Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) Home Ranges, Movements, and Forays Revealed by GPS-Tracking

Blakey, Rachel V.; Siegel, Rodney B.; Webb, Elisabeth B.; Dillingham, Colin P.; Johnson, Matthew D.; Kesler, Dylan C.

doi:10.3356/0892-1016-54.4.388

Cited by 3 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 33 publications

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“…The patchy and locally unpredictable nature of nectar resources may also be a strong driver of the forays that birds made outside of the tracking array. Forays are thought to allow animals to learn about landscape-level resource patterns, and prospect for new breeding sites [ 17 , 18 ]. Since nectarivores have well-developed spatiotemporal cognitive abilities [ 38 , 98 ], and ‘ōhi‘a are long-lived, ʻapapane and ʻiʻiwi likely become more familiar with local bloom patterns over time through large-scale exploration.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We used permutation tests to assess if the frequency or duration of excursions differed by cluster. Lastly, for each cluster, we quantified the frequency of “forays,” which are occasional and sporadic exploratory movements longer in distance and duration than typical foraging events [ 17 , 18 , 85 ]. For the purposes of this study, we defined forays as ≥24 h of non-detection in the ARTS network, followed by subsequent redetection.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…fidelity to a core area) can be sub-classified into finer-scale movement strategies including territoriality, in which movement is confined to a discrete and defended area [ 10 ], central place foraging, wherein animals repeatedly return to the same location between foraging trips to provision young [ 11 , 12 ], and commuting, which can be an extreme case of central place foraging [ 13 ], in which animals move between roosting or nesting areas to geographically distinct feeding sites [ 14 – 16 ]. Even typically sedentary animals can embark on occasional long-distance forays to access seasonal resources, gather information, or prospect for foraging and breeding sites [ 17 , 18 ], indicating flexibility and individual variation within movement strategies.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Individual and seasonal variation in the movement behavior of two tropical nectarivorous birds

Smetzer

Paxton

2021

Mov Ecol

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Background Movement of animals directly affects individual fitness, yet fine spatial and temporal resolution movement behavior has been studied in relatively few small species, particularly in the tropics. Nectarivorous Hawaiian honeycreepers are believed to be highly mobile throughout the year, but their fine-scale movement patterns remain unknown. The movement behavior of these crucial pollinators has important implications for forest ecology, and for mortality from avian malaria (Plasmodium relictum), an introduced disease that does not occur in high-elevation forests where Hawaiian honeycreepers primarily breed. Methods We used an automated radio telemetry network to track the movement of two Hawaiian honeycreeper species, the ʻapapane (Himatione sanguinea) and ʻiʻiwi (Drepanis coccinea). We collected high temporal and spatial resolution data across the annual cycle. We identified movement strategies using a multivariate analysis of movement metrics and assessed seasonal changes in movement behavior. Results Both species exhibited multiple movement strategies including sedentary, central place foraging, commuting, and nomadism , and these movement strategies occurred simultaneously across the population. We observed a high degree of intraspecific variability at the individual and population level. The timing of the movement strategies corresponded well with regional bloom patterns of ‘ōhi‘a (Metrosideros polymorpha) the primary nectar source for the focal species. Birds made long-distance flights, including multi-day forays outside the tracking array, but exhibited a high degree of fidelity to a core use area, even in the non-breeding period. Both species visited elevations where avian malaria can occur but exhibited little seasonal change in elevation (< 150 m) and regularly returned to high-elevation roosts at night. Conclusions This study demonstrates the power of automated telemetry to study complex and fine-scale movement behaviors in rugged tropical environments. Our work reveals a system in which birds can track shifting resources using a diverse set of movement behaviors and can facultatively respond to environmental change. Importantly, fidelity to high-elevation roosting sites minimizes nocturnal exposure to avian malaria for far-ranging individuals and is thus a beneficial behavior that may be under high selection pressure.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Individual and seasonal variation in the movement behavior of two tropical nectarivorous birds

Smetzer

Paxton

2021

Mov Ecol

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“…In the western subzone we studied 21 historic territories containing 44 different active goshawk nests and in the eastern subzone we studied 9 historic territories containing 14 different active goshawk nests (Supporting information). A breeding territory was defined as the area around the active nest defended by the breeding pair against other goshawks and showing relatively little overlap with neighbouring territories (Squires and Reynolds 1997, but see Blakey et al 2020 for home range overlap). Breeding territories were considered to be circular with a radius of 1100 m around the nest tree, and we assumed that this area included the main hunting grounds of goshawk pairs during the breeding season (as done in our previously published work, García‐Salgado et al 2018).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Anything for a quiet life: shelter from mobbers drives reproductive success in a top‐level avian predator

Rebollo

Pérez‐Camacho

Martínez-Hesterkamp

et al. 2022

Journal of Avian Biology

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Understanding how habitat structure relates to reproductive performance of species can help identify what habitats are of the highest quality for a given species and thereby guide effective management. Here, we compared the influence of prey abundance and the amount of shelter area on the relationship between habitat and breeding performance. We focused on the forest‐dwelling northern goshawk Accipiter gentilis in an agroforestry system. Using structural equation modelling, we tested the associations between reproductive performance and three explanatory factors: habitat structure, abundance of food resources or levels of mobbing disturbance, and prey supply to the nest. Our results suggest that habitat structure influences reproductive performance through shelter rather than through prey abundance. During the study period, forested habitats in the breeding territories provided shelter to the goshawk, reducing disturbance by carrion crows Corvus corone, which acted as large, aggressive, social mobbers. Decreased disturbance increased prey supply to the nest, probably because it favored food accessibility and male goshawk foraging efficiency. Habitat was not significantly associated with quality of the breeders, both in terms of body size and seniority in the territories. Our findings suggest that reproductive performance, and therefore habitat quality, may depend more on sheltered access to food resources than on the amount of food available. Our observation that mobbers decrease predator foraging efficiency highlights the possibility of designing effective, socially acceptable predator management strategies to protect sensitive domestic prey.

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“…It describes the space requirements of individuals of the species, and when combined with knowledge of home range overlap, informs key population parameters including density, carrying capacity, and number of potential breeders (Morales et al 2010). Placement and size of raptor home ranges has been used to assess the utilization and effectiveness of protected areas (Margalida et al 2016, Blakey et al 2020), whereas seasonal variation in range size has clarified the potential threat of wind energy development (Braham et al 2015). Home range size may also serve as a useful metric of habitat quality (e.g., Forsman et al 2005, Kouba et al 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High-resolution GPS Tracking of American Kestrels Reveals Breeding and Post-Breeding Ranging Behavior in Northern Virginia, USA

Kolowski,

Wolfer,

McDaniels

et al. 2023

Journal of Raptor Research

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Long-term monitoring data indicate a persistent decline in American Kestrel populations across North America. Loss or alteration of habitat have been listed as potential causal factors, but basic information on kestrel space use, including breeding home range size, is lacking. No study has provided robust estimates of the ranging behavior of breeding kestrels based on tracking data of any resolution. We fitted 19 adult female kestrels with solar-powered GPS transmitters during the incubation period in northern Virginia. High-resolution tracking began during the early nestling stage for 17 birds. We collected an average of 1710 locations per bird through the end of the breeding season (31 August), with 13 birds tracked through the fledging of their young. Autocorrelated kernel density home range estimation showed that female kestrels used breeding home ranges that were smaller (average: 0.32 km2) than most previously published range sizes. Home ranges did not vary significantly in size across breeding stages and demonstrated little overlap with the ranges of neighboring kestrels. Five females shifted their territories in the post-breeding stage (i.e., after disappearance or dispersal of fledglings) between 1.5 and 12.3 km from their nest box; they maintained these new ranges at least to the migration period. We also documented home range excursion forays (n = 128) by all 12 consistently tracked females. Mean (4.0 km) and maximum (127.7 km) foray distances were some of the largest reported among birds and mammals relative to home range size. Weekly foray rates were highest during the nestling stage, and for birds that ultimately shifted from their breeding home range. The existence of long-distance foray behavior and the use of multiple summer home ranges, both shown here for the first time for this species, has a direct impact on interpretation of kestrel nest-site and habitat selection data, and on the assessment of potential threats to this species in the breeding season.

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Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) Home Ranges, Movements, and Forays Revealed by GPS-Tracking

Cited by 3 publications

References 33 publications

Individual and seasonal variation in the movement behavior of two tropical nectarivorous birds

Individual and seasonal variation in the movement behavior of two tropical nectarivorous birds

Anything for a quiet life: shelter from mobbers drives reproductive success in a top‐level avian predator

High-resolution GPS Tracking of American Kestrels Reveals Breeding and Post-Breeding Ranging Behavior in Northern Virginia, USA

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