Preferensi Burung Hantu Celepuk Reban (Otus lempiji Horsfield) terhadap Umpan

Abstract

One of the essential plantation commodities is oil palm. There are some constrains faced by oil palm growers, one of them is tree rat (Rattus tiomanicus Miller). The rat has a high reproduction capability and can damage crops of oil palm. An effective and environmentally friendly control, using natural enemies, especially owl is needed to solve this problem. The sunda scops-owl (Otus lempiji Horsfield) was tested with several different types of bait to see the level of preference of bait. The method used is a bi-choice test. In this test, there are four treatments, i.e. rat with larvae of beetle, rat with lizard, rat with fish, and rat with cricket. Before and after treatment, the bait was weighed to determine the amount of feed consumed. The data show a significant difference in results between rat with different baits. The sunda scops-owl consumption in rat is higher than larvae of beetle, lizard, fish, and cricket.