Several species of raptors are found in prairie landscapes managed and enhanced for waterfowl. Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis ) and Great Horned Owls (Bubo virginianus) may benefit from such management in a manner that is counter to its goals and objectives; that is, waterfowl may comprise a significant proportion of their diet, resulting in a decline in waterfowl numbers. The overall aims of this three-year study were to determine whether the feeding habits of the two raptor species are selective and to determine if waterfowl is a preferred prey group. The diet was determined through pellet analysis, prey remains and direct nest observations during the nestling growth period. Availability of most prey species was assessed through small mammal trapping and by conducting waterfowl censuses. It was determined that both raptors select for duck species. The average waterfowl biomass consumed per nestling represented 21.5% of the total biomass consumed for Great Horned Owls and 23.5% for Red-tailed Hawks. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.29464 |
| Date | January 2002 |
| Creators | Pauzé, Marc D. |
| Contributors | Titman, R. D. (advisor), Bird, D. M. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Natural Resource Sciences.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001956902, proquestno: MQ85815, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
Page generated in 0.0032 seconds