Home Ranges of Two Populations of Urban-Nesting White-Winged Doves (Zenaida asiatica) in Texas

Our objective was to use the 50%-core-area estimation to measure size of home range of urban-breeding white-winged doves (Zenaida asiatica) from two ecoregions in Texas. We collected data on locations using subcutaneously implanted radiotransmitters on 40 white-winged doves in Kingsville, Kleberg County, during 2000, and 40 and 39 white-winged doves in Waco, McLellan County, during 2002 and 2003, respectively. We calculated size of home ranges using bivariate-normal methods. We compared size of home range from 50%-core-area estimations within and between sites, and by sex, using two-sample t-tests following log10 transformation of data to meet the assumptions of normality and homoscedasticity. Generally, estimated size of 50%-core-areas differed significantly between sites but not within sites.