Loggerhead shrike (<i>lanius ludovicianus L</i>) foraging patch and perch selection

<p>Loggerhead shrikes have disappeared across much of their former range, most likely due to habitat loss. I studied the habitat shrikes prefer for foraging. Shrikes forage from a perch on prey that they see in the surrounding vegetation. When I mowed the vegetation on one side of selected perches, shrikes strongly preferred to forage on the mowed side even though prey biomass was far lower on this side. These results suggest that access to prey is important to shrikes rather than simply the total amount of prey in a habitat. Within territories, shrikes chose to perch on dead or partially dead trees more often than expected. I constructed artificial perches surrounded by leafy branches, dead branches, or no branches. Shrikes preferred artificial perches surrounded by dead branches. These results suggest that shrikes utilize perches with a good view of potential prey that also provide cover from potential attacks by predators.</p>

Name thesis:degree_name

Master of Science (MS)

Level thesis:degree_level

Open Access Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Biology

Year

2006

Author dc:creator

• Becker, Miles

Contributors dc:contributor

• Peter Bednekoff, PhD, Chair
• Catherine Bach, PhD
• Jamin Eisenbach, PhD

• Loggerhead shrike Habitat
• Loggerhead shrike
• Biology

Repository record dc:identifier

https://commons.emich.edu/theses/87

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:commons.emich.edu:theses-1086