Invertebrate-biased diet of burrowing owls in a newly-restored coastal grassland

By

Ostwald, Madeleine
Sulliva, Kyra
Stratton, Lisa
Rickard, Alison
Seltmann, Katja

Type

Article

Date of Publication

2024

Original Publication

Nature conservation

Volume

56

Pages

151--159

Subjects

Athene cunicularia , Burrowing owl , Food web , raptor , Restoration ecology , rodent

Contributed by

Pensoft Publishers

Language

English

Published by

Sofia, Bulgaria Pensoft Publishers 2012-

Identifiers

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3897/natureconservation.56.127231

 

Abstract

Recovering biodiversity across trophic levels is a major challenge in restoration ecology. Specifically, predator population recovery depends on the timely re-establishment of their preferred prey species in restored habitats. Here, we evaluate potential dietary factors contributing to the loss of western burrowing owls (Athene cunicularia hypugaea (Bonaparte, 1825)) from a newly-restored coastal grassland. We examined owl pellets and found that burrowing owl diets were relatively low in vertebrate prey during their brief occupation of the restoration site (2.6% of prey items; found in 61.8% of sampled pellets). We suggest that preferred food limitation may have been one contributor to the loss of owls from the restoration site. These findings suggest the need to prioritise re-establishment of prey communities for effective long-term recovery of burrowing owls in restored landscapes.