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Combining information from range use and habitat selection: sex-specific spatial responses to habitat fragmentation in tawny owls Strix aluco

Sunde, Peter LU and Redpath, S M (2006) In Ecography 29(2). p.152-158
Abstract
How individuals respond to habitat heterogeneity is usually measured as variation in range size and by ranking the relative importance of habitat types (habitat selection). The combined effect of how individuals incorporate different habitat types in their home ranges and allocate their time budget between them is rarely derived. Additionally, when home range size varies between individuals, habitat selection analyses might be flawed if foraging decisions are based on variation in absolute rather than proportional availability. We investigated the suitability of standard analytical approaches by measuring the spatial responses of tawny owls to habitat fragmentation. These owls inhabited woodland of various sizes, representing a... (More)
How individuals respond to habitat heterogeneity is usually measured as variation in range size and by ranking the relative importance of habitat types (habitat selection). The combined effect of how individuals incorporate different habitat types in their home ranges and allocate their time budget between them is rarely derived. Additionally, when home range size varies between individuals, habitat selection analyses might be flawed if foraging decisions are based on variation in absolute rather than proportional availability. We investigated the suitability of standard analytical approaches by measuring the spatial responses of tawny owls to habitat fragmentation. These owls inhabited woodland of various sizes, representing a fragmentation gradient from open farmland with small, isolated woodland patches, to continuous woodland within their home ranges. In 17 territories within open farmland, the available area covered by woodland increased with the square root of the area of open land embraced in the home range. The owls did not display functional response in habitat selection, but females selected woodland more strongly than males. Females utilised woodland 10 times more intensively in farmland than in continuous woods, whereas males utilised farmland woods 3.2 times more intensively. Moreover, females in farmland exploited woodland 3.2 times as intensively as males, apparently because of higher travel costs in open areas. Since the extensive variation in intensity of use as a function of total availability was not indicated from the analysis of habitat selection, we suggest that information about intensity of use be more widely used as a supplementary measure of habitat use patterns than appears to be the practice at present. (Less)
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author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
in
Ecography
volume
29
issue
2
pages
152 - 158
publisher
Wiley-Blackwell
external identifiers
  • wos:000236767000002
  • scopus:33645872979
ISSN
1600-0587
DOI
10.1111/j.2006.0906-7590.04397.x
language
English
LU publication?
yes
additional info
The information about affiliations in this record was updated in December 2015. The record was previously connected to the following departments: Animal Ecology (Closed 2011) (011012001)
id
b98af9b7-c8f3-4fc6-9f2b-a65dc33fb2ce (old id 159482)
date added to LUP
2016-04-01 15:50:46
date last changed
2022-02-27 17:05:45
@article{b98af9b7-c8f3-4fc6-9f2b-a65dc33fb2ce,
  abstract     = {{How individuals respond to habitat heterogeneity is usually measured as variation in range size and by ranking the relative importance of habitat types (habitat selection). The combined effect of how individuals incorporate different habitat types in their home ranges and allocate their time budget between them is rarely derived. Additionally, when home range size varies between individuals, habitat selection analyses might be flawed if foraging decisions are based on variation in absolute rather than proportional availability. We investigated the suitability of standard analytical approaches by measuring the spatial responses of tawny owls to habitat fragmentation. These owls inhabited woodland of various sizes, representing a fragmentation gradient from open farmland with small, isolated woodland patches, to continuous woodland within their home ranges. In 17 territories within open farmland, the available area covered by woodland increased with the square root of the area of open land embraced in the home range. The owls did not display functional response in habitat selection, but females selected woodland more strongly than males. Females utilised woodland 10 times more intensively in farmland than in continuous woods, whereas males utilised farmland woods 3.2 times more intensively. Moreover, females in farmland exploited woodland 3.2 times as intensively as males, apparently because of higher travel costs in open areas. Since the extensive variation in intensity of use as a function of total availability was not indicated from the analysis of habitat selection, we suggest that information about intensity of use be more widely used as a supplementary measure of habitat use patterns than appears to be the practice at present.}},
  author       = {{Sunde, Peter and Redpath, S M}},
  issn         = {{1600-0587}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  number       = {{2}},
  pages        = {{152--158}},
  publisher    = {{Wiley-Blackwell}},
  series       = {{Ecography}},
  title        = {{Combining information from range use and habitat selection: sex-specific spatial responses to habitat fragmentation in tawny owls Strix aluco}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.2006.0906-7590.04397.x}},
  doi          = {{10.1111/j.2006.0906-7590.04397.x}},
  volume       = {{29}},
  year         = {{2006}},
}