Graduation Date
Summer 2018
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Science degree with a major in Natural Resources, option Wildlife
Committee Chair Name
Dr. Jeffrey Black
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Dr. William Bean
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Dr. Matthew Johnson
Third Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Subject Categories
Wildlife
Abstract
The rough-legged hawk (Buteo lagopus sanctijohannis) is one of the most under-studied raptor species in North America. As a species that exhibits reversed sexual dimorphism, sex-specific habitat preferences may exist. To investigate rough-legged hawk sex-specific habitat selection preferences, we equipped 17 rough-legged hawks (n = eight females, nine males) with GPS backpacks on their wintering grounds (n = six study areas) during the winter months of 2014 and 2015 in five states in western North America. I analyzed rough-legged hawk habitat selection in relation to sex at four spatial scales: nocturnal roosting site, 50% core range, 95% winter range, and 200% ecoregion range. Habitat selection variables included land cover, patch size, terrain ruggedness, indicators of anthropogenic disturbance, and measures of interspecific competition. Species and sex-specific preferences existed at each spatial scale, suggesting that hawks balanced competition for roosting and foraging habitat against prey availability and anthropogenic sources of disturbance when selecting habitat. At each spatial scale, female hawks preferentially selected for high quality habitat, while male rough-legged hawks used high as well as lower quality habitat (qualified by the presence of perching structures, human disturbance, and prey catchability). I posit that reversed sexual dimorphism in rough-legged hawks leads to social dominance of female hawks on their wintering grounds and that females may outcompete males for higher quality foraging habitat.
Citation Style
Journal of Wildlife Management
Recommended Citation
Rozhon, Genevieve Christa, "Sex-specific habitat selection of rough-legged hawks (Buteo lagopus) wintering in western North America" (2018). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 184.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/184