DOI: 10.5061/dryad.1g1jwsv50
title: Variation in habitat selection by male Strix nebulosa (Great Gray Owls) across the diel cycle, data archive

description: We used GPS tracking and remotely-sensed environmental data to evaluate
 whether breeding-season habitat selection by adult male Strix nebulosa
 (Great Gray Owls) (n = 19) varied across diel periods (dawn, day, dusk,
 and night). We focused specifically on male owls because their breeding
 habitat selection remains largely unknown despite the critical role they
 play as food provisioners. To address knowledge gaps related to nocturnal
 habitat, we also evaluated finer-scale, microhabitat selection by male
 owls at night. Generally, S. nebulosa are associated with mature forests
 for nesting and meadows for foraging. Yet, in our study, owls avoided
 herbaceous wetlands during the day but strongly selected them at dawn,
 dusk, and at night, indicating time-dependent habitat selection. Moreover,
 owls avoided dry meadows at all times of the day, suggesting that wet
 rather than xeric meadows are important for foraging. Owls also preferred
 nighttime microhabitats that facilitated foraging, such as those with
 presence of primary prey and open understories dominated by graminoids and
 forbs. During the daytime, owls preferred higher canopy cover and areas
 with increased soil moisture, which likely provided suitable roosting
 habitat. Across taxa, understanding of habitat preferences across sexes,
 behaviors, activity periods, temporal windows, and other contexts can
 improve the identification and conservation of critical habitat for
 wildlife. Our work contributes to understanding of how animals balance
 resources related to food provisioning versus safety, both of which are
 critical for individual fitness and population persistence.
description: Associated habitat data for used and available locations for
 GPS-tagged, adult male <em>Strix nebulosa</em> (Great Gray
 Owls) (n = 19) during the breeding season in northwestern Wyoming between
 2018-2021.  Used locations were actual GPS locations for owls.  Available
 locations were generated within 95% Kernel Density Estimate (KDE) areas.
  Habitat attributes were derived from remotely-sensed environmental data
 and exracted to owl locations.  A subset of these data include
 microhabitat attributes measured via on-the-ground surveys.  These sites
 were selected via a stratified random sampling design, in which we
 selected approximately 30 nighttime used locations, but no more than one
 location used per night per individual. Paired availale sites were
 selected from within 95% KDE areas.
description: # Adult male *Strix nebulosa* (Great Gray Owl) breeding-season habitat
 data
 [https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1g1jwsv50](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.1g1jwsv50) Associated habitat data for used and available locations for GPS-tagged, adult male *Strix nebulosa* (Great Gray Owls) (n = 19) during the breeding season in northwestern Wyoming between 2018-2021. The data were used to analyze breeding-season habitat selection by adult male *S. nebulosa*. ## Description of the data and file structure The data include two datasets: remotely-sensed habitat data extracted to the owl locations (Male_GGOW_RemotelySensedHabitat.csv), and on-the-ground microhabitat data collected at a subset of locations used by owls at night (Male_GGOW_Microhabitat.csv). ### 1) Male\_GGOW\_RemotelySensedHabitat.csv This file contains associated habitat data for sites used by adult male Strix nebulosa during the breeding season as well as randomly-selected available sites located within each owl's home range area.  For each location, habitat data were derived from remotely-sensed environmental data and extracted to that location.  The dataset includes an identification for each individual tagged owl ("Individual ID"), date, diurnal period during which the site was used by the owl (dawn, day, dusk, night), and whether the site was used ("1" denotes actual owl location) or simply available to the owl ("0" denotes an available location (within the owl's 95% kernel density estimate for home range).  Associated habitat data for each location includes canopy closure (derived from LandFire 2020), integrated moisture index (a measure of soil moisture) (Evans et al. 2014), land cover classification data (derived from Dewitz and USGS 2021) (land cover was classified or reclassified as: developed, herbaceous, herbaceous wetland, meadow (combined herbaceous and herbaceous wetland), woody wetland; values denote the proportion of area (cells) including and surrounding that location (cell) with the given land cover type), distance to road (kilometers) (derived from USGS road layer for Wyoming), and distance to meadow (kilometers) and distance to wetland (kilometers) (based on Dewitz and USGS 2021). ### 2) Male\_GGOW\_Microhabitat.csv This file contains associated microhabitat data for sites used by adult male Strix nebulosa at night during the breeding season as well as available sites.  Data were collected via habitat surveys conducted at the scale of 0.04 hectare fixed radius plots during the breeding season of 2018 and 2019 in northwestern Wyoming.  Dataset columns include an identification for each individual tagged owl ("Individual ID") and whether the site was used (1 denotes actual owl location) or simply available to the owl (0 denotes an available location (within the owl's 95% kernel density estimate for home range). Habitat data include whether or not a habitat edge was present ("Edge"; "1" denotes an edge was present, "0" denotes no edge present), number of canopy stories, distance to habitat edge (meters), distance to meadow (meters), number of coarse woody debris (fallen logs/large fallen tree branches), number of snags (dead standing trees), presence of primary prey sign (Northern Pocket Gopher soil mounds/eskers), trees per acre, basal area, basal area of coniferous species, basal area of deciduous species, average canopy closure, dominant habitat type (values are edge (more than one habitat type present in plot; "EDG"), aspen ("AS"), mixed aspen-conifer ("MAC"), lodgepole pine forest ("LP"), mixed conifers ("MC"), meadow ("MEAD"), sagebrush ("SAG"), sub-alpine fir ("SF"), willow ("WILL"), and wet meadow ("WME")), and dominant understory type (value are grass, forbs, shrubs, saplings; for each column containing an understory type, "1" denotes that understory type present, "0" denotes that understory type was not present). ## Sharing/Access information *The data underlying this article are available at the Dryad Digital Repository.* ## References Dewitz, J., and U.S. Geological Survey. 2021. National Land Cover Database (NLCD) 2019 Products (ver. 2.0, June 2021): U.S. Geological Survey data release, [https://doi.org/10.5066/P9KZCM54](https://doi.org/10.5066/P9KZCM54). Evans J.S., J. Oakleaf, S.A. Cushman, and D. Theobald. 2014. An ArcGIS Toolbox for Surface Gradient and Geomorphometric Modeling, version 2.0-0. Accessed: 2022 Sept. Landfire. Landfire Existing Vegetation Cover layer. 2020a. U.S. Department of Interior, Geological Survey, and U.S. Department of Agriculture. Available: http:landfire.cr.usgs.gov/viewer/ [2022, September 1].