Habitat Determinants of Species Occupancy and Niche Partitioning among Sympatric Owlets: the Paradoxical Role of Agricultural Lands for the Endangered Forest Owlet, Athene Blewitti

Species with highly restricted distributions are intriguing especially when they co-occur with similar and related species that are more widely distributed. They are also of conservation concern because of their restricted distributions and low population size. The Forest Owlet (Athene blewitti) is an endangered species endemic to the central Indian landscape that occurs in apparently unconnected pockets. Two other species of owlets, with wide distributions in India, Jungle Owlet (Glaucidium radiatum) and Spotted Owlet (Athene brama) co-occur with Forest Owlet. Understanding how species use the habitat matrix is central to prioritizing conservation action. We studied the three species across an extensive part of the predicted range of Forest Owlets through 350 surveys. Our results indicate that Jungle Owlet occupancy (i) = 0.5896, SE = 0.08) was highest, followed by Forest Owlet (i) = 0.2517, SE = 0.10), and Spotted Owlet (i) = 0.1781, SE = 0.07). The Forest Owlet showed a preference for stands of forests with large trees but not necessarily with closed canopies, as well as open habitats (agricultural land cover). The Spotted Owlet showed a preference for agricultural land cover with lower litter and bare ground cover. In contrast, the Jungle Owlet showed a preference for dense forest and canopy cover. The preference for agricultural cover by the Forest Owlet provides important insights into our understanding of the ecology of this owlet. Most significantly, it brings up several conservation challenges for managing this endangered species across a human-use landscape.RESUMEN. Las especies con una distribucion altamente restringida son intrigantes especialmente cuando co-occurren con especies cercanamente emparentadas y similares que estan mas ampliamente distribuidas. Estas especies son tambien de interes para la conservacion por su distribucion restringida y bajo tamano poblacional. Athene blewitti es una especie amenazada y endemica al paisaje del centro de India donde se encuentra en bolsillos de habitat aparentemente desconectados. Otras dos especies de buhos, con una amplia distribucion en India, Glaucidium radiatum y Athene brama co-occurren con Athene blewitti. Comprender como la especie utiliza la matriz del habitat es central para priorizar acciones de conservacion. Estudiamos las tres especies a lo largo de una porcion extensiva del rango predicho de Athene blewitti usando 350 muestreos. Nuestros resultados indican que la ocupacion de Glaucidium radiatum (i) = 0.5896, SE = 0.08) fue la mas alta, seguida por Athene blewitti (i) = 0.2517, SE = 0.10) y Athene brama (i) = 0.1781, SE = 0.07). Athene blewitti mostro una preferencia por fragmentos de bosque con arboles grandes, pero no necesariamente con dosel cerrado, asi como habitats abiertos (cobertura de agricultura). En contraste, Athene brama mostro una preferencia por bosque denso y con alta cobertura de dosel. La preferencia por coberturas de agricultura por parte de Athene blewitti provee informacion importante para nuestro entendimiento de la ecologia de este buho. Mas significativamente, revela muchos retos en conservacion para el manejo de esta especie amenazada a lo largo de un paisaje utilizado por humanos.