Regional and Seasonal Diet of the Western Burrowing Owl in South Central Nevada

Hall, Derek B.; Greger, Paul D.; Rosier, Jeffrey R.

doi:10.3398/064.069.0101

Cited by 17 publications

(14 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…NSTec biologists, Derek Hall and Paul Greger, authored two articles about western burrowing owls that were published in the Western North American Naturalist in 2009, one on food habits (Hall et al, 2009) and one on burrow use (Greger and Hall, 2009). They also provided input into the new Nevada Bird Conservation Plan that the Great Basin Bird Observatory is writing, and presented a poster on the western red-tailed skink at the Southwest Partners in Amphibian and Reptile Conservation 3 rd Annual Meeting in St. George, Utah.…”

Section: Coordination With Biologists and Wildlife Agenciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Monitoring and Compliance Program 2015 Report

Hall

Ostler

Anderson

et al. 2016

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Section: Coordination With Biologists and Wildlife Agenciesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecological Monitoring and Compliance Program 2015 Report

Hall

Ostler

Anderson

et al. 2016

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“…Prairie dogs excavate burrows used by owls for nesting, and their vocalizations alert owls of nearby predators (Butts and Lewis, 1982;Desmond et al, 2000;Restani et al, 2001). Diet and self-maintenance behavior of burrowing owls during the breeding season are well known in undeveloped, agricultural, and urban environments throughout their core North American breeding range (Thomsen, 1971;Green et al, 1993;York et al, 2002;Moulton et al, 2005;Hall et al, 2009;Trulio and Higgins, 2012). However, we lack information on feeding habits of burrowing owls east of their core range and the behavioral mechanisms that allow extralimital individuals to cope with different environmental conditions.…”

mentioning

confidence: 93%

“…Burrowing owls are opportunistic predators that readily consume both arthropods and vertebrates, with the latter contributing the most biomass in their diet (77-99%; Poulin et al, 2011). However, most diet information comes from analyses of prey remains and regurgitated pellets (Thomsen, 1971;Green et al, 1993;Plumpton and Lutz, 1993;Moulton et al, 2005;Hall et al, 2009;Trulio and Higgins, 2012). Such methods bias diet summaries in raptors by misrepresenting proportions of prey items that are either difficult to digest, or degrade at different rates after pellets are regurgitated, or both (Simmons et al, 1991;Redpath et al, 2001;Lewis et al, 2004).…”

mentioning

confidence: 94%

Diet and behavior of extralimital Western burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia hypogea) in tallgrass prairie

Herse

2016

The Southwestern Naturalist

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“…I observed that mammal consumption was proportionally higher during the cold/wet season than the hot/dry season for most sites (Hall et al, 2009). It is reasonable to expect that the diversity of prey is lowest during the coldest and wettest portion of the year, particular with respect to exothermic species (invertebrates, reptiles, and amphibians) (Hall et al, 2009).…”

Section: Non-breeding Season Dietmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…When prey availability is high, burrowing owls may be more selective for species that are more beneficial to their overall nutritional goals. It is well documented that overall prey diversity, and especially mammal consumption, increases during the breeding season when nutritional demands for egg-laying females and growing owlets are highest (Hall et al, 2009;MacCraken et al, 1985;. I observed that larger mammal species such as pocket gophers and California ground squirrels tended to only be consumed during the breeding season while smaller rodent species tended to be consumed in greater proportions during at least one of the non-breeding seasons.…”

Section: Non-breeding Season Dietmentioning

confidence: 96%

Seasonal Food Habits of Burrowing Owls (Athene Cunicularia) in Human-Altered Landscapes

Wingert¹

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In 2004, I initiated a year-long study to investigate the food habits of burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia). Burrowing owls have been found in a variety of human-altered landscapes; however, little is known about burrowing owl food habits in urban landscapes. Burrowing owl food habits during the non-breeding season are also largely undocumented, despite increasing concern over the survival of overwintering burrowing owls. Differences in prey consumption between reproductive and non-reproductive owls during the breeding season have not yet been examined. I collected pellets over a 12 month period at four study sites affected by different levels of human alteration in the southern San Joaquin Valley of California. Data was collected at four study sites representing natural (Wind Wolves), semi-natural (Allensworth Ecological Reserve), agricultural (Friant Kern Canal), and urban (Bakersfield) landscapes. Invertebrates, primarily ground dwelling insects, were the most commonly consumed prey type, found in 96% of all pellets examined. Among vertebrates, mammals were the most commonly consumed (18.5% of all pellets). Shannon-Weiner diversity indices identified differences in prey diversity consumed between seasons within each site and between sites within seasons, except during the breeding season where diversity was the same at all sites. The diversity indices at Wind Wolves (natural site) and Bakersfield (urban site) were the same, while the diversity indices at Allensworth Ecological Reserve (semi-natural site) and Friant Kern Canal (agricultural site) were the same. Binary logistic regression was used to determine if consumption of individual prey types varied by site, season, and a site/season interaction. Mammals were consumed in greater proportions during the breeding season at most sites compared to other seasons. The proportion of pellets containing mammals during the breeding season decreased as the level of human-alteration increased, with mammal consumption highest at Wind Wolves (60.0%) and lowest at Bakersfield (13.1%). Consumption of several insect categories differed by site and/or season (Coleoptera, Dermaptera, and Orthoptera), but overall consumption of insects was not different by either factor. To assess differences in prey consumption between reproductive and non-reproductive owls, pellets collected during the 2005 breeding season were classified as having come from a nest burrow or a non-nest burrow based on positive identification of reproduction. Shannon-Weiner diversity indices and binary logistic regression were calculated for this data set. No differences were detected in overall diversity or in the proportional consumption of individual prey categories. The results of this study indicate that burrowing owls have a highly variable diet and may have sufficient ecological plasticity to allow them to adjust their food habits to the prey species available in human-altered landscapes. However, the implications of altered food habits on burrowing owl fitness in heavily disturbed landscapes, partic...

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Regional and Seasonal Diet of the Western Burrowing Owl in South Central Nevada

Cited by 17 publications

References 11 publications

Ecological Monitoring and Compliance Program 2015 Report

Ecological Monitoring and Compliance Program 2015 Report

Diet and behavior of extralimital Western burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia hypogea) in tallgrass prairie

Seasonal Food Habits of Burrowing Owls (Athene Cunicularia) in Human-Altered Landscapes

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