An Assessment of Artificial Burrows for Burrowing Owls in Northern California
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San Jose State University SJSU ScholarWorks Master's Theses Master's Theses and Graduate Research Fall 2014 An Assessment of Artificial Burrows for Burrowing Owls in Northern California Sandra Menzel San Jose State University Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses Recommended Citation Menzel, Sandra, "An Assessment of Artificial Burrows for Burrowing Owls in Northern California" (2014). Master's Theses. 4505. DOI: https://doi.org/10.31979/etd.fbs7-ck5m https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/etd_theses/4505 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Master's Theses and Graduate Research at SJSU ScholarWorks. It has been accepted for inclusion in Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of SJSU ScholarWorks. For more information, please contact [email protected]. AN ASSESSMENT OF ARTIFICIAL BURROWS FOR BURROWING OWLS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA A Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Department of Environmental Studies San José State University In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Science by Sandra Menzel December 2014 © 2014 Sandra Menzel ALL RIGHTS RESERVED The Designated Thesis Committee Approves the Thesis Titled AN ASSESSMENT OF ARTIFICIAL BURROWS FOR BURROWING OWLS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA by Sandra Menzel APPROVED FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL STUDIES SAN JOSÉ STATE UNIVERSITY December 2014 Dr. Lynne Trulio Department of Environmental Studies Dr. Scott Shaffer Department of Biological Sciences Jack Barclay M. S. Senior Wildlife Biologist at Albion Environmental, Inc. ABSTRACT AN ASSESSMENT OF ARTIFICIAL BURROWS FOR BURROWING OWLS IN NORTHERN CALIFORNIA by Sandra Menzel This study assesses artificial burrows as a management tool for burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia ) at two study sites in northern California. The results of t-tests showed that artificial burrows that received annual surface maintenance (n = 113) at one site were occupied for a significantly (p ≤ 0.003) greater number of years than non-maintained (n = 51) artificial burrows at the other site. Maintained burrows were occupied for a mean of 1.90 years (SD = 2.04), compared to a mean of 0.45 years (SD = 0.97) for non-maintained burrows. Even with maintenance, occupancy rates dropped from 31% during the first year to 8% during the third year post-installation. Maintenance or reinstallation of the entire burrow system appears to be crucial for longer-term use. The results of chi-squared goodness-of-fit tests showed no significant difference in nesting success (≥ 1 fledgling/pair) between natural and artificial burrows at either of the study sites (χ2 = 2.75 and 6.76, df = 3, p > 0.05). Of 120 burrowing owls raised in maintained artificial burrows, 70% were re-sighted occupying artificial burrows during subsequent breeding seasons, compared to 30% occupying natural burrows. Only 3% of these owls occupied their natal burrow during the first nesting season post-fledging. Of those owls that were re-sighted during two or more nesting seasons, almost half (48%) occupied different artificial burrows from one year to the next. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I thank my thesis advisor Dr. Lynne Trulio, and my committee members Dr. Scott Shaffer and Jack Barclay for their thoughtful reviews, comments, and edits on my thesis drafts. I am especially grateful to Jack for being an attentive mentor and teacher, and for generously sharing his vast knowledge and experience, as well as the data for this thesis. A brief accolade: Jack Barclay has worked on raptor conservation and research for over 35 years, including 24 years of research on burrowing owls in California. Amongst his many accomplishments is the successful management of a burrowing owl population at San José International Airport from 1989 through 2012. His proactive management approach has demonstrated how burrowing owls can be accommodated at airports without compromising aviation safety. Jack has been a member of the California Burrowing Owl Consortium since 1990 and he was chairperson of the Burrowing Owl Mitigation Committee. This committee prepared the Burrowing Owl Survey Protocol and Mitigation Guidelines, which became the basis for the Department of Fish and Game’s Staff Report on Burrowing Owl Mitigation in 1995. He organized and chaired the first California Burrowing Owl Symposium in Sacramento in 2003 and was senior editor for the Proceedings of the California Burrowing Owl Symposium, published in 2007. Jack has contributed numerous journal articles on burrowing owls to the scientific literature, including: Burrowing v Owl Management at Mineta San José International Airport (2003), A simple artificial burrow design for Burrowing Owls (2008a), A technique for nighttime trapping of Burrowing Owls with a bow net (2008b), and Long-term population dynamics of a managed burrowing owl colony (2011). Thank you, Jack, for nudging me toward graduate school, and more importantly for your diligence and vital contributions to burrowing owl conservation and research. Furthermore, I thank staff at Albion Environmental, Inc. who helped collect data at the two study sites over the years, especially Jeff Diehl and Lindsay Harman. I also thank staff at San José International Airport (especially Jerry Gutierrez and Vivian Robles) and Sharpe Depot for their support with site access, as well as artificial burrow installation and maintenance. Many thanks to my wonderful graduate cohort, friends, and family for their continued support, encouragement, and advice. Ted Fairbanks, thank you for all your superb TLC you so generously provided during my graduate studies. DEDICATION I dedicate this research to my fabulous parents, Eberhard and Ursula Menzel. Ich danke Euch dafür, dass Ihr Anja und mir die Begeisterung für die Natur und die Zuneigung zu allen Lebewesen schon früh mit auf den Weg gegeben habt. Ella – keep it up! vi TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ........................................................................................................................................ 1 LITERATURE REVIEW ............................................................................................................................ 6 ECOLOGICAL REQUIREMENTS ................................................................................................................................ 6 NATURAL NEST BURROWS ..................................................................................................................................... 8 ARTIFICIAL BURROWS .......................................................................................................................................... 11 Burrow occupancy and maintenance ......................................................................................................... 11 Nesting success and burrow choice ............................................................................................................. 13 NEST -SITE FIDELITY AND NATAL PHILOPATRY .............................................................................................. 15 PROBLEM STATEMENT ....................................................................................................................... 20 RESEARCH OBJECTIVE .......................................................................................................................................... 20 HYPOTHESES AND RESEARCH QUESTIONS ........................................................................................................ 20 METHODS ................................................................................................................................................. 22 STUDY SYSTEMS .................................................................................................................................................... 22 Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport .............................................................................. 22 Sharpe Depot .......................................................................................................................................................... 28 STUDY DESIGN ....................................................................................................................................................... 32 Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport .............................................................................. 32 Sharpe Depot .......................................................................................................................................................... 33 DATA COLLECTION ................................................................................................................................................ 33 Norman Y. Mineta San José International Airport .............................................................................. 33 Sharpe Depot .......................................................................................................................................................... 35 DATA ANALYSIS ..................................................................................................................................................... 36 RESULTS .................................................................................................................................................... 38 BURROW OCCUPANCY AND MAINTENANCE ...................................................................................................... 38 San José International