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Identifying habitat sinks: a case study of Cooper’s hawks in an urban environment

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Abstract

We studied a population of Cooper’s hawks (Accipiter cooperii) in Tucson, Arizona from 1994 to 2005. High rates of mortality of nestlings from an urban-related disease prompted speculation that the area represented an ecological trap and habitat sink for Cooper’s hawks. In this paper, we used estimates of survival and productivity from 11years of monitoring to develop an estimate of the rate of population change, λ, for Cooper’s hawks in the area. We used a Cormack–Jolly–Seber approach to estimate survival of breeding hawks, and a stochastic, stage-based matrix to estimate λ. Despite the urban-related disease, the estimate of λ indicated that the area does not function as a habitat sink for Cooper’s hawks (\(\widehat\lambda \)= 1.11 ± 0.047; P = 0.0073 for the null of λ ≤ 1). Because data required to reliably identify habitat sinks are extensive and difficult to acquire, we suggest that the concept of habitat sinks be applied cautiously until substantiated with reliable empirical evidence.

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Acknowledgements

We thank anonymous referees for comments on earlier drafts of this manuscript. Assistance in the field was provided by R. N. Mannan and C. A. Schmidt. The project was supported by the Arizona Game and Fish Department Heritage Fund (U94010, U95009, U98006), and the University of Arizona Agricultural Experiment Station.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Natural Resources, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ, 85721, USA

    R. William Mannan & Robert J. Steidl

  2. USGS Texas Cooperative Fish & Wildlife Research Unit, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX, 79409, USA

    Clint W. Boal

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  1. R. William Mannan
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  2. Robert J. Steidl
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  3. Clint W. Boal
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Correspondence to R. William Mannan.

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Mannan, R.W., Steidl, R.J. & Boal, C.W. Identifying habitat sinks: a case study of Cooper’s hawks in an urban environment. Urban Ecosyst 11, 141–148 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-008-0056-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11252-008-0056-9

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