25 March 2014

Danish Little Owls threatened by lack of food

Photograph: Stig Frode Olsen

The Danish Little Owls lack food during the breeding season, and it threatens the survival of the population. Scientists from Aarhus University and CMEC examined which type of landscape the owls preferred to forage in. Surprisingly the birds mainly forage in gardens and built environment. Cropped areas are not favoured high, although this type of landscape is the main foraging ground for Little Owls in other countries. This suggests that the Danish pastureland does not have enough small animals to support the owls.

Read the entire press release in Danish

Sunde P, Thorup K, Jacobsen LB, Rahbek C (2014) Weather Conditions Drive Dynamic Habitat Selection in a Generalist Predator. PLoS ONE 9(2): e88221. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0088221

Contact

Senior Scientist Peter Sunde, Institut for Bioscience, Aarhus Universitet,
Mail: psu@dmu.dk, mobile: 20630704

Lector Kasper Thorup, Center for Makroecology, Evolution og Climate, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen
Mail: kthorup@snm.ku.dk, Mobile: 24942574