Impact of human activities on the reproduction of Hooded Vultures Necrosyrtes monachus in Burkina Faso

Abstract

During the last decades, the critically endangered Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus has strongly declined across its African range. Although direct persecution has been suggested as a major cause of this decline, little is known about the impact of humans on reproductive output in West Africa. We studied the impact of human activities on the reproductive output of Hooded Vultures in the Garango area of Burkina Faso. Twenty and 56 nesting attempts were monitored, respectively, during the breeding season in 2013/14 and 2014/15, to determine reproductive success and identify causes of nest failure. Annual breeding success varied between 0.68 and 0.71 chicks fledged per breeding pair per year and productivity was assessed at 0.57 chicks fledged per territorial pair in 2014/15. The main threats imposed by humans were poaching of eggs, chicks and collection of nest materials, leading to 20% (13 out of 64 breeding attempts) of nest failures over the two years. An additional important reason for nest failure was the pruning and (partial) cutting of nest trees. Despite this high level of human interference, we found that Hooded Vulture nest success increased with proximity to human settlements, probably because breeding vultures benefit from protection by people against persecution and disturbance. Impact des activités anthropiques sur la reproduction du Vautour charognard Necrosyrtes monachus au Burkina FasoAu cours des dernières décennies, le Vautour charognard Necrosyrtes monachus en danger critique d'extinction, a fortement décliné à travers son aire de répartition africaine. Bien que la persécution directe ait été suggérée comme une cause majeure de ce déclin, on en sait peu de l'impact de l'Homme sur la reproduction en Afrique de l'Ouest. Nous avons étudié l'impact des activités de l'Homme sur le succès de la reproduction des Vautours charognards dans la zone de Garango au Burkina Faso. Vingt et 56 tentatives de nidification ont été suivies respectivement au cours des saisons de reproduction 2013/14 et 2014/15 afin de déterminer le succès de la reproduction et les causes des échecs de ces tentatives. Le succès de reproduction annuel a varié entre 0.68-0.71 jeunes envolés par couple reproducteur par an et la productivité a été évaluée à 0.57 jeunes envolés par couple territorial en 2014/15. La principale menace provenant de l'activité de l'Homme est le braconnage des oeufs, des jeunes et la récolte des matériaux de construction des nids, conduisant à 20% (13 sur 64 tentatives de nidification) d'échecs de reproduction en deux ans. Une autre raison importante des échecs de reproduction est l'élagage et la coupe (partielle) des arbres abritant les nids. Malgré ce niveau élevé de la pression d'origine anthropique, nous avons constaté que le succès de reproduction du Vautour charognard augmente avec la proximité des habitations humaines, probablement grâce à la protection de la part des populations contre les persécutions et les perturbations.

Trade in vulture parts in West Africa: Burkina Faso may be one of the main sources of vulture carcasses

“…Vultures are legally protected by local people because they provide an important public service (Daboné et al . 2019) in terms of consuming scraps of meat at markets and abattoirs, as well as carcasses of domestic animals and wildlife. In Burkina Faso, foresters (and to some extent veterinarians) are assigned to control and safeguard protected species including vultures.…”

An annotated checklist of the birds of Burkina Faso

“…Burkina Faso is probably still inhabited by good number of vultures and eagles species, even if their number is declining (Thiollay 2006a, b;Di Vittorio et al 2018;Daboné et al 2019) and detailed studies are lacking. The numerous protected or managed areas widespread in the country and the low rate of systematic elephant poaching and deliberate carcass poisoning (Ogada et al 2015;Compaore et al 2020) or other forms of vulture mass murder (Murn & Botha 2017), may contribute to creating a stronghold for these species of conservation concerns in western Africa.…”

A Review of Pathogen Transmission at the Backyard Chicken–Wild Bird Interface

“…In Burkina Faso, three hooded vultures (Necrosyrtes monachus), a western plantain-eater (Crinifer piscator), and an Ovambo sparrowhawk (Accipiter ovampensis) were infected with various combinations of HPAI, NDV, and IBV (228). Given that hooded vultures are categorized as critically endangered by the IUCN, this finding is extremely significant (229). Similarly, Eurasian oystercatchers (Haematopus ostralegus) are listed by the IUCN as vulnerable in Europe (230) and in the United Kingdom; 12% of sampled Eurasian oystercatchers, along with various waterfowl and shorebirds were found to be infected with IBV (231).…”