Abstract
Abstract We investigated the diet of Barred Owls (Strix varia) inhabiting urban environments in the Lower Fraser Valley of southwestern British Columbia, Canada. Our objective was to use the diet information to gain insight into the pathways of exposure to anticoagulant rodenticides (ARs) previously documented in this owl species. In particular, we examined whether such exposure is driven by the consumption of rodents commonly targeted during AR application, Norway rats (Rattus norvegicus), black rats (Rattus rattus) and house mice (Mus musculus), or if the secondary exposure is via consumption of native non-target rodents feeding at outdoor bait-stations. We identified 688 prey items from eight urban nest/roost sites. Rats (54.5%) were by far the most common prey, followed by field voles (Microtus townsendii; 19.3%), and deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus; 5.2%). The consumption of rats was positively correlated with the degree of urban development within Barred Owl home ranges (rp = 0.70, r2 = 0.48, ...
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