Graduation Date
Spring 2024
Document Type
Thesis
Program
Master of Science degree with a major in Natural Resources, option Wildlife
Committee Chair Name
Matthew Johnson
Committee Chair Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Second Committee Member Name
Mark Colwell
Second Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Third Committee Member Name
Ho Yi Wan
Third Committee Member Affiliation
HSU Faculty or Staff
Keywords
Barn owl, Vineyard, Napa Valley, Reproductive success, Habitat ecology, Adaptive breeding habitat selection, Nest box, Working landscape, Individual quality
Subject Categories
Wildlife
Abstract
The hypothesis of adaptive breeding habitat selection proposes congruence between the evolved selection of habitats and fitness components such as reproductive success. However, mismatches between habitat selection and observed fitness outcomes are not unusual and can arise for multiple reasons. Variation in individual qualities of animals has also been found to affect reproduction and survival. I examined associations between barn owl nest box selection, reproductive output, and plumage characteristics previously shown to correspond to individual quality. I found that barn owls selected tall nest boxes made of wood, mounted high off the ground, and with increased proportions of grassland around the nest box at the landscape level, and decreased proportions of forest at the local level. I then found several lines of evidence consistent with adaptive breeding habitat selection: observed frequency of nest box occupancy and predicted probability of nest box occupancy were both positively correlated with reproductive success, variables associated with nest box selection also predicted reproductive success reasonably well, and the most important variable influencing both barn owl nest box selection and reproductive success was the proportion of grasslands at the landscape level. I did not find that the quality of individual owls, as measured by size and plumage characteristics, was strongly associated with variation in reproductive success, though my sample size was small. Overall, results of this study provide evidence that nest box selection is adaptive for barn owls in this study system.
Citation Style
Journal of Wildlife Management
Recommended Citation
Carlino, Jaime E., "Effects of habitat selection and individual quality on the reproductive success of barn owls (Tyto furcata)" (2024). Cal Poly Humboldt theses and projects. 763.
https://digitalcommons.humboldt.edu/etd/763
Included in
Ornithology Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons, Viticulture and Oenology Commons