Recorders heard spotted owls in 261 of 1,027 areas and barred owls in 891
A survey covering about 98,000 square kilometres of federal forest in Oregon, Washington and northwestern California placed four autonomous recorders in each of 1,027 sampling hexagons and collected 2.1 million hours of audio between February and September 2023. Machine-learning analysis found northern spotted owl calls in 261 of those areas and barred owl calls in 891.
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Reported development
Recorders heard spotted owls in 261 of 1,027 areas and barred owls in 891 A survey covering about 98,000 square kilometres of federal forest in Oregon, Washington and northwestern California placed four autonomous recorders in each of 1,027 sampling hexagons and collected 2.1 million hours of audio between February and September 2023. Machine-learning analysis found northern spotted owl calls in 261 of those areas and barred owl calls in 891. Spotted owl clips numbered 34,341 against 279,439 for barred owls, an invasive competitor now detected across every surveyed area of the Oregon coast. Detection of spotted owls ranged from 13 per cent in parts of Washington to 91 per cent on the California coast.[1]
Details in the report
A survey covering about 98,000 square kilometres of federal forest in Oregon, Washington and northwestern California placed four autonomous recorders in each of 1,027 sampling hexagons and collected 2.1 million hours of audio between February and September 2023. Machine-learning analysis found northern spotted owl calls in 261 of those areas and barred owl calls in 891. Spotted owl clips numbered 34,341 against 279,439 for barred owls, an invasive competitor now detected across every surveyed area of the Oregon coast. Detection of spotted owls ranged from 13 per cent in parts of Washington to 91 per cent on the California coast. Damon Lesmeister of the US Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station said the species is already functionally extinct across large parts of its range. The peer-reviewed study in Ecological Applications sets out where the remaining population is concentrated.[1]
Additional context
Recorders heard spotted owls in 261 of 1,027 areas and barred owls in 891 A survey covering about 98,000 square kilometres of federal forest in Oregon, Washington and northwestern California placed four autonomous recorders in each of 1,027 sampling hexagons and collected 2.1 million hours of audio between February and September 2023. Machine-learning analysis found northern spotted owl calls in 261 of those areas and barred owl calls in 891. Damon Lesmeister of the US Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station said the species is already functionally extinct across large parts of its range. The peer-reviewed study in Ecological Applications sets out where the remaining population is concentrated.[1]
