Limited sexual segregation in a dimorphic avian scavenger, the Andean condor

Perrig, Paula L.; Lambertucci, Sergio A.; Alarcón, Pablo Angel Eduardo; Middleton, Arthur D.; Padró, Julián; Plaza, Pablo I.; Blanco, Guillermo; Zapata, José Antonio Sánchez; Donázar, José A.; Pauli, Jonathan N.

doi:10.1007/s00442-021-04909-8

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…However, evidence documenting sex-based dietary partitioning in condors is inconsistent between sites (Perrig et al, 2021). Our results show some support for dietary partitioning between the sexes.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 43%

“…Strong sexual dimorphism and hierarchical dominance structures have been suggested as potential mechanisms that drive partitioning of space and time (Alarcón et al., 2017; Donazar et al., 1999), with eventual implications for the diet. However, evidence documenting sex‐based dietary partitioning in condors is inconsistent between sites (Perrig et al., 2021). Our results show some support for dietary partitioning between the sexes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research to‐date has found little evidence of sex‐based partitioning of diet (Perrig et al., 2021), although this could be overlooking fine‐scale diet partitioning that happens within the carcass. Microbial or detrital impact on large vertebrate systems has been documented extensively (Hyodo et al., 2015; Stevens & Hume, 1998); however, the quantification of such microbivory has only recently been documented through trophic inflation of detrital complexes in invertebrates and fish (Dharampal et al., 2019; Steffan et al., 2017).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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More than just meat: Carcass decomposition shapes trophic identities in a terrestrial vertebrate

et al. 2022

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1. Most food web models fail to account for the full complexity of interactions within a community, particularly where microbes are involved. Carcasses are microbe-rich resources and may represent a common nexus for the macrobiome and microbiome, effectively uniting autotrophs, consumers, predators and microbiota.2. We evaluated the role of carcasses as multitrophic resources and explored dietary partitioning for a sexually dimorphic obligate scavenger known for its hierarchical social system. This study was set in a well-studied community of camelids Vicugna, Lama guanicoe, pumas Puma concolor and Andean condors Vultur gryphus in the Andes. We hypothesized that condors, by feeding on trophically distinct dietary substrates within any given carcass, would have highly variable trophic position (TP) values. Furthermore, we expected that the microbial consumers within the carcass would inflate TP values in both, the carrion and the condors. Thus, we expected that the trophic heterogeneity within a carcass could facilitate sex-based dietary partitioning in condors.3. We used a multifaceted approach to assess the foraging of Andean condors, using regurgitated pellet and bulk isotopic analyses, and also quantified the TP of the entire community of graminoids, camelids, camelid carrion, pumas, and female and male condors employing compound-specific stable isotopes analysis of amino acids.4. Our analysis of condor pellets and bulk isotopes revealed non-trivial plant consumption, close to 10% of condor diet. Isotope analysis of amino acids revealed that condors had highly variable TPs (2.9 ± 0.3) compared to pumas (3.0 ± 0.0) and camelids (2.0 ± 0.1), likely representing 'trophic omnivory', wherein the condors consume plants (TP = 1.0 ± 0.1) and microbe-colonized carrion (2.3 ± 0.1). Female condors exhibited a TP (2.8 ± 0.2) lower than strict carnivory, suggesting that they consume more plant biomass in a carcass, while males (TP = 3.1 ± 0.3) are likely consuming more of the microbe-rich animal tissue.

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Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 43%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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More than just meat: Carcass decomposition shapes trophic identities in a terrestrial vertebrate

et al. 2022

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“…This contrasts to other vulture species with marked sexual dimorphism, such as Andean condors (Vultur gryphus), Only the models with the highest R 2 are shown. The estimate of the parameters (including the sign), the standard error of the parameters (SE) and the degrees of freedom of the models (df) are shown which show different resource exploitation patterns (Perrig et al 2021). However, recent studies suggest that sexpartitioning in resource exploitation on a fine scale should not be ruled out in griffons (Arrondo et al 2020a, b).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The value of transhumance for biodiversity conservation: Vulture foraging in relation to livestock movements

Aguilera-Alcalá

Arrondo

Pascual‐Rico

et al. 2021

Ambio

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In recent decades, intensive techniques of livestock raising have flourished, which has largely replaced traditional farming practices such as transhumance. These changes may have affected scavengers’ behaviour and ecology, as extensive livestock is a key source of carrion. This study evaluates the spatial responses of avian scavengers to the seasonal movements of transhumant herds in south-eastern Spain. We surveyed the abundance of avian scavengers and ungulates, and analysed the factors affecting the space use by 30 GPS-tracked griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus). Griffons’ foraging activity increased in the pasturelands occupied by transhumant herds, which implied greater vulture abundance at the landscape level during the livestock season. In contrast, facultative scavengers were more abundant without transhumant livestock herds, and the abundance of wild ungulates did not change in relation to livestock presence. We conclude that fostering transhumance and other traditional farming systems, to the detriment of farming intensification, could favour vulture conservation.

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“…In fact, according to Fernández-Gómez et al (2022) males may be more prone to feed on predictable resources such as supplementary feeding stations or vulture restaurants, while females may rely on more ephemeral and less clumped food resources. Thus, there may be parallel strategies in the large-scale exploitation of space and, therefore, sexual spatial segregation (Perrig et al, 2021). Alternatively, the fact that males show a greater fidelity of their monthly home-ranges throughout the year and that it is higher during the spring-summer period could be related to their greater territoriality.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large-scale movement patterns in a social vulture are influenced by seasonality, sex, and breeding region

Morant

Arrondo

Sánchez‐Zapata

et al. 2022

Preprint

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Quantifying space use and segregation, as well as the extrinsic and intrinsic factors affecting them, is crucial to increase our knowledge of species-specific movement ecology and to design effective management and conservation measures. This is particularly relevant in the case of species that are highly mobile and dependent on sparse and unpredictable trophic resources, such as vultures. Here, we used the GPS-tagged data of 127 adult Griffon Vultures Gyps fulvus captured at five different breeding regions in Spain to describe the movement patterns (home-range size and fidelity, and monthly cumulative distance). We also examined how individual sex, season and breeding region determined the cumulative distance travelled and the size and overlap between consecutive monthly home-ranges. Overall, Griffon Vultures exhibited very large annual home-range sizes of 5,027 ± 2,123 km2, mean monthly cumulative distances of 1,776 ± 1,497 km, and showed a monthly home-range fidelity of 67.8 ± 25.5 %. However, individuals from northern breeding regions showed smaller home-ranges and travelled shorter monthly distances than those from southern ones. In all cases, home-ranges were larger in spring and summer than in winter and autumn. Moreover, females showed larger home-ranges and less monthly fidelity than males, indicating that the latter tended to use the similar areas throughout the year. Overall, our results indicate that both extrinsic and intrinsic factors modulate the home-range the social Griffon Vulture and that spatial segregation depend on sex and season at the individual level, without relevant differences between breeding regions in individual site fidelity.

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Limited sexual segregation in a dimorphic avian scavenger, the Andean condor

Cited by 10 publications

References 61 publications

More than just meat: Carcass decomposition shapes trophic identities in a terrestrial vertebrate

More than just meat: Carcass decomposition shapes trophic identities in a terrestrial vertebrate

The value of transhumance for biodiversity conservation: Vulture foraging in relation to livestock movements

Large-scale movement patterns in a social vulture are influenced by seasonality, sex, and breeding region

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