Vulture Research Update: October 2019

In this research update, we provide a list of recent vulture-related research articles covering a range of topics including movement ecology, environmental contaminants, population dynamics, conservation measures and methods for monitoring and research.

If the full articles are not freely available, please contact the authors directly. Please refer to previous research updates on our website for other recent articles which are not included here.

Monitoring and research methods:

• Simultaneous-count models to estimate abundance from counts of unmarked individuals with imperfect detection. Ryan et al. (2019). Conservation Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13261
• Time to monitor livestock carcasses for biodiversity conservation and public health. Mateo-Tomas et al. (2019). Journal of Applied Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13401
• Towards Quantifying Carrion Biomass in Ecosystems. Barton et al. (2019). Trends in Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2019.06.001
• Effects of tracking devices on individual birds – a review of the evidence. Geen et al. (2019). Journal of Avian Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.01823
• Interactions between Pied crows Corvus albus and breeding White-backed vultures Gyps africanus. Johnson & Murn (2019). Ethology Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.1080/03949370.2018.1561523

Movements, spatial ecology and migration:

• Studying movement of avian Scavengers to understand carrion ecology. Duriez et al. (2019). In: Carrion Ecology and Management. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-16501-7_11
• Spatial and temporal variability in migration of a soaring raptor across three continents. Phipps et al. (2019). Frontiers in Ecology and Evolution. https://doi.org/10.3389/fevo.2019.00323
• Home ranges and movements of Egyptian Vultures Neophron percnopterus in relation to rubbish dumps in Oman and the Horn of Africa. McGrady et al. (2019). Bird Study. https://doi.org/10.1080/00063657.2018.1561648
• Spring migration of Eurasian Griffon Vultures across the strait of Gibraltar: number, timing and age composition. Ramírez et al. (2019). Aredola. https://doi.org/10.13157/arla.66.1.2019.sc5
• Exploring the relation between flapping behaviour and accelerometer signal during ascending flight, and a new approach to calibration. Van Walsum et al. (2019). Ibis. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12710
• First record of Eurasian Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus from the Balkans migrating to South Sudan revealed by GPS tracking. Arkumarev et al. (2019). Scopus. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/scopus/article/view/188414
• Movement and home range of Cinereous Vulture Aegypius monachus during the wintering and summering periods in East Asia. Kang et al. (2019). Turkish Journal of Zoology. http://journals.tubitak.gov.tr/zoology/issues/zoo-19-43-3/zoo-43-3-7-1807-3.pdf 

Environmental contaminants such as lead, veterinary drugs and poisons:

• The perfect threat: Pesticides and vultures. Plaza et al. (2019). Science of the Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.160
• Protect African vultures from poison. Margalida et al. (2019). Science. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6458/1089.2.abstract
• Effects of lead from ammunition on birds and other wildlife: A review and update. Pain et al. (2019). Ambio. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13280-019-01159-0
• Immunotoxic effects of lead on birds. Vallverdú-Coll et al. (2019). Science of the Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.06.251
• The drivers and extent of poison use by Namibia’s communal farmers: Implications for averting the African vulture crisis. Craig et al. (2019). Ambio. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-018-1128-6
• Lead pollution from hunting ammunition in Argentina and current state of lead shot replacement efforts. Uhart et al. (2019). Ambio. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13280-019-01178-x
• Potential exposure to diclofenac in Spain of European vultures. Camiña et al. (2018). Vulture News. https://www.ajol.info/index.php/vulnew/article/view/188820
• Accumulation of pollutants in nestlings of an endangered avian scavenger related to territory urbanization and physiological biomarkers. Ortiz-Santaliestra et al. (2019). Environmental Pullution. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31299509
• Blood and bone lead levels in South Africa’s Gyps vultures: Risk to nest-bound chicks and comparison with other avian taxa. Van den Heever et al. (2019). Science of the Total Environment. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2019.03.123

Human-vulture interactions and influences:

• Different criteria for implementing sanitary regulations lead to disparate outcomes for scavenger conservation. Mateo-Tomas et al. (2019). Journal of Applied Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13293
• Vultures attacking livestock: a problem of vulture behavioural change or farmers’ perception? Duriez et al. (2019). Bird Conservation International. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270918000345
• Shepherds’ local knowledge and scientific data on the scavenging ecosystem service: Insights for conservation. Morales-Reyes et al. (2019). Ambio. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s13280-018-1055-6
• Scavenging in the Anthropocene: Human impact drives vertebrate scavenger species richness at a global scale. Sebastián-González et al. (2019). Global Change Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14708
• The mesoscavenger release hypothesis and implications for ecosystem and human well‐being. O’Bryan et al. (2019). Ecology Letters. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13288

Power lines, wind farms:

• Estimating the Potential Mortality of Griffon Vultures (Gyps fulvus) Due to Wind Energy Development on the Island of Crete (Greece). Xirouchakis et al. (2019). In: Wind Energy and Wildlife Impacts. https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-05520-2_13
• Bird collisions with power lines: Prioritizing species and areas by estimating potential population‐level impacts. D’Amico et al. (2019). Diversity and Distributions. https://doi.org/10.1111/ddi.12903
• Wind turbines cause functional habitat loss for migratory soaring birds. Marques et al. (2019). Journal of Animal Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12961
• Re-assessing the effectiveness of wire-marking to mitigate bird collisions with power lines: A meta-analysis and guidelines for field studies. Bernardino et al. (2019). Journal of Environmental Management. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2019.109651

General ecology and behaviour:

• Male-biased investment during chick rearing in the Griffon Vulture Gyps fulvus. Yaniv-Feller et al. (2018). Bird Study. https://doi.org/10.1080/00063657.2018.1476461
• Cosmetic colouring by Bearded Vultures Gypaetus barbatus: still no evidence for an antibacterial function. Margalida et al. (2019). PeerJ.  https://peerj.com/articles/6783/

Distribution, demography and population dynamics:

• Factors affecting population regulation of a colonial vulture. Zuberogoitia et al. (2019). Ibis. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12687
• Breeding habitat and nest‐site selection of Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus in the Annapurna Himalaya Range of Nepal. Subedi et al. (2019). Ibis. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12698
• The decline and rise of the Kransberg Cape Vulture colony over 35 years has implications for composite population indices and survey frequency. Benson & McClure (2019). Ibis. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12782
• Long‐term Griffon Vulture population dynamics at Gamla Nature Reserve. Choresh et al. (2019). The Journal of Wildlife Management. https://doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.21566
• Demography of avian scavengers after Pleistocene megafaunal extinction. Perrig et al. (2019). Scientific Reports. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-019-45769-w
• Factors influencing the presence of the endangered Egyptian vulture Neophron percnopterus in Rukum, Nepal. Bahadur et al. (2019). Global Ecology and Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gecco.2019.e00727
• Cabo Verde Egyptian Vulture Neophron percnopterus on the brink: community perceptions, inferences and facts of an extreme population crash. Freitas et al. (2019). Bird Conservation International. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270919000376
• Genetic diversity is retained in a bottlenecked Cinereous Vulture population in Turkey. Çakmak et al. (2019). Ibis. https://doi.org/10.1111/ibi.12685
• Genetic consequences of social dynamics in the Andean condor: the role of sex and age. Padro et al. (2019). Behavioural Ecology and Socio Biology. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00265-019-2714-8

General conservation:

• Vulture conservation: the case for urgent action. Safford et al. (2019). Bird Conservation International. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0959270919000042
• Navigating spaces for implementing raptor research and conservation under varying levels of violence and governance in the Global South. Santangeli et al. (2019). Biological Conservation. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2019.108212
• Evaluating European LIFE conservation projects: Improvements in survival of an endangered vulture. Badia-Boher et al. (2019). Journal of Applied Ecology. https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2664.13350