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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Barn Owls (Tyto Alba) Crossing The Road - Examining The Interplay Among Occupancy, Behavior, Habitat Selection, And Roadway Mortality In Southern Idaho, Tempe Regan
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Barn Owls (Tyto alba) are killed by vehicle collisions in greater numbers than any other North American bird of prey. Interstate-84 (I-84) in southern Idaho, USA has among the world’s highest known rates of Barn Owl-vehicle collisions. Little is known about Barn Owl occupancy in this region, so it is unclear if owls are killed in proportion to their abundance, or if they are equally abundant in segments with lower mortality and somehow escape collisions. Furthermore, studies of Barn Owl movements and behavior are limited. I was interested in understanding (1) factors that affect Barn Owl occupancy in …
Earlier Nesting By A Predatory Bird Is Associated With Human Adaptations To Climate Change, Shawn Heath Smith
Earlier Nesting By A Predatory Bird Is Associated With Human Adaptations To Climate Change, Shawn Heath Smith
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
Advancing growing seasons and prey abundance drive earlier breeding in dietary specialists because, ultimately, consumers benefit by timing their reproduction to coincide with peak prey abundance. The selective pressure to breed earlier may be lower for species that forage on diverse prey items that vary in abundance both spatially and temporally. The selective pressure may be reduced further if predators have access to a mosaic of habitats, each of which having different shifts in growing seasons. We studied whether earlier breeding of a predatory generalist, the American kestrel (Falco sparverius) nesting in a mosaic of habitat types was …
Pheomelanin Pigment Is Not An Indicator Of Feather Corticosterone Content In Diurnal Migratory Raptors In Idaho, Christopher Porterfield
Pheomelanin Pigment Is Not An Indicator Of Feather Corticosterone Content In Diurnal Migratory Raptors In Idaho, Christopher Porterfield
Boise State University Theses and Dissertations
In some cases, pigmentation can be used as an indicator of measures of condition. In this study, I tested the relationship between reddish pheomelanin pigmentation and the amount of corticosterone, a hormone associated with stress, sequestered in the feathers. I predicted that with higher corticosterone in feathers individuals would exhibit increased brightness and reduced saturation of pheomelanin pigments in their feathers. I collected spectral data from feathers from American Kestrels (Falco sparverius), Cooper’s Hawks (Accipiter cooperii), and Sharp-shinned Hawks (A. striatus) during migration in southwestern Idaho over two years (2010-2011). After extracting corticosterone from …