An unexpected backyard hunter: breeding Barred Owls exhibit plasticity in habitat selection along a development gradient

Despite extensive accounts in the literature describing Barred Owls (Strix varia) as obligate forest-interior species, Barred Owls have increasingly been observed in urbanized landscapes. To determine if certain habitat characteristics, such as mature urban trees, facilitate the occurrence of Barred Owls in developed regions, we deployed GPS transmitters on 20 breeding Barred Owls in northwestern South Carolina. We selected territories containing a gradient of development density and habitat types to examine predictors of home range size and habitat selection along an urban-rural gradient. We related nocturnal locations to habitat features using resource selection functions (RSFs). We explored differential use along a development gradient by modeling interactions between habitat parameters and measures of development in the home range. Home range size varied from 0.38 km2 to 3.38 km2; size increased with the percentage of treeless area in the territory such as agricultural fields and power lines. Distance to nest, tree height, and distance to canopy edge were the most important predictors of owl use. Barred Owl selection for roadsides and aquatic features increased with degree of fragmentation in the home range. This is the first resource selection study using GPS data to examine habitat use of Barred Owls in the context of development. Our results highlight the behavioral plasticity of a species previously described as sensitive to anthropogenic impacts. The presence of this large avian predator in urban forests suggests that retaining key habitat features can promote multi-trophic communities even when other aspects of the habitat are highly altered.