Eastern Screech-Owls in Suburban and Urban Environments
Objectives
This is a new project that we are working to get fully funded and we need your help! We will address knowledge gaps in the ecology of Eastern Screech-Owl (EASO; Megascops asio), a much-loved resident species in eastern North America.
This study is part of our larger Urban Raptor Monitoring Initiative, which seeks to understand raptor habitat use and population dynamics in regions experiencing urbanization, so that these important predators can persist for generations to come!
To accomplish our goals, we will deploy radio transmitters on adult and juvenile EASO at sites in both rural and urban areas to 1) study how male territory size may change with urbanization, 2) study how juvenile survival may change with urbanization. We will also collect samples to study the effects of toxins like rodenticide on EASO.
Despite ranging across eastern North America, many aspects of EASO life history is unknown, as is the case with most owls.
EASO inhabit many regions with high human input in areas that are suburban or urban. These environments have a huge effect on the species that persist there and the structure of ecosystems.
The challenges birds like EASO face in urban environments are many and include habitat loss, greater risk of encountering toxins (ie. rodenticide–a ubiquitous problem for raptors), and even presence of competitors/predators that may fare better in proximity to humans.
Raptors are not all affected equally by urbanization–some species do well and some don’t. How the EASO fares is largely not known. Citizen science data from NW Arkansas suggests the species may be disappearing from suburban and urban environments in the region.
Using sites located along a gradient of urban to rural land, we will work to understand the factors that affect EASO survival and habitat use. We will accomplish this by using radio transmitters to monitor adult territory size and juvenile dispersal–an important and dangerous period as they find their place on the landscape.
We will also work with collaborators to collect samples that will allow us to look at the presence of toxins like rodenticide in these small owls.