Barred Owls Occupy 64% of Northern Spotted Owl Habitat, Study Finds
Updated
Updated · The Economic Times · Aug 13
Barred Owls Occupy 64% of Northern Spotted Owl Habitat, Study Finds
3 articles · Updated · The Economic Times · Aug 13
Summary
GPS tracking of 56 barred owls across 4,070 square kilometres found they are clustering in the forests northern spotted owls most need, not just spreading broadly through the region.
On average, 64% of a barred owl's home range overlapped mapped spotted owl habitat, and 38% overlapped the highest-quality nesting and roosting forests, showing old-growth protection alone may not secure refuge.
California barred owls used average home ranges of 6.7 square kilometres—about 28 times larger than territories previously recorded in Louisiana—suggesting each bird can disrupt a wide swath of forest.
Records from 1,171 removed barred owls indicated more than 1,800 square kilometres of spotted owl habitat became available again for possible recolonisation, including nearly 1,150 square kilometres of top-quality forest.
The study says long-term recovery of the northern spotted owl will require both protecting remaining ancient forests and actively managing barred owl populations, despite controversy over removing a native North American bird.
With barred owls dominating California's old-growth, could the controversial removal of one predator accidentally destabilize the entire forest ecosystem?
As spotted owls face functional habitat loss, is fighting a naturally expanding rival species a futile battle against evolutionary survival?