Nest-Site Selection of Golden Eagles and Ferruginous Hawks and Diet Composition of Sensitive Raptor Species Using Metabarcoding Analysis in the Uinta Basin and Ashley National Forest, UT, USA
Development and climate change in the sagebrush habitats are causing population declines of North American hawks and eagles. For these species, understanding the landscape features that are preferred for nesting and the prey they consume in sagebrush habitats are important in developing conservation...
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ftdatacite:10.26076/4871-47a5 2023-05-15T18:49:22+02:00 Nest-Site Selection of Golden Eagles and Ferruginous Hawks and Diet Composition of Sensitive Raptor Species Using Metabarcoding Analysis in the Uinta Basin and Ashley National Forest, UT, USA Hopkins, Dylan J. 2019 https://dx.doi.org/10.26076/4871-47a5 https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7584 unknown Utah State University Text article-journal ScholarlyArticle 2019 ftdatacite https://doi.org/10.26076/4871-47a5 2021-11-05T12:55:41Z Development and climate change in the sagebrush habitats are causing population declines of North American hawks and eagles. For these species, understanding the landscape features that are preferred for nesting and the prey they consume in sagebrush habitats are important in developing conservation plans. Specifically, we know little of the preferred nest-sites and diet of Ferruginous Hawks (Buteo regalis) and Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) many locales. In our study, we determined the landscape characteristics associated with nest sites for these two raptor species in the Uintah Basin, UT to predict where nests may occur in our study area. We found that slope, elevation, distance to nearest oil and gas wells, geology, and facing south were the most important variables in characterizing Golden Eagle nest-sites. Elevation, slope, vegetation type, and distance to nearest oil and gas wells were the most important variables in characterizing Ferruginous Hawk nest-sites. In addition, we looked at the diets of Golden Eagles, Ferruginous Hawks, and Northern Goshawks in the Uinta Basin, UT using a genetic analysis method novel to raptors. We found species consistent with previous diet studies and detected prey items not previously reported, including the Western Whiptail (Aspidocelis tigris), Domestic Cow (Bos Taurus), Domestic Pig (Sus scrofa), and Rock Bass (Amboplites rupestris) within Ferruginous Hawk samples. Results from our study can provide managers with tools to better survey for nest-sites and to provide an alternative method of diet analysis to provide insight into prey species important to these raptors. Text Aquila chrysaetos golden eagle DataCite Metadata Store (German National Library of Science and Technology) |
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Development and climate change in the sagebrush habitats are causing population declines of North American hawks and eagles. For these species, understanding the landscape features that are preferred for nesting and the prey they consume in sagebrush habitats are important in developing conservation plans. Specifically, we know little of the preferred nest-sites and diet of Ferruginous Hawks (Buteo regalis) and Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) many locales. In our study, we determined the landscape characteristics associated with nest sites for these two raptor species in the Uintah Basin, UT to predict where nests may occur in our study area. We found that slope, elevation, distance to nearest oil and gas wells, geology, and facing south were the most important variables in characterizing Golden Eagle nest-sites. Elevation, slope, vegetation type, and distance to nearest oil and gas wells were the most important variables in characterizing Ferruginous Hawk nest-sites. In addition, we looked at the diets of Golden Eagles, Ferruginous Hawks, and Northern Goshawks in the Uinta Basin, UT using a genetic analysis method novel to raptors. We found species consistent with previous diet studies and detected prey items not previously reported, including the Western Whiptail (Aspidocelis tigris), Domestic Cow (Bos Taurus), Domestic Pig (Sus scrofa), and Rock Bass (Amboplites rupestris) within Ferruginous Hawk samples. Results from our study can provide managers with tools to better survey for nest-sites and to provide an alternative method of diet analysis to provide insight into prey species important to these raptors. |
format |
Text |
author |
Hopkins, Dylan J. |
spellingShingle |
Hopkins, Dylan J. Nest-Site Selection of Golden Eagles and Ferruginous Hawks and Diet Composition of Sensitive Raptor Species Using Metabarcoding Analysis in the Uinta Basin and Ashley National Forest, UT, USA |
author_facet |
Hopkins, Dylan J. |
author_sort |
Hopkins, Dylan J. |
title |
Nest-Site Selection of Golden Eagles and Ferruginous Hawks and Diet Composition of Sensitive Raptor Species Using Metabarcoding Analysis in the Uinta Basin and Ashley National Forest, UT, USA |
title_short |
Nest-Site Selection of Golden Eagles and Ferruginous Hawks and Diet Composition of Sensitive Raptor Species Using Metabarcoding Analysis in the Uinta Basin and Ashley National Forest, UT, USA |
title_full |
Nest-Site Selection of Golden Eagles and Ferruginous Hawks and Diet Composition of Sensitive Raptor Species Using Metabarcoding Analysis in the Uinta Basin and Ashley National Forest, UT, USA |
title_fullStr |
Nest-Site Selection of Golden Eagles and Ferruginous Hawks and Diet Composition of Sensitive Raptor Species Using Metabarcoding Analysis in the Uinta Basin and Ashley National Forest, UT, USA |
title_full_unstemmed |
Nest-Site Selection of Golden Eagles and Ferruginous Hawks and Diet Composition of Sensitive Raptor Species Using Metabarcoding Analysis in the Uinta Basin and Ashley National Forest, UT, USA |
title_sort |
nest-site selection of golden eagles and ferruginous hawks and diet composition of sensitive raptor species using metabarcoding analysis in the uinta basin and ashley national forest, ut, usa |
publisher |
Utah State University |
publishDate |
2019 |
url |
https://dx.doi.org/10.26076/4871-47a5 https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/etd/7584 |
genre |
Aquila chrysaetos golden eagle |
genre_facet |
Aquila chrysaetos golden eagle |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.26076/4871-47a5 |
_version_ |
1766242960531259392 |