Abundance, Diet and Foraging of Galápagos Barn Owls (<i>Tyto furcata punctatissima</i>)
We studied Galápagos barn owls on Santa Cruz Island in the Galápagos Archipelago. We collected and analyzed pellets to determine diet composition. Barn-owl diet consisted—in terms of biomass—of ~89% rodents and ~10% insects. Bird remains occurred in 1% of the pellets. Foraging was studied with data...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-08-01
|
| Series: | Animals |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/15/2283 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1849770673809915904 |
|---|---|
| author | Hermann Wagner Sebastian Cruz Gustavo Jiménez-Uzcátegui Katherine Albán Galo Quezada Paolo Piedrahita |
| author_facet | Hermann Wagner Sebastian Cruz Gustavo Jiménez-Uzcátegui Katherine Albán Galo Quezada Paolo Piedrahita |
| author_sort | Hermann Wagner |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We studied Galápagos barn owls on Santa Cruz Island in the Galápagos Archipelago. We collected and analyzed pellets to determine diet composition. Barn-owl diet consisted—in terms of biomass—of ~89% rodents and ~10% insects. Bird remains occurred in 1% of the pellets. Foraging was studied with data loggers, a method not previously applied to the study of Galápagos barn owls. Owls rested during the day in natural and human-built roosts such as lava holes, trees, or huts. Night-time foraging was characterized by periods during which the bird moved and periods during which the bird stayed within one place, with the latter amounting to ~56% of the time away from the day roost. Birds began foraging shortly after sunset and returned to their day roost before sunrise. The duration of foraging was approximately 11 h per night. Foraging areas were small (median value: 0.28 km<sup>2</sup>). Although our data demonstrate a continued presence of the subspecies, we regard the situation for this subspecies as labile, as multiple threats, such as road kills, poisoning, and intentional killing by farmers, have increased recently, and suggest the development of a management plan to improve its conservation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-28bec16038484e8b9e71e9c1cec875e8 |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj-art-28bec16038484e8b9e71e9c1cec875e82025-08-20T03:02:55ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152025-08-011515228310.3390/ani15152283Abundance, Diet and Foraging of Galápagos Barn Owls (<i>Tyto furcata punctatissima</i>)Hermann Wagner0Sebastian Cruz1Gustavo Jiménez-Uzcátegui2Katherine Albán3Galo Quezada4Paolo Piedrahita5Institute of Biology II, RWTH Aachen University, Worringerweg 3, D-52074 Aachen, GermanyAmerican Bird Conservancy, Puerto Ayora 200102, EcuadorCharles Darwin Research Station, Charles Darwin Foundation, Galápagos, Puerto Ayora 200102, EcuadorFacultad de Ciencias de la Vida, ESPOL, Guayaquil 090902, EcuadorGalapagos National Park Directorate, Santa Cruz, Puerto Ayora 200102, EcuadorFacultad de Ciencias de la Vida, ESPOL, Guayaquil 090902, EcuadorWe studied Galápagos barn owls on Santa Cruz Island in the Galápagos Archipelago. We collected and analyzed pellets to determine diet composition. Barn-owl diet consisted—in terms of biomass—of ~89% rodents and ~10% insects. Bird remains occurred in 1% of the pellets. Foraging was studied with data loggers, a method not previously applied to the study of Galápagos barn owls. Owls rested during the day in natural and human-built roosts such as lava holes, trees, or huts. Night-time foraging was characterized by periods during which the bird moved and periods during which the bird stayed within one place, with the latter amounting to ~56% of the time away from the day roost. Birds began foraging shortly after sunset and returned to their day roost before sunrise. The duration of foraging was approximately 11 h per night. Foraging areas were small (median value: 0.28 km<sup>2</sup>). Although our data demonstrate a continued presence of the subspecies, we regard the situation for this subspecies as labile, as multiple threats, such as road kills, poisoning, and intentional killing by farmers, have increased recently, and suggest the development of a management plan to improve its conservation.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/15/2283ecosystem servicemouseforagingratdata loggerpellet |
| spellingShingle | Hermann Wagner Sebastian Cruz Gustavo Jiménez-Uzcátegui Katherine Albán Galo Quezada Paolo Piedrahita Abundance, Diet and Foraging of Galápagos Barn Owls (<i>Tyto furcata punctatissima</i>) Animals ecosystem service mouse foraging rat data logger pellet |
| title | Abundance, Diet and Foraging of Galápagos Barn Owls (<i>Tyto furcata punctatissima</i>) |
| title_full | Abundance, Diet and Foraging of Galápagos Barn Owls (<i>Tyto furcata punctatissima</i>) |
| title_fullStr | Abundance, Diet and Foraging of Galápagos Barn Owls (<i>Tyto furcata punctatissima</i>) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Abundance, Diet and Foraging of Galápagos Barn Owls (<i>Tyto furcata punctatissima</i>) |
| title_short | Abundance, Diet and Foraging of Galápagos Barn Owls (<i>Tyto furcata punctatissima</i>) |
| title_sort | abundance diet and foraging of galapagos barn owls i tyto furcata punctatissima i |
| topic | ecosystem service mouse foraging rat data logger pellet |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/15/15/2283 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT hermannwagner abundancedietandforagingofgalapagosbarnowlsitytofurcatapunctatissimai AT sebastiancruz abundancedietandforagingofgalapagosbarnowlsitytofurcatapunctatissimai AT gustavojimenezuzcategui abundancedietandforagingofgalapagosbarnowlsitytofurcatapunctatissimai AT katherinealban abundancedietandforagingofgalapagosbarnowlsitytofurcatapunctatissimai AT galoquezada abundancedietandforagingofgalapagosbarnowlsitytofurcatapunctatissimai AT paolopiedrahita abundancedietandforagingofgalapagosbarnowlsitytofurcatapunctatissimai |