Modeling Late-Summer Distribution of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the Western United States.
Increasing development across the western United States (USA) elevates concerns about effects on wildlife resources; the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is of special concern in this regard. Knowledge of golden eagle abundance and distribution across the western USA must be improved to help identif...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:05c0ffda685c46d59121cea855677fb3 2023-05-15T18:49:20+02:00 Modeling Late-Summer Distribution of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the Western United States. Ryan M Nielson Robert K Murphy Brian A Millsap William H Howe Grant Gardner 2016-01-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159271 https://doaj.org/article/05c0ffda685c46d59121cea855677fb3 EN eng Public Library of Science (PLoS) http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4996490?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0159271 https://doaj.org/article/05c0ffda685c46d59121cea855677fb3 PLoS ONE, Vol 11, Iss 8, p e0159271 (2016) Medicine R Science Q article 2016 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159271 2023-01-08T01:26:47Z Increasing development across the western United States (USA) elevates concerns about effects on wildlife resources; the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is of special concern in this regard. Knowledge of golden eagle abundance and distribution across the western USA must be improved to help identify and conserve areas of major importance to the species. We used distance sampling and visual mark-recapture procedures to estimate golden eagle abundance from aerial line-transect surveys conducted across four Bird Conservation Regions in the western USA between 15 August and 15 September in 2006-2010, 2012, and 2013. To assess golden eagle-habitat relationships at this scale, we modeled counts of golden eagles seen during surveys in 2006-2010, adjusted for probability of detection, and used land cover and other environmental factors as predictor variables within 20-km2 sampling units randomly selected from survey transects. We found evidence of positive relationships between intensity of use by golden eagles and elevation, solar radiation, and mean wind speed, and of negative relationships with the proportion of landscape classified as forest or as developed. The model accurately predicted habitat use observed during surveys conducted in 2012 and 2013. We used the model to construct a map predicting intensity of use by golden eagles during late summer across our ~2 million-km2 study area. The map can be used to help prioritize landscapes for conservation efforts, identify areas where mitigation efforts may be most effective, and identify regions for additional research and monitoring. In addition, our map can be used to develop region-specific (e.g., state-level) density estimates based on the latest information on golden eagle abundance from a late-summer survey and aid designation of geographic management units for the species. Article in Journal/Newspaper Aquila chrysaetos golden eagle Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles PLOS ONE 11 8 e0159271 |
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language |
English |
topic |
Medicine R Science Q |
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Medicine R Science Q Ryan M Nielson Robert K Murphy Brian A Millsap William H Howe Grant Gardner Modeling Late-Summer Distribution of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the Western United States. |
topic_facet |
Medicine R Science Q |
description |
Increasing development across the western United States (USA) elevates concerns about effects on wildlife resources; the golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is of special concern in this regard. Knowledge of golden eagle abundance and distribution across the western USA must be improved to help identify and conserve areas of major importance to the species. We used distance sampling and visual mark-recapture procedures to estimate golden eagle abundance from aerial line-transect surveys conducted across four Bird Conservation Regions in the western USA between 15 August and 15 September in 2006-2010, 2012, and 2013. To assess golden eagle-habitat relationships at this scale, we modeled counts of golden eagles seen during surveys in 2006-2010, adjusted for probability of detection, and used land cover and other environmental factors as predictor variables within 20-km2 sampling units randomly selected from survey transects. We found evidence of positive relationships between intensity of use by golden eagles and elevation, solar radiation, and mean wind speed, and of negative relationships with the proportion of landscape classified as forest or as developed. The model accurately predicted habitat use observed during surveys conducted in 2012 and 2013. We used the model to construct a map predicting intensity of use by golden eagles during late summer across our ~2 million-km2 study area. The map can be used to help prioritize landscapes for conservation efforts, identify areas where mitigation efforts may be most effective, and identify regions for additional research and monitoring. In addition, our map can be used to develop region-specific (e.g., state-level) density estimates based on the latest information on golden eagle abundance from a late-summer survey and aid designation of geographic management units for the species. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Ryan M Nielson Robert K Murphy Brian A Millsap William H Howe Grant Gardner |
author_facet |
Ryan M Nielson Robert K Murphy Brian A Millsap William H Howe Grant Gardner |
author_sort |
Ryan M Nielson |
title |
Modeling Late-Summer Distribution of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the Western United States. |
title_short |
Modeling Late-Summer Distribution of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the Western United States. |
title_full |
Modeling Late-Summer Distribution of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the Western United States. |
title_fullStr |
Modeling Late-Summer Distribution of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the Western United States. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Modeling Late-Summer Distribution of Golden Eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the Western United States. |
title_sort |
modeling late-summer distribution of golden eagles (aquila chrysaetos) in the western united states. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159271 https://doaj.org/article/05c0ffda685c46d59121cea855677fb3 |
genre |
Aquila chrysaetos golden eagle |
genre_facet |
Aquila chrysaetos golden eagle |
op_source |
PLoS ONE, Vol 11, Iss 8, p e0159271 (2016) |
op_relation |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4996490?pdf=render https://doaj.org/toc/1932-6203 1932-6203 doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0159271 https://doaj.org/article/05c0ffda685c46d59121cea855677fb3 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0159271 |
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PLOS ONE |
container_volume |
11 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
e0159271 |
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