Weather Conditions Drive Dynamic Habitat Selection in a Generalist Predator

摘要: Despite the dynamic nature of habitat selection, temporal variation as arising from factors such weather are rarely quantified in species-habitat relationships. We analysed use and selection (use/availability) foraging, radio-tagged little owls (Athene noctua), a nocturnal, year-round resident generalist predator, to see how this varied function weather, season availability. Use two most frequently used land cover types, gardens/buildings cultivated fields more than 3-fold simple through linear effects wind quadratic temperature. Even when controlling for context, both types were evenly predicted availability (functional response selection). other categories (pastures moist areas) increased linearly with temperature was proportional their The study shows that by foragers may be highly dependent on variables probably because switch between feeding opportunities offered different types. An opportunistic foraging strategy landscape erratically appearing possibly also explain decreasing increasing