How to translate text using browser tools
1 September 2010 Home Ranges and Spatial Organization of Western Screech-Owls in Southern British Columbia
Helen Davis, Richard D. Weir
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

The macfarlanei subspecies of the Western Screech-owl (Megascops kennicottii) resides in the dry southern interior of British Columbia and is federally endangered in Canada. We captured and radio-tagged 11 adult screech-owls (6M, 5F) between July 2005 and January 2008 to collect ecological information needed to direct effective conservation. We collected point radiolocations from tagged owls to estimate seasonal and year-round home ranges with the 95% isopleth of the utilization distribution calculated using fixed kernel methods. Screech-owl home ranges averaged 64.5 ha (s  =  10.6, n  =  5), with no substantial difference in size between males and females. Owls used considerably smaller areas during the breeding season (x ¯  =  20.4 ha, s  =  15.3, n  =  7) than the non-breeding season (x ¯  =  88.6 ha, s  =  44.5, n  =  6). During the breeding season, males and females of a single pair overlapped extensively, whereas outside the breeding season very little overlap occurred within pairs. We did not detect overlap between neighbouring pairs. Home ranges of Western Screech-owls were highly associated with riparian forests; most screech-owls had ≥10 ha of riparian forested habitats within their home ranges. These results have implications for habitat conservation for this endangered species.

Helen Davis and Richard D. Weir "Home Ranges and Spatial Organization of Western Screech-Owls in Southern British Columbia," Northwestern Naturalist 91(2), 157-164, (1 September 2010). https://doi.org/10.1898/NWN08-048.1
Received: 7 November 2008; Accepted: 1 November 2009; Published: 1 September 2010
KEYWORDS
British Columbia
home range
Megascops kennicottii macfarlanei
overlap
spatial organization
Western Screech-Owl
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top