Movement and migration ecology of Alaskan golden eagles
dc.contributor.author | Eisaguirre, Joseph Michael | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2020-09-20T19:17:03Z | |
dc.date.available | 2020-09-20T19:17:03Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2020-05 | |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/11122/11262 | |
dc.description | Dissertation (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2020 | en_US |
dc.description.abstract | Golden eagles Aquila chrysaetos are distributed across the Holarctic; however, in Alaska and other northern areas, many are long-distance migrants. Being soaring birds, golden eagles can use weather and features of the energy landscape to offset the energetic costs of movement and migration. In this dissertation, I investigate how dynamic energy landscapes, in addition to other habitat and anthropogenic features, affect the movement and migration ecology of Alaskan golden eagles; in most cases I did such by developing and applying new, biologically-appropriate statistical methods. First, I identified a single, discrete navigation decision that each eagle made during migration and determined which weather variables are primary factors in driving that decision. I found that wind was the primary correlate to the decision, consistent with eagles likely avoiding poor migration conditions and choosing routes based on favorable wind conditions. Second, I investigated how different forms of flight subsidies, which were orographic uplift, thermal uplift, and wind support, drove behavioral budgets and migratory pacing of eagles. I found a consistent daily rhythm in eagle behavior and migratory pace, seemingly driven by daily development of thermal uplift, with extended periods of slower-paced movements, consistent with periods of opportunistic foraging. Third, I investigated the effects of anthropogenic linear features, such as roads and railroads, on eagle movement during migration. I found that eagles selected for roads during spring migration and were more likely to be near roads when making slower-paced movements, which would be most frequent during times when limited thermal uplift is available. Lastly, I compared how floaters (breeding-age, non-territorial individuals) and territorial eagles used space and selected for resources, specifically interested in how their movements and space use might overlap. I found that floater space use was much more expansive, yet they only selected for habitats and resources slightly differently than territorial eagles. I also found their home ranges overlap substantially, suggesting that floaters play a key role in the population ecology of migratory golden eagles in Alaska. | en_US |
dc.description.sponsorship | Alaska Department of Fish and Game, State Wildlife Grant Program, Calvin J. Lensink Fund, Institute of Arctic Biology, UAF Graduate School | en_US |
dc.description.tableofcontents | Chapter 1: Introduction -- Chapter 2: Local meteorological conditions reroute a migration -- Chapter 3: Dynamic-parameter movement models reveal drivers of migratory pace in a soaring bird -- Chapter 4: Novel step selection analyses on energy landscapes reveal how linear features alter migrations of soaring birds -- Chapter 5: Differential resource selection between territorial and floater golden eagles revealed with an Ornstein-Ulhenbeck space use model -- Chapter 6: Conclusion -- Appendix. | en_US |
dc.language.iso | en_US | en_US |
dc.subject | golden eagle | en_US |
dc.subject | migration | en_US |
dc.subject | ecology | en_US |
dc.subject | Alaska | en_US |
dc.title | Movement and migration ecology of Alaskan golden eagles | en_US |
dc.type | Dissertation | en_US |
dc.type.degree | phd | en_US |
dc.identifier.department | Wildlife Biology and Conservation Program | en_US |
dc.contributor.chair | Breed, Greg | |
dc.contributor.committee | Booms, Travis | |
dc.contributor.committee | Doak, Pat | |
dc.contributor.committee | Kielland, Knut | |
dc.contributor.committee | McIntyre, Carol | |
refterms.dateFOA | 2020-09-20T19:17:03Z |
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Biological Sciences
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