Understanding habitat selection and its consequences is important for many aspects of ecology and conservation. Theory suggests that individuals should behave adaptively by selecting the highest quality habitat available and only use low-quality habitat when no high-quality habitat occurs. Conversely, human-induced environmental change that attempts to mimic natural processes may sometimes lead to maladaptive habitat selection behaviors where preference is decoupled from fitness. These behaviors may lead to an ‘ecological trap’, where individuals prefer poor-quality habitats, or ‘undervalued resources’, where individuals avoid high-quality habitats. The Southeastern American Kestrel (Falco sparverius paulus) is a species of conservation concern that requires early-successional habitat and uses intensively managed scrub maintained by prescribed burns and clear-cutting, but the relationship of habitat selection and breeding fitness outcomes remains poorly understood. Our objectives were to: 1) determine how kestrels are selecting habitat; and 2) assess the relationship between kestrel occupancy and breeding productivity. We conducted point counts and nest searching and monitoring during the 2018 breeding season in scrub habitat in Ocala National Forest, Florida. We used single-species occupancy models to determine habitat variables influencing kestrel occupancy. We used generalized linear models to determine factors influencing nest success and productivity.
Results/Conclusions
We found that stand age (i.e., time since clearcutting or burning) was the best predictor in single-season occupancy models for kestrels. Probability of occupancy decreased as stands got older, dropping from 86% in a one-year-old stand to 49% in a six-year-old stand. Apparent nest success was high (67% of nests produced at least one fledgling), but not related to stand age, even though kestrels are more likely to occur in younger stands. As a consequence, kestrel occupancy did not correlate with nest success or productivity. This pattern suggests that five to six-year-old stands may be an undervalued resource and provides a potential example of where fitness and habitat selection can be decoupled. Further research will investigate what factors are limiting kestrel nest-site selection and reproductive success.