How to translate text using browser tools
1 December 2015 Seasonal and Sex-Biased Survival of Adult Interior Western Screech-Owls (Megascops kennicottii macfarlanei) in Southeast British Columbia
Doris Hausleitner
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

In Canada and in British Columbia, the interior Western Screech-Owl (Megascops kennicottii macfarlanei) has been assessed as a species at risk primarily as a result of loss and degradation of low-elevation riparian habitat. Few data exist on population demographics of this subspecies. We analyzed annual survival of 19 radio-tagged adult owls from 2009 through 2013 using known-fate models. Time and sex dependence in annual survival rates were examined. The best approximating models suggested that female annual survival (28%) was lower than male survival (83%). Owl survival was lowest prior to incubation and during brood rearing, times when owls are most vocal. Mortality was attributed to avian predation and road mortality. Management practices to preserve habitat during the critical breeding period are encouraged in light of this research.

Doris Hausleitner "Seasonal and Sex-Biased Survival of Adult Interior Western Screech-Owls (Megascops kennicottii macfarlanei) in Southeast British Columbia," Northwestern Naturalist 96(3), 205-211, (1 December 2015). https://doi.org/10.1898/1051-1733-96.3.205
Received: 13 August 2014; Accepted: 5 March 2015; Published: 1 December 2015
KEYWORDS
British Columbia
known-fate models
Megascops kennicottii macfarlanei
radiotelemetry
sex-specific
survival
Western Screech-Owl
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top