2001 Blodgett Forest Research Symposium Research Projects | Research Publications | Back to TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT 20 Demography of the Spotted Owl in the Central Sierra Nevada Mark E. Seamans and R .J. Gutiérrez

We studied the population dynamics of California spotted owls (Strix occidentalis occidentalis) in the central Sierra Nevada. We assessed reproductive status at 62 territories on 253 occasions over a 10 year period and recorded 714 captures of 210 individuals over a 14 year period. Reproduction varied temporally but did not exhibit any noticeable trends whereas survival followed a quadratic pattern, with owls experiencing higher survival during the middle of the study. Demographic parameter estimates indicated that the population was declining at 5.2% (SE = 2.6) per year from 1990-99. Although conditions behind this decline may change in the future, these results suggest a conservative approach to management of spotted owls and their habitat in the central Sierra Nevada.

Contact Author: Mark E. Seamans, Fisheries and Wildlife Department, University of Minnesota, 200 Hodson Hall, St. Paul, MN 55108, (612)624-7709, seama005@tc.umn.edu

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