Modeling spatial variation in density of golden eagle nest sites in the western United States.

ABSTRACT

In order to contribute to conservation planning efforts for golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) in the western U.S., we developed nest site models using >6,500 nest site locations throughout a >3,483,000 km2 area of the western U.S. We developed models for twelve discrete modeling regions, and estimated relative density of nest sites for each region. Cross-validation showed that, in general, models accurately estimated relative nest site densities within regions and sub-regions. Areas estimated to have the highest densities of breeding golden eagles had from 132-2,660 times greater densities compared to the lowest density areas. Observed nest site densities were very similar to those reported from published studies. Large extents of each modeling region consisted of low predicted nest site density, while a small percentage of each modeling region contained disproportionately high nest site density. For example, we estimated that areas with relative nest density values <0.3 represented from 62.8-97.8% ([Formula see text] = 82.5%) of each modeling area, and those areas contained from 14.7-30.0% ([Formula see text] = 22.1%) of the nest sites. In contrast, areas with relative nest density values >0.5 represented from 1.0-12.8% ([Formula see text] = 6.3%) of modeling areas, and those areas contained from 47.7-66.9% ([Formula see text] = 57.3%) of the nest sites. Our findings have direct application to 1) large-scale conservation planning efforts, 2) risk analyses for land-use proposals such as recreational trails or wind power development, and 3) identifying mitigation areas to offset the impacts of human disturbance.