Bio-logging, new technologies to study conservation physiology on the move: a case study on annual survival of Himalayan vultures

Sherub, Sherub; Fiedler, Wolfgang; Duriez, Olivier; Wikelski, Martin

doi:10.1007/s00359-017-1180-x

Cited by 21 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 88 publications

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“…We combined accelerometer and GPS information to localize dead vultures (Sherub et al 2017). When we perceived multiple GPS fixes at the same place for several days and confirmed the inexistence of vital activities by accelerometer signal, we visited the last GPS location and searched actively for the bird.…”

Section: Target Species and Study Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape anthropization shapes the survival of a top avian scavenger

et al. 2020

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Events of non-natural mortality in human-dominated landscapes are especially challenging for populations of large vertebrates with conservative life histories. Vultures are one of the most threatened groups of birds experiencing sharp population declines due to non-natural mortality. Factors causing non-natural mortality are usually studied separately. However, the potential use of an integrated index able to predict 2 large-scale mortality risks of avian scavengers could be especially useful for planning conservation strategies. Here, we used the Human Footprint index to examine the impact of landscape anthropization on the survival rates of 66 GPS-tagged adult Eurasian griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) in two Spanish regions. Foraging in more anthropized areas resulted in a significantly higher individual mortality risk mainly due to collisions with vehicles, intoxications, electrocutions and fatalities with wind turbines. Mean yearly survival rates were estimated at 0.817 ± 0.043 SE and 0.968 ± 0.018 SE for individuals from the more and less anthropized regions, respectively. Additional research should investigate whether some vulture populations could be acting as sinks unnoticed due to metapopulation dynamics. From a broader point of view, our study shows that a straightforward Human Footprint was a useful index to predict the survival of top scavengers and can be highly applicable to planning largescale conservation measures.

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Section: Target Species and Study Areasmentioning

confidence: 99%

Landscape anthropization shapes the survival of a top avian scavenger

et al. 2020

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“…The increasing demand for commercial development is the main reason for Saker falcon being trapped and traded, and this transaction mainly occurs between the Middle East and Asia (Dixon, 2016;Levin, 2011;Shobrak, 2015). Himalayan Vulture is the heaviest scavenging vertebrate in Asia (Sherub, Fiedler, Duriez, & Wikelski, 2017), and the species is mainly distributed in the west and central regions in China, especially in the Qinghai-Tibet…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Maxent modeling for predicting the spatial distribution of three raptors in the Sanjiangyuan National Park, China

Zhang

Jiang

Li³

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

120

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Upland buzzard (Buteo hemilasius), Saker falcon (Falco cherrug), and Himalayan vulture (Gyps himalayensis) are three common large raptors in the Sanjiangyuan National Park (SNP), China's first national park. Among them, Upland buzzard and Saker falcon play a significant role in controlling plateau rodent populations and reducing the transmission of pathogens carried by rodents. The Himalayan vulture can provide services for the redistribution and recycling of nutrients in the ecosystem, and play an irreplaceable role in the celestial burial culture of Tibetans in China. Exploring their habitat suitability is important for the protection of the three raptors. Our research was based on the current distribution of Upland buzzard, Saker falcon, and Himalayan vulture that we had extensively surveyed in the Sanjiangyuan National Park from 2016 to 2017. Combined with the correlation analysis of environmental variables, we utilized maximum entropy model (MaxEnt) to evaluate and compare the habitat suitability of the three species in the Sanjiangyuan National Park. Elevation, climate, and human disturbance factors, which had direct or indirect effects on species survival and reproduction, were all included in the model. Among them, elevation was the most important environmental variables affecting the suitability of habitats of three species. Temperature‐related factor was another important predictor. The high (>60%) suitable habitat areas for Upland buzzard, Saker falcon, and Himalayan vulture were 73,017.63, 40,732.78, and 61,654.33 km2, respectively, accounted for 59.32%, 33.09%, and 50.08% of the Sanjiangyuan National Park and their total suitable area (i.e., the sum area of high and moderate habitats) reached 96.07%, 60.59%, and 93.70%, respectively. Besides, the three species have overlapping areas for the suitable habitats, which means that overlapping areas should be highly valued and protected. Therefore, understanding the distribution of suitable habitats of the three raptors can provide useful information and reasonable reference for us to put forward suggestions for their protection and regional management.

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“…On the other hand, studies conducted on Turkey Vultures invariably show that geographically distant populations exploit orographic and thermal uplifts according to their availability [ 30 ]. Winds are an important energetic resource for long-distance migrating vultures that, in occasions, has been suggested to determine survival rates [ 73 ]. Because of this, the use of well-informed wind scenarios is essential to move forward in the study of ecology and conservation of migrating vultures.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

A three-decade review of telemetry studies on vultures and condors

Alarcón

Lambertucci

2018

Mov Ecol

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Telemetry-based movement research has become central for learning about the behavior, ecology and conservation of wide-ranging species. Particularly, early telemetry studies were conducted on vultures and condors due to three main reasons: i) these birds capture the curiosity of humans, ii) their large body size allows researchers to deploy large telemetry units, and iii) they are of high conservation concern. This has resulted in a great number of scientific articles that remain scattered throughout the literature. To achieve a more cohesive view of vultures and condors movement behavior, we review all telemetry studies published up to 2017. We first present a descriptive summary of the technical and design characteristics of these studies (e.g. target species, tagging location, number of individuals tagged) and go on to discuss them under a common conceptual framework; the Movement Ecology Paradigm. The articles found (N = 97) were mainly published in the last decade and based on the tagging of individuals from 14 species (61% of the extant species) and 24 countries. Foraging was the most in-depth investigated movement phase (25 studies), with studies covering several species, using both phenomenological and mechanistic approaches and tackling the role of different drivers of movement. In contrast, commuting and natal dispersal phases were only superficially investigated (3 and 8 studies, respectively). Finally, studies dealing with the conservation and management also comprised a large portion of the reviewed articles (24 studies). Telemetry studies have revealed relevant details of vultures and condors movements, with highly accurate measurements of flight energetics and a better understanding of the morphological, physiological and context-dependent drivers that underlie the movement decisions of these birds. However, we also detected several information gaps. We expect this review helps researchers to focus their efforts and funds where more information is needed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s40462-018-0133-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

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Bio-logging, new technologies to study conservation physiology on the move: a case study on annual survival of Himalayan vultures

Cited by 21 publications

References 88 publications

Landscape anthropization shapes the survival of a top avian scavenger

Landscape anthropization shapes the survival of a top avian scavenger

Maxent modeling for predicting the spatial distribution of three raptors in the Sanjiangyuan National Park, China

A three-decade review of telemetry studies on vultures and condors

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