Post-Fledging Estimation of Annual Productivity in Boreal Owls Based on Prey Detritus Mass
2008
Whitman, Jackson S.
Fledging success, and thus annual productivity, is among the most important demographic measurements for understanding avian population dynamics. Fledging success is usually reported as the mean number of fledglings per successful nest (Hayward 1994), or per nesting attempt (i.e., nest in which eggs were laid). In rare or secretive species when adequate sample size for estimates of demographic parameters may be difficult to obtain, any technique that improves sample size is advantageous. As part of an ecological study of Boreal Owls (Aegolius funereus) in interior Alaska, prey remains were collected from nest boxes for diet determination during 2005–2006. Prey detritus was collected primarily to investigate prey selection and consumption rates. During the primary study, it appeared that the dried mass of the prey detritus brick might be a surrogate method to estimate the number of young that were fledged from any particular nest box. I here present initial data addressing this hypothesis and suggest further testing of this technique on Boreal Owls and other Strigidae species.
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