Landscape alterations influence differential habitat use of nesting buteos and ravens within sagebrush ecosystem: implications for transmission line development

The Condor
By: , and 

Links

Abstract

A goal in avian ecology is to understand factors that influence differences in nesting habitat and distribution among species, especially within changing landscapes. Over the past 2 decades, humans have altered sagebrush ecosystems as a result of expansion in energy production and transmission. Our primary study objective was to identify differences in the use of landscape characteristics and natural and anthropogenic features by nesting Common Ravens (Corvus corax) and 3 species of buteo (Swainson's Hawk [Buteo swainsoni], Red-tailed Hawk [B. jamaicensis], and Ferruginous Hawk [B. regalis]) within a sagebrush ecosystem in southeastern Idaho. During 2007–2009, we measured multiple environmental factors associated with 212 nest sites using data collected remotely and in the field. We then developed multinomial models to predict nesting probabilities by each species and predictive response curves based on model-averaged estimates. We found differences among species related to nesting substrate (natural vs. anthropogenic), agriculture, native grassland, and edge (interface of 2 cover types). Most important, ravens had a higher probability of nesting on anthropogenic features (0.80) than the other 3 species (<0.10), and the probability of nesting near agriculture was greatest for ravens (0.55) followed by Swainson's Hawk (0.28). We also describe changes in nesting densities over 4 decades at this site as related to natural and anthropogenic disturbances. Since the 1970s, the composition of the raptor and raven nesting community has drastically changed with anthropogenic alterations and loss of continuous stands of sagebrush (Artemisia spp.), favoring increased numbers of nesting ravens and fewer nesting Ferruginous Hawks. Our results indicate that habitat alterations, fragmentation, and forthcoming disturbances anticipated with continued energy development in sagebrush steppe ecosystems can lead to predictable changes in raptor and raven communities.

Study Area

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Landscape alterations influence differential habitat use of nesting buteos and ravens within sagebrush ecosystem: implications for transmission line development
Series title The Condor
DOI 10.1650/CONDOR-13-126.1
Volume 116
Issue 3
Year Published 2014
Language English
Publisher Cooper Ornithological Society
Contributing office(s) Western Ecological Research Center
Description 16 p.
Larger Work Type Article
Larger Work Subtype Journal Article
Larger Work Title The Condor
First page 341
Last page 356
Country United States
State Idaho
Google Analytic Metrics Metrics page
Additional publication details