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Cavity dynamics and breeding success of the Lanyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans)

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Abstract

The Lanyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans) breeds in natural tree cavities on Lanyu (Orchid Island), a subtropical island off the southeastern coast of Taiwan in the western Pacific. There are no cavity-making birds or mammals on the island. This study attempted to understand the relationship between this owl’s cavity use and breeding success. In a 10-ha study site, all cavities on all trees with a diameter breast height larger than 18 cm were documented. There were 257 cavities in 119 trees, and 94 of them were used by owls at least once during the study period. The detailed location and size of these 94 cavities in 74 trees were recorded and monitored. From 1999 to 2006, more than 80% of breeding owls were color-marked and their cavity use and breeding success were tracked. Nest trees were taller than other trees, and cavities used by owls were higher above the ground, and larger than unused cavities. Unused cavities were mostly unsuitable due to flooding or decay, or were on trees already containing a nest. Regardless of how many cavities there were on a tree, a single tree never had more than one Lanyu Scops Owl nest at a given time. More than 60% of the 94 cavities were used multiple times. Cavity occupancy frequently showed gaps, usually following breeding failure. Cavity quality (the proportion of years a cavity was used during the study) and female quality (the proportion of years an owl bred out of the total number of years it competed for cavities) significantly contributed to the average fledging success of owls, but male quality did not.

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Acknowledgments

This study was supported by grants from the National Science Council of Taiwan and the Research Center for Biodiversity, Academia Sinica, Taiwan. Chien-hung Yang, Mark Philippart, Jerome Chien, I-hua Lin, Chien-wei Kuan, Shih-cheng Huang, Wen-chun Li, and Chin-kuo Lee climbed trees numerous times to measure cavities and helped with field work in general. Chin-Kuo Lee, Shih-fan Chan, Wen-yin Hu and Dr. Ming-chih Wang helped with data analyses. Ms. Shu-chun Chen and Dr. Pi-chiang Li kindly gave advice on data analysis. Dr. Cheng-heng Hu assisted in the identification of the ants. Two reviewers provided valuable comments that greatly improved the manuscript. To all of them, I wish to express my deepest gratitude. All work done related to this study complied with the laws of Taiwan.

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  1. Academia Sinica, Taipei, Taiwan

    Lucia Liu Severinghaus

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  1. Lucia Liu Severinghaus
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Correspondence to Lucia Liu Severinghaus.

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Communicated by F. Bairlein.

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Severinghaus, L.L. Cavity dynamics and breeding success of the Lanyu Scops Owl (Otus elegans). J Ornithol 148 (Suppl 2), 407–416 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-007-0249-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10336-007-0249-7

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