Nest Tree Preference of Ospreys in Northcentral Florida
Edwards TC and Collopy MW. 1988. Nest Tree Preference of Ospreys in Northcentral Florida. The Journal of Wildlife Management. 52(1):103-107
Eighty-four nest trees used by ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) were compared to 80 randomly selected trees on 2 lakes in northcentral Florida to determine whether ospreys exhibited preference for particular tree characteristics. Tests of mean values revealed differences between random and nest trees in surrounding stem density and canopy height. Three components explaining 90% of the variance were derived from principle components analysis of the random trees. Fourteen of 84 nest trees differed from surrounding trees; major differences were in vertical structure and stem density. Lack of large-scale differences between nest and random trees suggests ospreys in northcentral Florida have a fairly wide tolerance for nesting substrates.
- Type
- Journal Article
- Authors
- Edwards, Thomas; Collopy, Michael
- Units
- VOYA
- Keywords
- Animal Studies, Florida, Nest trees, Nests & Nesting, Osprey (Pandion haliaetus), tolerance