Raptor abundance and diversity and red-shouldered hawk ( Buteo lineatus) habitat characteristics on reclaimed mountaintop mines in southern West Virginia

Raptor abundance and diversity were compared between 4 treatments (grassland, shrub/pole, fragmented forest, and intact forest) over 3 seasons (migration, summer, and winter) on 3 mountaintop/valley fill mines in southern West Virginia. Habitat characteristics of Red-shouldered Hawks (Buteo lineatus) were examined at landscape and microhabitat scales. Forty-eight points were surveyed monthly (Feb. 2000--Jan. 2001) using broadcast calls. I quantified microhabitat characteristics within an 11.3 m radius plot and landscape characteristics within 1000 and 564 m buffer zones at each point. Abundance was highest in grasslands; richness did not differ among treatments. Overall, I detected a shift from a forest to a grassland raptor community. Red-shouldered Hawks were the most common woodland raptor species, occurring almost exclusively in the 2 forest treatments, particularly in the intact forest. Amount of wetland in the landscape was the key characteristic determining presence of Red-shouldered Hawks. Woody debris was positively related to their abundance.

Name thesis:degree_name

MS

Level thesis:degree_level

Thesis

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Wildlife and Fisheries Resources

Year dc:date.available

2001

Author dc:creator

• Balcerzak, Melissa J.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Petra Bohall Wood.

• Forestry
• Ecology
• Zoology

Identifier

https://researchrepository.wvu.edu/etd/1346

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:researchrepository.wvu.edu:etd-2349