Nest Habitat Selection of Western Screech-Owls (Megascops kennicottii macfarlanei) at Multiple Spatial Scales in Southeast British Columbia

Authors

  • Doris Hausleitner Seepanee Ecological Consulting and Selkirk College
  • Jakob Dulisse Jakob Dulisse Consulting
  • Irene Manley Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program
  • Amy Waterhouse Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Compensation Program

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22230/jem.2017v17n1a592

Keywords:

Western Screech-Owl, Megascops kennicottii macfarlanei, radio telemetry, nest, habitat selection, spatial scale, coniferous, British Columbia

Abstract

The interior Western Screech-Owl (Megascops kennicottii macfarlanei) has been assessed as a species at risk. Regionally, survival rates are low, particularly during nesting. This study uses forward stepwise logistic regression to assess habitat selection at the tree, patch (150m2), and stand scales for twelve nests (the largest sample in any one region). At the patch scale, nest sites had more coniferous cover (33% versus 16%) than random. At the stand level, owls selected medium-age forests within an agricultural landscape, highlighting the need to conserve these habitats. While black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) and trembling aspen (P. tremuloides) are important nest tree species, riparian forests with coniferous cover, particularly western redcedar (Thuja plicata), may be more important for nesting in regional populations than previously realized.

Author Biography

Doris Hausleitner, Seepanee Ecological Consulting and Selkirk College

Doris is owner/ operator of Seepanee Ecological Consulting and has seventeen years of experience in wildlife research, specializing primarily on threatened and endangered species. She is also an instructor of applied biology / ecology at Selkirk College.

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Published

2017-09-25

Issue

Section

Research Reports