Paxton Eben H, Paxton Kristina L
Pacific Island Ecosystems Research Center, U.S. Geological Survey, Box 44, Hawai'i National Park, HI, 96718, USA.
Hawai'i Cooperative Studies Unit, University of Hawai'i Hilo, PO Box 44, Hawai'i National Park, , HI, 96718, USA.
Sci Rep. 2025 Aug 13;15(1):29719. doi: 10.1038/s41598-025-11248-8.
The majority of raptor species reside in the tropics, yet very little is known about their movement ecology. However, quantifying movement behavior can provide otherwise elusive information on resource needs, habitat selection, and ecological constraints, which is important for understanding ecological patterns and the management of species of conservation concern. On the Island of Hawai'i, Hawai'i, USA, the endemic 'Io, or Hawaiian Hawk (Buteo solitarius), is a species of conservation concern that little is known of their movement ecology, yet they are dependent on a fragmented and rapidly changing environment. We tracked 15 individuals for up to 18 months across a diverse landscape on the eastern side of the island. We found that all 'Io occupied a relatively small geographic area, their place of residency, where they spent all or most of their time. However, 10 individuals also exhibited an alternative movement pattern, where individuals repeatedly commuted back and forth between their place of residency to another, geographically disjunct location. These commuter periods, which could last from 24-180 days, were characterized by frequent (9-259) movements, with individual trips lasting 4-77 h away from their place of residency and 12-47 h in between commuter trips. In most cases, individuals went to the same non-contiguous commuting destination, even across multiple commuting sessions, indicating high fidelity to commuting locations. The 'Io is a forest adapted Buteo but occurs across a diverse landscape from forest to agriculture lands to urban areas. Habitat selection analysis indicated high individual variation among different birds, but generally a preference for forest patches at localized levels. The discovery of the alternative commuting strategy for many 'Io represents a cryptic movement pattern in the species, demonstrating the power of small, long-lived Global Position System tracking devices to track movement and providing important insights into the ecology of a tropical island raptor.
大多数猛禽物种栖息在热带地区，但人们对它们的运动生态学知之甚少。然而，量化运动行为可以提供有关资源需求、栖息地选择和生态限制等难以捉摸的信息，这对于理解生态模式和管理受保护物种至关重要。在美国夏威夷州的夏威夷岛上，当地特有的 ʻio（夏威夷鹰，学名Buteo solitarius）是一种受保护的物种，人们对它们的运动生态学了解甚少，但它们依赖于破碎且迅速变化的环境。我们在该岛东侧多样的景观中对15只 ʻio 进行了长达18个月的追踪。我们发现，所有 ʻio 都占据了一个相对较小的地理区域，即它们的居住地，它们在那里度过了全部或大部分时间。然而，有10只 ʻio 还表现出另一种运动模式，即个体在其居住地和另一个地理上不相连的地点之间反复往返。这些往返周期可能持续24至180天，其特点是频繁（9至259次）移动，个体每次离开居住地的行程持续4至77小时，往返行程之间间隔12至47小时。在大多数情况下，个体前往同一个不连续的往返目的地，即使跨越多个往返时段，这表明对往返地点具有高度忠诚度。 ʻio是一种适应森林环境的𫛭属鸟类，但出现在从森林到农田再到城市地区的多样景观中。栖息地选择分析表明，不同鸟类之间存在很大的个体差异，但总体上在局部层面偏好森林斑块。许多 ʻio 存在的这种交替往返策略的发现代表了该物种一种隐秘的运动模式，展示了小型、长寿命的全球定位系统追踪设备在追踪运动方面的作用，并为热带岛屿猛禽的生态学提供了重要见解。
