Home Range Characteristics of Mexican Spotted Owls in the Canyonlands of Utah

Willey, David W.; Riper, Charles van

doi:10.3356/0892-1016(2007)41[10:hrcoms]2.0.co;2

Cited by 20 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 11 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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“…Finally, they suggest that fire impacts on the spotted owl should be evaluated at scales broader than nest sites or Protected Activity Centers (US Department of Interior 2012). These broader scales may correspond to owl home ranges or territories (Ganey et al 1999(Ganey et al , 2005Willey and van Riper 2007).…”

Section: Management Implicationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The effect of scale in quantifying fire impacts on species habitats

2020

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Background: Fire size and severity have increased in the western United States in recent decades, and are expected to continue to increase with warming climate. Habitats for many species are threatened by large and high-severity fires, but the effect of spatial scale on the relationship between fires and habitat modifications is poorly understood. We used the 2011 Wallow Fire-the largest wildfire in the state history of Arizona, USA-as a case study and assessed changes in predicted nesting habitat of the threatened Mexican spotted owl (Strix occidentalis Xántus de Vésey) in the first three years following the fire. Our objective was to explore potential relationships between burn severity and changes in habitat suitability at different spatial scales. To accomplish this, we applied a multi-scale optimized habitat selection model to pre-and post-fire landscapes and compared the differences in predictions along a continuous scale gradient. Results: Fire effects on habitat quality were spatially variable and the strength and direction of relationships were scale-dependent. Spatial patterns of burn-severity mosaic resembled the patterns of habitat suitability change. High burn severity reduced nesting habitat suitability and this relationship was strongest at broad scales. Pre-fire habitat suitability was positively related to burn severity, again at fairly broad scales, but the relationship was weak. Low-severity fires had little effect on habitat suitability. Conclusions: Multi-scale analysis may influence the statistical measures of goodness of fit in assessing fire effects on species and their habitats. Future studies should explicitly address spatial scale when quantifying fire effects.

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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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Home Range Characteristics of Mexican Spotted Owls in the Canyonlands of Utah

Cited by 20 publications

References 11 publications

Managing emerging threats to spotted owls

Managing emerging threats to spotted owls

The effect of scale in quantifying fire impacts on species habitats

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

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