de sus hábitats. En México, los estudios sobre esta subespecie se refieren en su mayoría a la caracterización de su hábitat y composición de su dieta. Por ello, los objetivos de esta investigación fueron: a) monitorear la emisión de vocalizaciones, b) determinar el tamaño de los territorios de descanso diurno y c) identificar y describir las cuevas seleccionadas por Strix occidentalis lucida para perchar. Para ello, nueve parejas de TMM de tres regiones de la Sierra Madre Occidental se estudiaron de octubre de 2016 a octubre de 2017. El TMM emitió vocalizaciones durante todo el año, su territorio de descanso diurno promedio fue de 0.81 ± 0.77 ha y utilizó cuevas para descansar con mayor frecuencia en invierno (38.9%) y primavera (33.3%). Los resultados de este estudio son de utilidad para entender el comportamiento diurno del TMM y diseñar planes de manejo y conservación del hábitat del tecolote moteado mexicano en México.

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Breeding Season Home Range and Habitat Use of Mexican Spotted Owls (Strix occidentalis lucida) Below the South Rim of Grand Canyon National Park

Cited by 9 publications

References 22 publications

Managing emerging threats to spotted owls

Managing emerging threats to spotted owls

Recent and Projected Future Wildfire Trends Across the Ranges of Three Spotted Owl Subspecies Under Climate Change

Patrón temporal de vocalizaciones y territorios de descanso del tecolote moteado mexicano (Strix occidentalis lucida Nelson 1903; Strigiformes: Strigidae) en el centro-norte de la Sierra Madre Occidental, México

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