Summary
Globally, vultures are one of the most threatened of all groups of birds. European vulture populations are benefited by several anthropogenic food sources such as landfills. Current European Union directives aim to decrease the amount of organic matter dumped in landfills, reducing this important food source for some vulture species. In this context, we assessed the effect of the reduction of organic waste available and accessible for scavengers in a landfill on the visitation probability and abundance of a local Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus population in Central Catalonia (NE Iberian Peninsula), using a long-term dataset of captured-marked-recaptured individuals in the period 2012–2018. Our results indicated a decrease in the visitation probability due to a significant reduction of organic matter dumped into the landfill after a waste treatment centre was built (0.82 to 0.76) that may cause a permanent emigration of vultures in response to food reduction. However, the estimated annual abundance of vultures tended to grow over time due to the positive trend that regional vulture populations have experienced in recent decades. These results suggest that population processes occurring at regional scales are more relevant to vulture populations than local waste management measures. A reduction in locally available food can make a site less attractive, but species with high dispersal capacity such as vultures may overcome this issue by moving to other suitable sites. Although Griffon Vultures obtain most of the food from domestic and wild ungulates, a regional application of European directives could threaten an important alternative feeding source, especially in food shortage seasons where landfills could be supporting the energetic requirements of the species. Conservation strategies should be planned to counteract the possible negative effects of new European directives on scavenger populations.
El zopilote aura (Cathartes aura) es una de las aves carroñeras más abundantes del continente americano, sin embargo, algunos detalles de su biología reproductiva son totalmente desconocidos en varios países. En febrero de 2018 encontramos un nido con dos huevos en una cavidad rocosa natural en el departamento de Usulután, El Salvador. A partir de esa fecha monitoreamos y documentamos el desarrollo y algunos aspectos conductuales de los polluelos. Los huevos eclosionaron en marzo, y en abril ya había crecimiento de plumas secundarias. Con aproximadamente 36 días de edad, uno de los polluelos desapareció por posible depredación. En mayo, el polluelo restante presentó inicio de crecimiento de plumas en las alas, en la parte dorsal y frontal del cuerpo. Para finales de mayo, el plumaje juvenil era casi completo, y finalmente en junio, el juvenil fue visto fuera de la cavidad alimentándose con otros individuos de C. aura. Esta especie está catalogada como residente en el país, sin embargo hasta la fecha no se habían encontrado nidos ni se conocían detalles del desarrollo de los polluelos.
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