Satellite tracking technology was used to acquire previously unavailable data relating to habitat use, dispersal and survivorship of juvenile Peregrine Falcons, a species currently designated as “Endangered” in Manitoba. A partnership between Manitoba Conservation, Manitoba Hydro, the Sustainable Development Innovations Fund of the Province of Manitoba, Parkland Mews Falconry and Bird of Prey Education Centre, and the University of Manitoba facilitated the purchase and deployment of twenty solar-powered Global Positioning System-enabled Platform Transmitting Terminals (PTTs). Thirty Peregrine Falcons were equipped with PTTs between 2011 and 2013, including both wild and hacked falcons. Home range analysis based on kernel density estimation identified a space-filling pattern of landscape use as peregrines dispersed from the natal areas. Habitat associations determined for PTT-equipped peregrines confirm their association with open habitats, human developments and aquatic areas. Conversely, peregrines were generally not found in areas characterized by dense tree cover. Throughout the study area, juvenile falcons readily utilized human features including the support structures comprising the Manitoba Hydro Distribution and Sub-Transmission Line network. The period following fledging and dispersal from the natal area was characterized by expansive movement quantified using a Brownian Bridge Movement Model. The importance of the natal area was evident throughout the dispersal period. Fifteen falcons (50%) survived to initiate fall migration. Of these, ten (33%) successfully reached wintering grounds located in the United States, Mexico, and Belize. Four Peregrine Falcons were confirmed alive to project end (13%). Sixteen of 30 Peregrine Falcons were confirmed dead during the study period (53%); mortality was suspected for seven others (23%). Survivorship outcomes could not be determined for three falcons (10%). All of the observed mortality occurred during the first year of life. Although the annual production of peregrines in Manitoba currently shows an increasing trend, the population has not yet demonstrated the stability and growth to be considered secure. Ensuring a stable population will require continued active management. The provincial population may also benefit from supplementation based on delayed hack techniques. / May 2017

Abstract The protection of endangered species requires knowledge about the habitat requirements and the genetic issues related to the population viability. In this doctoral thesis, I defined the breeding habitat features of the Finnish populations of the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) and the Peregrine Falcon (Falco peregrinus) by applying habitat suitability modelling. Secondly, I studied the conservation genetic issues of the Finnish population of the White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) and the two Reed Bunting subspecies Emberiza schoeniclus witherbyi and E.s. lusitanica met in the Iberian Peninsula. All study populations are classified as threatened according to IUCN classification and they have experienced declines in population sizes in recent history. My results from habitat suitability models showed that human-induced changes in habitat threaten the Golden Eagle in Finland. The relative suitability for the species presence dropped to zero when the proportion of human altered landscape (agricultural or urbanized areas) in the core of the breeding habitat (4 km2) was more than 5%. Models further showed that habitat structure influences breeding habitat selection of the Peregrine Falcon, as it favours well-connected areas of open peatlands. Therefore, fragmentation (i.e., decreasing the connectivity) of open peatlands decreases the habitat quality for the species. The White-tailed Eagle has recovered mainly through local growth, but my results suggest that gene flow from neighbouring populations has had an impact as well, and has enhanced the genetic viability of the Finnish population. The current structure of the two subpopulations (one along the Baltic Sea coast line and another inland in Northern Finland) results mainly from the species’ ecology (i.e., philopatric behaviour), not from the recent population bottlenecks. The effective population size estimate of the coastal subpopulation of White-tailed Eagle was below the critical size needed to maintain evolutionary potential. The estimates of the effective population sizes for E.s. lusitanica and E.s. witherbyi and inland subpopulation of White-tailed Eagle were close or below the critical level of 50, which makes them prone to losing fitness due to inbreeding depression in the short term. Therefore, these study populations need to increase in size in order to secure population viability in the future. / Tiivistelmä Ihmisen aiheuttamat elinympäristöjen muutokset uhkaavat biodiversiteettiä kasvattamalla yhä useampien eliölajien sukupuuttoriskiä. Tehokkaat suojelutoimenpiteet edellyttävät tietoa uhanalaisten lajien elinympäristövaatimuksista sekä populaation elinkyvylle keskeisistä geneettisistä tekijöistä. Tarkastelen väitöskirjatyössäni maakotkan (Aquila chrysaetos) sekä muuttohaukan (Falco peregrinus) Suomen populaatioiden pesimäympäristön piirteitä maisemaekologisen mallinnuksen avulla. Toiseksi tarkastelen Suomen merikotkapopulaation (Haliaeetus albicilla) sekä Iberian niemimaalla esiintyvien pajusirkun alalajien Emberiza schoeniclus witherbyin ja E.s. lusitanican suojelun kannalta tärkeitä geneettisiä tekijöitä. Kaikki tutkimuspopulaatiot ovat uhanalaisia ja ne ovat kärsineet voimakkaista kannan pienenemisistä. Maisemaekologiset mallit osoittivat maakotkan välttävän ihmisen muokkaamaa ympäristöä (maatalousalueet ja rakennetut alueet). Lajin esiintymistodennäköisyys laski nopeasti nollaan, kun ihmisen muokkaaman ympäristön osuus nousi yli 5 prosenttiin pesimäympäristön ydinalueella (4 km2). Mallit osoittivat maiseman rakenteen vaikuttavan muuttohaukan habitaatinvalintaan, sillä se suosi pesimäympäristönään kytkeytyneitä avosoita. Avosoiden pirstoutuminen (l. kytkeytyneisyyden väheneminen) vähentää näin ollen muuttohaukan pesimäympäristön laatua. Merikotkapopulaatio on toipunut pääosin paikallisen kasvun myötä, mutta tulokseni viittaavat myös siihen, että geenivirta naapurimaiden populaatioista on lisännyt Suomen populaation geneettistä muuntelua. Nykyinen rakenne (rannikon ja Lapin alapopulaatiot) on seurausta lajin synnyinpaikkauskollisuudesta, ei niinkään populaatiokoon romahduksista. Rannikon merikotkapopulaation efektiivinen koko jäi alle kriittisen rajan, joka tarvitaan evolutiivisen potentiaalin säilymiselle. Pajusirkun alalajien sekä Lapin merikotkapopulaation efektiiviset populaatiokoot olivat lähellä kriittisenä pidettyä 50:tä tai jäivät alle, joten ne ovat vaarassa menettää kelpoisuutta sukusiitosdepression seurauksena lyhyellä aikavälillä. Sekä pajusirkun alalajien että merikotkapopulaatioiden tulee sen vuoksi kasvaa säilyäkseen elinvoimaisina tulevaisuudessa.