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HOME RANGE AND HABITAT USE OF SUBURBAN RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS IN SOUTHWESTERN OHIO
Citation:
Dykstra, C. R., J. L. Hays, F B. Daniel, AND M. M. Simon. HOME RANGE AND HABITAT USE OF SUBURBAN RED-SHOULDERED HAWKS IN SOUTHWESTERN OHIO. WILSON BULLETIN 113(3):308-316, (2001).
Impact/Purpose:
This project has three overall goals: 1) To develop efficacious methods for quantitative assessment of riparian resources at a both local and watershed scales; 2) to examine land use elements, at various scales as regulators of both water quality and biological integrity in freshwater streams, and 3) to elucidate the potential of riparian corridors to ameliorate various stressor impacts from the surrounding catchment.
Approach
-FY00 Activities The field sampling conducted in the first year will be repeated for all of the sub-watershed sites in the second year. Using the sub-watershed boundaries determined via the hydrologic models the landscape metrics for each sub-watershed will be developed. Likewise the high resolution land cover data for the riparian corridors will be developed from the digitized aerial photography.
-FY01 Activities The field sampling conducted in the years one and two will be repeated for all of the sub-watershed sites in year three. The field data from all three years will be combined to develop the indices of water quality and biotic integrity for the sub-watersheds. The stream quality and land cover data from the watershed catchment area and the riparian corridor will be correlated using a series of step-wise, multistage, linear regression models. Individual features of stream quality will be related to various riparian land cover parameters and other land use elements in the watershed as a whole. Statistical analysis will be completed.
-FY02 Activities Final reports and manuscripts for submission to the peer reviewed scientific literature will be prepared.
Description:
Suburban habitats may provide different resources and different challenges to raptors than do more traditional, rural habitats. Suburban red-shouldered hawks (Buteo lineatus) of the eastern subspecies have been little studied. We measured the home ranges and habitat use of 11 suburban red-shouldered hawks during the breeding season, and 9 hawks during the non-breeding season, using standard telemetry techniques. Home ranges, calculated using the adaptive kernel method (95% isopleth), averaged 90 +/- 11 ha for breeding season, 189 +/- 33 ha for non-breeding season, and 165 +/- 24 ha for the year-round home range. Males and females did not differ in home range size. Habitat use by hawks was determined by classifying habitat where birds were observed perching. Habitat use differed from habitat available within home ranges for all birds tested (P < 0.05). Most red-shouldered hawks used riparian zones and pond edges more than would be expected, based on availability of such habitat within their home ranges; residential areas and lawns were used less than expected or in proportion to their availability. Suburban red-shouldered hawks demonstrated significant use of human-altered habitats, as well as tolerance of human disturbance.