modelling barred owl habitat in northwestern ontario
abstract
with its large home range, dependence on large
decadent trees for nest cavities, and association with
mature mixedwoods, the barred owl (strix varia) is
vulnerable to habitat loss from forest harvesting. study
objectives were to document barred owl habitat associations
and to determine whether habitat selection could be
described in terms of land cover classes derived from
satellite imagery. owl locations were determined by call
playback survey near fort frances, in northwestern ontario.
forest characteristics were measured on all selected and
random non-selected sites. regression analysis identified
forest type, height and fragmentation as predictors of
barred owl presence. trembling aspen (populus tremuloides),
white birch (betula papyrifera) , red pine (pinus resinosa)
or white pine (pinus strobus) mixedwoods were selected. owl
presence probability increased with canopy height and the
proportion forested in 280 ha around a site. a gis-based
habitat map, created from satellite image-derived land
cover classes, distinguished good and poor habitat regions.
a long-term, landscape-level approach is required to ensure
a continuing supply of barred owl habitat in northwestern
ontario's working forest. this study demonstrated that
barred owl habitat can be characterized by forest data
widely available in digital format, and thus is well suited
to supply assessment and forecasting in a gis (geographical
information systern) .
collections
- retrospective theses [1604]