Agricultural land use, barn owl diet, and vertebrate pest control implications

Kross, Sara M.; Bourbour, Ryan P.; Martinico, Breanna L.

doi:10.1016/j.agee.2016.03.002

Cited by 61 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 27 publications

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“…Agricultural intensification is associated with a loss of natural habitat, loss of crop diversity and increased chemical inputs (Foley et al, 2005). This kind of management is referred to as the main factor causing the Barn Owl population to decline in some regions (Salvati et al, 2002;Kross et al, 2016). Such a population decline was also recorded in Slovakia (Danko 1994;Veselovský and Baláž 2015).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) Diet Composition on Intensively Used Agricultural Land in the Danube Lowland

Veselovský¹,

Bacsa²,

Tulis³

2017

Acta Univ. Agric. Silvic. Mendelianae Brun.

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Based on pellets analysis from five localities in south western Slovakia (Malá Mužla, Malé Ripňany, Obid, Opatovský Sokolec and Tešedíkovo), we studied the diet composition of Barn Owl (Tyto alba) in intensively cultivated agricultural lands. A total of 6218 specimens of prey, 17 mammalian and 7 bird species were identified. The main prey species found in all food samples was the Common Vole (Microtus arvalis), varying between 56 % and 67 %. The proportion of synanthropic species (Rattus norvegicus, Passer domesticus) and species inhabiting agricultural landscapes (Crocidura leucodon, Crocidura suaveolens, Mus sp.) increases in localities with a lower ratio of the Common Vole. The results suggest land use affects the diet of Barn Owls, confirming conclusions which have been drawn in previous studies. From faunistic point of view, discovering the Pannonian Root Vole (Microtus oeconomus mehelyi) in the diet from Malá Mužla was important.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) Diet Composition on Intensively Used Agricultural Land in the Danube Lowland

Veselovský¹,

Bacsa²,

Tulis³

2017

Acta Univ. Agric. Silvic. Mendelianae Brun.

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“…Only Browning et al (2016) has reported on barn owl nesting success, including mean number of chicks and fledglings per nest, so we have used this data for our predictions. (Taylor 1994) and 0.125 (Smal 1990 (Kross et al 2016). Other values taken as mean for mouse species from field guides.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Despite the multitude of studies documenting barn owl consumption of rodent pests (see Taylor 1994, Kross et al 2016, there have been relatively few field studies that have quantified the ability of barn owls to reduce or control populations of small rodents in agricultural regions, and this lack of data has prompted criticism of programs that claim that owls provide such services (Marsh 1998, Schmidt 2003. In Kenya, Ojwang and Oguge (2003) erected 400 raptor perches and 20 nest boxes in each of two 100-ha experimental grids in maize fields which were paired with control sites.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Farmers throughout the state have constructed hundreds, if not thousands, of owl boxes; however, no data exists to support the notion that barn owls will control rodent pests in California farms. Field studies to assess barn owl diets in agricultural fields in California have revealed that owls primarily consume agricultural rodent pests , with up to 99.5% of prey items in owl diets considered pest species (Kross et al 2016). Available data also indicate that dense populations of barn owls can be achieved, and that these owls may be able to reduce the number of pocket gopher mounds in a California vineyard (Browning et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Gopherbusters? A Review of the Candidacy of Barn Owls as the Ultimate Natural Pest Control Option

Kross¹,

Baldwin²

2016

vertebrate_pest_conference

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While many raptor species consume rodent pests, the behaviors and habits of barn owls make them particularly suitable candidates for consideration as a viable pest control strategy. As a cavity-nesting species, barn owls will readily nest in man-made structures including nest boxes. Barn owls are also less territorial than many other raptor species and will tolerate other pairs nesting nearby if prey is abundant. Barn owls preferentially consume rodents including voles (Microtus spp.) and pocket gophers (Thomomys spp.) in habitats where they occur, but will also switch to more abundant prey so they may be able to sustain populations even if preferred prey numbers fall. These life-history traits allow for people to inflate barn owl populations in target areas, and this has been a factor in the widespread popularity of encouraging barn owls to nest in agricultural areas to provide natural pest control of small nocturnal vertebrate pests. However, the ability of barn owls to control rodent pests has only been formally tested in Malaysian rice and palm oil agriculture, and whether barn owls are capable of controlling rodent pests to economically acceptable levels in areas such as California is as yet unknown. We extracted and combined data from field studies of barn owl nesting behavior and diet in California vineyards to predict that annually, a pair of nesting barn owls and their progeny will consume 97.85 kg of prey. We predicted that an average barn owl nest in a California vineyard will therefore consume 843 pocket gophers, 578 voles, and 1,540 other prey items, most of which are mice. At these values, a barn owl population density of one nest/10 ha may be able to offset the annual productivity of an average population of pocket gophers, but even the highest barn owl densities of one nest/2 ha would be unable to control pocket gopher populations at maximum densities and reproductive rates. While valuable for making initial predictions of the ability of owls to control small rodent pests, our prediction methods are crude, and accurately assessing the capability of barn owls to control rodent pests will require more field data and more sophisticated modeling techniques.

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“…Currently, studies on rodent pest control by raptors are restricted to particular species such as the barn owl Tyto alba (Labuschagne et al, 2016). Despite the widespread erection of nest boxes for barn owls, very few field studies have quantified how effective this is as a means of pest control (Kross, Bourbour, & Martinico, 2016;Meyrom et al, 2009;Munoz-Pedreros, Gil, Yanez, & Rau, 2010;Paz et al, 2013;Wood & Fee, 2003).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effectiveness of vole control by owls in apple orchards

Murano

Kasahara

Kudo

et al. 2018

Journal of Applied Ecology

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1. Biological pest control is gaining greater acceptance as an important part of integrated pest management for sustainable agriculture. However, knowledge regarding biological control of rodent pests is limited, and its effectiveness in temperate areas has not been quantified. In traditional Japanese apple orchards, the Ural owl Strix uralensis breeds in tree hollows and preys on the Japanese field vole Microtus montebelli, a native pest species that can harm fruit production. In this study, we hypothesised that the Ural owl, a generalist predator, can act as a biological control agent by reducing vole densities in temperate orchards.2. To quantify the pest control effects of breeding Ural owls, we first analysed the diet of individual owls nesting in apple tree hollows. Second, we installed nest boxes in orchards to attract breeding owl pairs and collected data on vole population changes around owl nests to compare with control areas. The population changes were analysed using a generalised linear mixed model to assess the effect of breeding owls within their breeding territory. The model considered seasonal fluctuations in vole population size as well as surrounding land-use. We also examined vole populations around the owl nests in April, and the distance between nests and forested areas, to determine if these variables influenced nest site selection.3. Voles were the primary prey of Ural owls breeding in orchards and the owls reduced vole populations within their estimated breeding territories by 63% (±SE: 53%-70%) compared with the predicted density without owls. Owls preferred to nest in orchards with higher vole population densities in April. Our findings also indicate that higher occupancy rates are possible by distributing nest boxes based on Ural owl breeding territory size (306 m radius circle in our study). Synthesis and applications.As breeding Ural owls provide significant pest control effects within their breeding territories, the reintroduction of breeding Ural owl pairs within orchards would contribute to rodent pest control. Promoting the reproduction of native raptors in agricultural areas can be an option for developing integrated pest management while simultaneously maintaining regional biodiversity. K E Y W O R D Sbiological pest control, generalist predator, Japanese field vole, microtine population, orchards, predator-prey, rodent pest, Ural owl How to cite this article: Murano C, Kasahara S, Kudo S, et al. Effectiveness of vole control by owls in apple orchards. J Appl

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Agricultural land use, barn owl diet, and vertebrate pest control implications

Cited by 61 publications

References 27 publications

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) Diet Composition on Intensively Used Agricultural Land in the Danube Lowland

Barn Owl (Tyto alba) Diet Composition on Intensively Used Agricultural Land in the Danube Lowland

Gopherbusters? A Review of the Candidacy of Barn Owls as the Ultimate Natural Pest Control Option

Effectiveness of vole control by owls in apple orchards

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