Habitat associations of five forest owl species in the Manitoba Escarpment with special consideration to forest fragmentation and slope

Abstract

This study describes an inferred use versus availability analysis for five forest owl species with respect to forest stand characteristics, fragmentation and slope. Locations for Great Horned Owls ('Bubo virginianus'), Great Gray Owls ('Strix nebulosa'), Barred Owls ('S. varia'), Boreal Owls ('Aegolius funereus') and Northern Saw-whet Owls ('A. acadicus') were obtained through nocturnal surveys conducted from mid-March to early June 1999 and 2000. Species' locations were computerized as the centre of home range plots and verlaid on digital forest resource inventory maps. Stand type, age, degree of fragmentation, amount of water edge, elevation and slope characteristics within plots were compared with similar data from stratified random sites to determine whether plots occupied by owls differed significantly. The five forest owl species in this study were not distributed randomly with respect to habitat type, degree of fragmentation and elevation and slope characteristics. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)