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School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
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Prey Selection By Birds Of Prey, Anisha Pokharel
Prey Selection By Birds Of Prey, Anisha Pokharel
School of Biological Sciences: Dissertations, Theses, and Student Research
Prey selection is key to determine predator prey interaction and understanding the complexity of food web structure. In this thesis, we used two different approaches to understanding prey selection by North American birds of prey. Using a conventional method, in Chapter 1 we compared pellet analysis and trapping data to assess patterns of prey selection of barn owls in western Nebraska. Microtus spp. comprised 55.8% of the prey items in the barn owl’s diet. The proportion of several prey types in the diet were significantly different from the expected proportion based on trapping. This pattern may indicate barn owls actively …