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Anthropogenic subsidies and wildfire influence density, occupancy, and species interactions of three avian predators
Anthropogenic subsidies and disturbance can benefit generalist avian species by providing additional food, nesting, and perching resources. In the sagebrush biome, anthropogenic subsidies have led to increases in the number of common ravens (Corvus corax; hereafter ravens), red‐tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), and Swainson's hawks (Buteo swainsoni), but it is unclear how wildfire disturbance may be affecting these species. We used 6 years of count data (2017–2022) to investigate the effects of anthropogenic subsidies and wildfire on density, occupancy, interspecific density dependence, and interactions of these three sympatric predators in five study areas in eastern Oregon. Estimated mean relative densities for all species varied annually, ranging from 1.00 to 2.05 km−2 for ravens, from 0.46 to 1.09 km−2 for red‐tailed hawks, and from 0.07 to 0.38 km−2 for Swainson's hawks. Mean occupancy probability was 0.78 across all study areas for red‐tailed hawks and varied by study area for ravens and Swainson's hawks, ranging from 0.62 to 0.94 and from 0.70 to 0.97, respectively. N‐mixture and occupancy models indicated that anthropogenic subsidies and recent wildfires (≤10 years) were positively associated with the density and occupancy of ravens and red‐tailed hawks. However, only road density was associated with the occupancy of Swainson's hawks. There were no interspecific density‐dependent effects for ravens and red‐tailed hawks, but Swainson's hawk density decreased as densities of ravens and red‐tailed hawks increased. Multispecies occupancy models indicated that most occupancy probabilities associated with anthropogenic subsidies were independent of allospecific presence. However, occupancy probabilities were influenced by wildfire, indicating negative interactions between Swainson's hawks and ravens but positive interactions between Swainson's and red‐tailed hawks. Our results provide evidence that anthropogenic subsidies create hotspots of generalist predators in sagebrush ecosystems fragmented by wildfire. These increased densities may lead to human–wildlife conflicts, displacement of specialist predator species, and greater risk of predation to prey species of conservation concern.
Journal Article
Red-tailed hawk vs. Burmese python
A bird and a snake may not seem like they could have much in common, but the red-tailed hawk and Burmese python are both skilled hunters. In a fight, they'd each bring quite a bit to the table. This thrilling book is packed with information that compares and contrasts these two carnivores. Eye-catching photographs help readers visualize these two animals in a battle. Habitats and adaptations are just a couple of the important science concepts that this exciting book discusses.
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Comparing Management Programs to Reduce Red–tailed Hawk Collisions with Aircraft
Wildlife-aircraft collisions (wildlife strikes) pose a serious safety risk to aircraft. Raptors (i.e., hawks and owls) are one of the most frequently struck guilds of birds within North America. Although raptors (most notably red-tailed hawks [Buteo jamaicensis]) are commonly managed at most airports and military bases, there is no scientific information available regarding comparisons of the efficacy of raptor management programs for reducing raptor-aircraft collisions. Therefore, we conducted a study to examine the efficacy of 2 raptor hazard management programs implemented at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD). The first raptor management program (Phase I) occurred during January 2010–June 2013 and was characterized by intensive and sustained live-trapping and translocation efforts. The second raptor management program (Phase II) occurred during July 2013–December 2016 and involved live-trapping and translocation of specific age classes and increased lethal removal of problematic individual hawks. Compared with Phase I, there were 47% fewer red-tailed hawk strikes (52 in Phase I and 28 in Phase II) and 67% fewer damaging red-tailed hawk strikes (6 in Phase I and 2 in Phase II) during Phase II of the management programs. Our findings demonstrate that airport wildlife management decisions based on scientific data and biological information can aid in reducing wildlife strikes, financial losses, and ultimately airport liability while increasing human safety. The decision matrix regarding the components of an airport raptor hazard management program involves a variety of biological, geographic, logistical, economic, and socio-political variables. Our study provides a scientific foundation for informing such management decisions.
Journal Article
Multi-Strategy Improved Red-Tailed Hawk Algorithm for Real-Environment Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Path Planning
In recent years, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology has advanced significantly, enabling its widespread use in critical applications such as surveillance, search and rescue, and environmental monitoring. However, planning reliable, safe, and economical paths for UAVs in real-world environments remains a significant challenge. In this paper, we propose a multi-strategy improved red-tailed hawk (IRTH) algorithm for UAV path planning in real environments. First, we enhance the quality of the initial population in the algorithm by using a stochastic reverse learning strategy based on Bernoulli mapping. Then, the quality of the initial population is further improved through a dynamic position update optimization strategy based on stochastic mean fusion, which enhances the exploration capabilities of the algorithm and helps it explore promising solution spaces more effectively. Additionally, we proposed an optimization method for frontier position updates based on a trust domain, which better balances exploration and exploitation. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm, we compare it with 11 other algorithms using the IEEE CEC2017 test set and perform statistical analysis to assess differences. The experimental results demonstrate that the IRTH algorithm yields competitive performance. Finally, to validate its applicability in real-world scenarios, we apply the IRTH algorithm to the UAV path-planning problem in practical environments, achieving improved results and successfully performing path planning for UAVs.
Journal Article
Wind energy, nest success, and post-fledging survival of Buteo hawks
Quantifying the rate of turbine collision mortality for raptors has been the primary focus of research at wind energy projects in Europe and the United States. Breeding adults and fledglings may be especially prone to collisions, but few studies have assessed the consequences of increased mortality and indirect effects from this type of development activity on reproduction. We examined the influence of wind turbines and other factors on nest success and survival of radio-marked juveniles during the post-fledging period for 3 sympatric breeding Buteo species in the Columbia Plateau Ecoregion (CPE), Oregon, USA. Nest success for ferruginous hawks (Buteo regalis) decreased as the number of wind turbines within the home range buffer (32 km2) increased. There was no effect of turbines on nest success for red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) or Swainson's hawks (Buteo swainsoni). Of 60 nestlings radio-marked from all 3 species, we found no evidence that any were killed as a result of collisions with wind turbines after fledging. This was likely due, in part, to the limited size of the natal home range and the relatively short duration of the post-fledging period. However, juveniles of all 3 species hatched from nests in areas of greater turbine density were more likely to die from predation or starvation just after fledging and prior to becoming independent compared to those in areas of lower turbine density. Taken together, these results suggest that wind turbines affected reproductive efforts by all 3 species to some degree, but these effects were greater for ferruginous hawks compared to the other 2 congeneric species. The causes of this negative association are unknown but likely represent some combination of breeding adults being killed from turbine collisions, disturbed from activities associated with the increasing wind energy development in the area, or displaced from portions of their home range to minimize the risk of disturbance or death. The potential for these effects necessitate that planning of future wind energy facilities be considered at larger geographic scales beyond the placement of individual turbines to limit development near raptor breeding areas.
Journal Article
Mitigation Translocation of Red-Tailed Hawks to Reduce Raptor–Aircraft Collisions
Translocation of problematic individual animals is commonly used to reduce human–wildlife conflicts, especially to reduce the presence or abundance of raptors within airport environments, where they pose a risk to safe aircraft operations. Although this method has strong public support, there have been no scientific evaluations of its efficacy or to determine which factors might influence the return of translocated birds to the airport. We conducted a study to determine which biological and logistical factors might influence the return of red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis) translocated from Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport (ORD) during 2010–2013. We live-captured and translocated red-tailed hawks various distances from the ORD airfield and monitored for returning birds. We found the odds of hawk return increased by 2.36 (95% CI = 0.99–5.70) times for older birds (>1 yr of age) relative to younger birds (≤ 1 yr of age). Odds of hawk return went up 4.10 (95% CI = 0.75–22.2) times when translocations were conducted during the breeding season relative to the non-breeding season. The odds of hawk return increased 11.94 (95% CI = 3.29–43.38) times for each subsequent translocation event involving the same hawk. The cost of 1 translocation event to the release sites that were 81, 121, 181, and 204 km from ORD was $213, $284, $362, and $426, respectively. Management programs that use release sites 80 km from the airport minimize translocation events to include only younger birds during the non-breeding season, and undertake only 1 translocation event for an individual hawk would increase program efficacy and greatly reduce program implementation costs. The decision matrix regarding the use of a raptor trapping and translocation program involves a variety of biological, logistical, economic, and sociopolitical variables. This study represents an important first step in providing a scientific foundation for informing such management decisions.
Journal Article
Spatial heterogeneity and scale‐dependent habitat selection for two sympatric raptors in mixed‐grass prairie
Sympatric predators are predicted to partition resources, especially under conditions of food limitation. Spatial heterogeneity that influences prey availability might play an important role in the scales at which potential competitors select habitat. We assessed potential mechanisms for coexistence by examining the role of heterogeneity in resource partitioning between sympatric raptors overwintering in the southern Great Plains. We conducted surveys for wintering Red‐tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) and Northern Harrier (Circus cyanea) at two state wildlife management areas in Oklahoma, USA. We used information from repeated distance sampling to project use locations in a GIS. We applied resource selection functions to model habitat selection at three scales and analyzed for niche partitioning using the outlying mean index. Habitat selection of the two predators was mediated by spatial heterogeneity. The two predators demonstrated significant fine‐scale discrimination in habitat selection in homogeneous landscapes, but were more sympatric in heterogeneous landscapes. Red‐tailed hawk used a variety of cover types in heterogeneous landscapes but specialized on riparian forest in homogeneous landscapes. Northern Harrier specialized on upland grasslands in homogeneous landscapes but selected more cover types in heterogeneous landscapes. Our study supports the growing body of evidence that landscapes can affect animal behaviors. In the system we studied, larger patches of primary land cover types were associated with greater allopatry in habitat selection between two potentially competing predators. Heterogeneity within the scale of raptor home ranges was associated with greater sympatry in use and less specialization in land cover types selected. Our study assessed potential mechanisms for coexistence by examining the role of heterogeneity in resource partitioning between sympatric raptors overwintering in the Central Great Plains. Raptors demonstrated significant fine scale discrimination in habitat selection in homogeneous landscapes, but were more sympatric in heterogeneous landscapes. Overall, ecological niche breadth of the two predators was mediated by spatial heterogeneity.
Journal Article
BEHAVIOR OF RED-TAILED HAWKS IN A WIND TURBINE DEVELOPMENT
Birds flying within windfarms can be killed when they collide with wind turbines. Raptors, especially red-tailed hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), are more susceptible to collisions than other birds, which may be attributable to their specific foraging and flight behavior. To more fully understand the problem, and to reduce raptor mortality, it is necessary to acquire more information on habitat use and flight behavior by raptors inhabiting windfarms. Between June 1999 and June 2000, we watched raptors for 346 hours in the Altamont Pass Wind Resource Area, the largest windfarm in North America. We recorded flight behavior in relation to characteristics of the topography such as slope aspect, elevation, and inclination and in relation to various weather variables including wind speed and wind direction. We found that red-tailed hawk behavior and their use of slope aspect differed according to wind speed. Hawks perched more often in weak winds than in strong. Red-tailed hawks were more likely to soar during low wind conditions and kite during strong wind, particularly on hillsides that faced into the wind as opposed to hillsides shielded from the wind. This is likely a result of their use of deflection updrafts for lift during flight. During our study, when winds were strong and from the south–southwest, kiting behavior occurred on south–southwestern facing slopes with inclines of greater than 20% and peak elevations greater than adjacent slopes. Accordingly, mitigation measures to decrease red-tailed hawk fatalities should be directed specifically to these areas and others fitting this general model. Wind farm managers can power down turbines at the top of these hazardous slopes when they pose the greatest danger—when winds are strong and facing perpendicularly to the slope.
Journal Article
Robust parameter determination approach based on red-tailed hawk optimization used for lithium-ion battery
Lithium-ion electrochemical batteries are being used more in a large number of applications, such as electric vehicles. However, increasing their efficiency lies in the accuracy of their model. For this, extracting the best values of parameters of the battery model is needed. A recent metaheuristic optimizer named the red-tail hawk (RTH) is used in the current research to extract the battery parameters. The idea of this algorithm is extracted from hunting techniques of red-tail hawks. The RTH algorithm is more likely to avoid entangled local optimums because of its high diversity, fast convergence rate, and appropriate exploitation-exploration balance. The RTH optimizer is compared with other algorithms to check and approve its performance. Using the proposed method, the root mean squared error (RMSE) between the model outputs and the measured voltage dataset was decreased to 8.12E-03, much better than all the other considered algorithms.
Journal Article