Abstract

HERNANDEZ-MUNOZ, Abel  and  MANCINA, Carlos A.. Diet of Barn Owl (Tyto alba) (Aves: Strigiformes) in natural and anthropogenic habitat in central Cuba. Rev. Mex. Biodiv. [online]. 2011, vol.82, n.1, pp.217-226. ISSN 2007-8706.

To determine food habits of Barn Owl, Tyto alba, we analyzed 1232 pellets collected from 24 localities in central Cuba from 1994 to 2001. The pellets yielded 3943 prey items, with introduced rodents (Mus musculus and Rattus spp.) being the primary prey, accounting for 80% of items in the diet. Other prey classes were of minor frequency; e.g., insects (6.1%), bats (5%), amphibians (4.8%), birds (3.6%), and reptiles (0.2%).We grouped pellet collection localities into 2 habitat categories: "anthropogenic" and "natural," to explore the effect of anthropogenic disturbance on the diet Barn Owl. Contrary to our expectation, we found no significant difference in the Levin's niche-breadth index (B), calculated for the taxonomic classes of prey, between the 2 habitats (B_{anthropogenic}= 1.32 ± 0.3 vs B_natural = 1.38 ± 0.4). The composition of owl diets in both habitats did not differ, at least in prey classes, although pellets collected in natural habitats contained more birds than those from disturbed sites where insects were more frequents. Our data suggest that in both natural and anthropogenic habitat, the barn owls behave as effective predator of the populations of introduced murid rodents.

Keywords : anthropogenic disturbance; trophic ecology; owl pellets; predation.

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