Raptor abundance and northern bobwhite survival and habitat use

Predation risk has a profound influence on prey behavior and habitat use. The Rio Grande Plains ecoregion of Texas, USA, provides a unique opportunity to investigate changes in prey behavior because the ecoregion experiences a high influx of raptors every year during autumn migration. We used an 8-y...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Wildlife Society bulletin 2014-12, Vol.38 (4), p.689-696
Main Authors: Turner, Joshua W., Hernández, Fidel, Boal, Clint W., Ballard, Bart M., Bryant, Fred C., Wester, David B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Birds of prey
bobwhite
Bobwhites
Colinus virginianus
Ecoregions
habitat use
Harriers
Hawks
migration
Migration Period
northern bobwhite
Original Articles
Predation
Quails
raptors
survival
Texas
Wildlife habitats
Wildlife management
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Summary:Predation risk has a profound influence on prey behavior and habitat use. The Rio Grande Plains ecoregion of Texas, USA, provides a unique opportunity to investigate changes in prey behavior because the ecoregion experiences a high influx of raptors every year during autumn migration. We used an 8-year data set (2000–2008) of radiocollared northern bobwhites (Colinus virginianus) and raptor abundance to test the hypothesis that bobwhites responded to increased raptor abundance via changes in woody-cover use at the home-range scale. Bobwhite survival was negatively correlated with raptor abundance, with red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), and northern harriers (Circus cyaneus) accounting for 51% of the variability in bobwhite survival (P< 0.010). However, we documented no change in the amount of woody cover used by bobwhites in their home range between the raptor migration (6.6% ± 0.5%;n= 73 bobwhites) and nonmigration periods (7.1% ± 0.4%;n= 105 bobwhites;P= 0.490). In addition, bobwhites that survived the raptor migration period used similar amounts of woody cover within their home range (6.3% ± 0.6%,n= 58 bobwhites) compared with those dying during the migration period (6.8% ± 0.4%,n= 100 bobwhites;P= 0.530). Our data suggest that bobwhites do not alter their use of woody cover at the home-range scale in response to increasing raptor abundance, but this does not preclude increased use of woody cover at the point-of-use scale.
ISSN:1938-5463
1938-5463
2328-5540
DOI:10.1002/wsb.476