The Mexican Spotted Owl
For centuries, owls have been considered fascinating and beautiful creatures. One kind in particular, the Mexican Spotted Owl, is unfortunately listed as threatened. The good news: because of the Endangered Species Act, conservation efforts are being made and a plan was put into affect in order to recover the species. The bird was first listed as threatened in 1995 but the final recovery plan was made in September of 2012.
(https://www.flickr.com/photos/lincolnnationalforest/6234925927/)
Important terms used in this discussion:
- Endangered Species Act (ESA) - Passed in 1973, designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and development untempered by adequate concern and conservation." (Wikipedia)
- Habitat degradation - processes of human origin that make habitats less suitable or less available to the species living in that habitat (iwc.int)
- Selective logging/clear felling - cutting down some or all trees in a widespread area
Description and Ecology
This owl can be described as medium-sized with irregular white spots on its back, abdomen, and head, with darker brown feathers on the wing and tail. Something that sets them apart from other owls, however, is their dark eyes which give them a more unique and almost mysterious appearance. Another slightly unusual quality about them is that the females are, on average, larger than males and can be distinguished based on their "calls" (males have deeper sounding calls than females). They can be found in Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico, parts of Texas, and many states of Mexico (hence the name). Recently, spotted owls have been sighted in the Sierra Madre Occidental Mountain
range. Their habitat consists of forested mountains and canyon lands, and they use the trees in these habitats for nesting, roosting, and foraging. Below is a photo of a Mexican spotted owl in its natural habitat and a map of Mexican spotted owl populations in comparison to the other two subspecies of spotted owls, the Californian Spotted Owl and the Northern Spotted Owl.
(http://www.fs.fed.us/database/feis/animals/bird/stoc/nest.jpg (http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/179/galleries/figures/figure-1/image_column)
Geographic and Population Changes
Because these birds are long-lived, studies on their populations need to be extended over a number of years (usually around 10). Studies have shown declines in populations, but these are more severe in the the U.S. than they are in Mexico. The reason for this is that in Mexico, forestry activities typically modify rather than destroy the habitat (http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=2242). The estimated populations today of Mexican Spotted Owls are around 3,000 in the U.S. and around 1,000 in Mexico.
Threats to the Mexican Spotted Owl's Existence
The major threat to and reason for listing of the Mexican Spotted Owls is one that is known all to well: degradation and destruction of their habitat, which occurs mainly through selective logging and clear felling. Climate change also plays a role in the degradation and destruction of their habitat; drier weather especially in the southwestern U.S. has led to more wildfires and drought, therefore less trees (some areas are left completely wiped out) and insufficient resources. It also faces competition from the Barred Owl, which tends to outcompete them for food and space, thus leaving the Spotted Owl at a disadvantage.
(http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=2242)
The Recovery Plan
The Recovery plan has laid out six steps that will be followed to attempt to achieve the goal of recovering the Mexican Spotted Owl subspecies:
1) Protecting existing owl sites (PACs)
2) Managing for recovery nest/roost habitat to replace that
lost to fire and other events and to provide additional sites for an expanding population
3) Managing threats
4) Monitoring population trends and habitat
5) Monitoring plan
implementation
6) Building partnerships to facilitate recovery
If all goes as planned, the expected year of recovery is 2022. Looks like there is hope for the Mexican Spotted Owl, thanks to the Endangered Species Act and the people who are currently putting this recovery plan into action!
(https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2239/2183958977_272015a250.jpg)
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