Date: March 12, 2019
Source: University of Freiburg
The
little owl, Athene noctua, is a small nocturnal owl and is classified as an
endangered species on the German Red List. In recent years the existing
population of little owls has successfully been stabilized in the south-west of
Germany, and in some places numbers are even rising. In neighboring northern
Switzerland on the other hand there is still no established population of
little owls, even though habitat conditions seem suitable for the species. Now,
a team of researchers headed by Severin Hauenstein from the Department of Biometry
and Environmental Systems Analysis at the University of Freiburg has researched
whether juvenile little owls from Germany could reach and re-colonize northern
Switzerland. The scientists have published their results in the peer-reviewed
journal Ecological Applications.
"It
is difficult to predict how animals will disperse," says Hauenstein. To
explore the dispersal potential of little owls, he and his colleagues from the
Swiss Ornithological Institute in Sempach, Switzerland, the German Centre for
Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle-Jena-Leipzig (iDiv), the Helmholtz
Centre for Environmental Research in Leipzig and the University of Regensburg
have developed an individual-based computer model. Using simulations, the
researchers are able to assess whether individuals from the currently expanding
little owl populations in south-western Germany are able to migrate to suitable
habitats in northern Switzerland. Intensive farming and a steady loss of
habitat has caused virtual extinction of the little owl in Switzerland.
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