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Movement ecology of pre-adult Cinereous Vultures Aegypius monachus: insights from a reintroduced population

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 May 2024

Jorge Tobajas Open the ORCID record for Jorge Tobajas [Opens in a new window] ,
Juan José Iglesias-Lebrija Open the ORCID record for Juan José Iglesias-Lebrija [Opens in a new window] ,
Émilie Delepoulle ,
Ernesto Álvarez ,
Pilar Oliva-Vidal Open the ORCID record for Pilar Oliva-Vidal [Opens in a new window]  and
Antoni Margalida Open the ORCID record for Antoni Margalida [Opens in a new window]
Jorge Tobajas*
Affiliation:
Universidad de Córdoba, Departamento de Botánica, Ecología y Fisiología Vegetal, 14071, Córdoba, Spain
Juan José Iglesias-Lebrija
Affiliation:
Grupo de Rehabilitación de la Fauna Autóctona y su Hábitat (GREFA), 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
Émilie Delepoulle
Affiliation:
Grupo de Rehabilitación de la Fauna Autóctona y su Hábitat (GREFA), 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
Ernesto Álvarez
Affiliation:
Grupo de Rehabilitación de la Fauna Autóctona y su Hábitat (GREFA), 28220 Majadahonda, Madrid, Spain
Pilar Oliva-Vidal
Affiliation:
Institute for Game and Wildlife Research IREC (CSIC-UCLM-JCCM), 13005 Ciudad Real, Spain University of Lleida, Department of Animal Science, School of Agrifood and Forestry Engineering and Veterinary Mediccine (ETSEA), 25198 Lleida, Spain
Antoni Margalida
Affiliation:
University of Lleida, Department of Animal Science, School of Agrifood and Forestry Engineering and Veterinary Mediccine (ETSEA), 25198 Lleida, Spain Pyrenean Institute of Ecology (CSIC), 22700 Jaca, Spain
*
Corresponding author: Jorge Tobajas; Emails: [email protected]; [email protected]
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Summary

Understanding the movement ecology of threatened species is fundamental to improving management and conservation actions for their protection, mainly during the pre-adult stage and particularly when a species is subject to population reinforcement or reintroduction projects. An example is the case of the Cinereous Vulture Aegypius monachus on the Iberian Peninsula, an endangered species that has been reintroduced in different regions during the last two decades. Here, we explore differences between the spatial ecology of reintroduced pre-adult Cinereous Vultures, according to age-class, sex, and season (breeding and non-breeding). We used GPS-tag data from 51 pre-adult individuals reintroduced into Catalonia (north-east Spain) to describe their use of space, i.e. home-range size, core area, and minimum convex polygon (MCP) and movement patterns, i.e. cumulative distance, maximum displacement, maximum daily dispersal, and maximum annual dispersal. Our study showed significant variation in the use of space and movement patterns among pre-adult birds and the influences of age, sex, and season. Age was the most influential factor, determining range areas and movement patterns. Similar to other vulture species, home range and core areas increase with age, with subadult vultures exhibiting larger ranges than young first year, juveniles, and immature birds, but the MCP measures were larger for juveniles. Movement patterns were also influenced by age-class, with juveniles making longer movements, followed by immatures and subadults (with similar values), and shorter movements for birds during their first year of life. Overall, males made shorter movements and explored smaller foraging areas than females. Season had an important effect on movement patterns, and the daily and dispersal movements were longer during the breeding period (February–August). Our findings fill a knowledge gap regarding the dispersal behaviours of Cinereous Vultures, information that will enable the improvement of management and conservation decisions.

Keywords

DispersalFlight distanceForaging ecologyHome-rangeMovement patternsScavengersVultures
Type
Research Article
Information
Bird Conservation International , Volume 34 , 2024 , e17
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2024. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of BirdLife International

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Footnotes

*

Equal contribution

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