Escape Velocity Grants

Raptors inhabiting Open Natural Ecosystems exhibit the steepest population declines among all avian guilds, as documented in the State of Indian Birds 2023 report. Despite supporting substantial raptor assemblages, these ecosystems are threatened and are systematically misclassified as “wastelands” in land-use planning frameworks, leading to habitat degradation and fragmentation. To quantify the ecological consequences of land use and land cover change on raptor populations, we propose employing the Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus) as a model species to monitor the impact of grassland fragmentation on the species habitat use through its movement patterns from telemetry data.

This Palearctic migrant utilizes Indian grasslands as non-breeding habitat, making it an ideal indicator of grassland ecosystem health. We will deploy GPS-GSM transmitters on 15 individuals in the grasslands of Gujarat, over one complete annual cycles (12 months). Spatial data will be analyzed using Resource Selection Functions (RSF) to quantify habitat selection at multiple spatial scales. Home range dynamics will be assessed through kernel density estimation (KDE), enabling examination of habitat-specific influences on space-use patterns. Movement ecology analyses will identify critical stopover sites along the Central Asian Flyway and elucidate migratory phenology and route fidelity. This investigation will yield crucial insights into Short-eared Owl ecology while simultaneously delineating priority grassland habitats for conservation intervention. The findings will inform evidence-based policy recommendations for the protection of Open Natural Ecosystems and associated raptor populations.