RESEARCH
I deep into the ecological implications of carrion resources predictability (conferred by the disposition of carcasses at 'vulture restaurants' in relation to unpredictable natural carcasses. Both of them differ in their spatial and temporal predictability; what consequences will trigger on the structure and functioning of scavenger guilds and ecosystems?
By means of Individual-Based Models, I also try to understand the mechanisms behind the social foraging behavior of scavenger species and how they share information to find animals that may die in any site and time, always using field raw data. It is well-known that social information influences animal movement, foraging, habitat selection, etc. However, the relative contribution of personal and social information to explain individual and collective behavior in different species and contexts is an open question in animal ecology. Theoretical approaches have shown that individual behavior based on simple and local social information could explain complex collective behaviors, such as birds flocking and fish schooling or breeding synchrony. However, empirical works are scarce to describe which social information is used and how it is used to in different real-world scenarios. And most importantly what is important is to combine theoretical and empirical approaches to compare the relative relevance of different hypotheses to predict natural patterns. In particular, there is a major lack of studies combining theoretical and empirical approaches to test the relative relevance of different hypothesized individual behaviors to predict empirical collective patterns.
Finally, I am also involved in the study of the reconciling cultural ecosystem services of rewilded abandoned farmlands with the conservation of these endangered bird species. The study of socio-ecological components may allow exploring how conflicts between different ecosystem services can be managed in natural parks and other important areas for biodiversity. For example, to understand simultaneously what are tourists demanding from a natural park (recreational service) and what is their unintentional detrimental effect on the behavior and reproduction of the bird community (biodiversity conservation). Moreover, I evaluate the economic and sanitary services that scavengers provide to society.
CARRION ECOLOGY AND MANAGEMENT
Animals may finally become either prey or carcasses. While predation has received much attention, the ecology and evolution of scavenging processes are largely unexplored. This research line examines the consequences of both spatial and temporal availability of carrion on the behavior, ecology, and conservation of scavengers and other species indirectly affected by the presence of carcasses in the wild. I try to answer questions such as How random/pulsed carrion resources could mediate the intra- and interspecific relationships and consequently how to affect the diversity. What is the role of randomness as a motor of intraguild facilitatory processes and diversity of species assemblages? In parallel, this research line faces a challenge which is to elucidate the ecological and conservation consequences on scavengers and the ecosistem services they provide under current global change and its main drivers.
SCAVENGERS IN ISLANDS
One of the biggest challenges in ecology today: How do island individuals and populations respond and adapt to colonization by a novel species? This research line is addressing a unique and extraordinary event: the natural colonization of an island (Mallorca) by a dominant, social, and large-sized scavenger species (the griffon vulture), in an insular system where another scavenger species (the larger cinereous vulture) was already established. The arrival occurred in 2008 as natural colonization of the island presumably because of a strong storm with winds coming from the continent. Four years after their arrival (2012) the first reproduction event was detected. This research line aims to understand the ecological processes associated with the colonization and re-structuring of a guild to robustly predict the species interactions and conflicts with human interest and ultimately to design and prioritize management actions. The conclusions are of special interest due to the projections of future policies that combine species conservation, the ecosystem services provided by species inhabiting the islands and local socio-economic interests.
REWILDING
Although the concept of “rewilding” is usually associated with restoring populations of symbolic species, it is obvious that it cannot be understood without the parallel amendment to the structure and functioning of ecosystems. In this sense, there are some ecological processes transverse to habitat structure, ecosystems, and biomes, which are key to maintaining both complex food webs and the viability of populations of organisms. The rewilding of Europe, specifically in the case of avian scavenger species, has already begun. This process is often accompanied by profound changes in the carrying capacity of the environment. While undeniably profound changes are occurring that may make the maintenance of populations of many wildlife species and the services they provide unstably, it is expected that in a few decades large areas of the European continent will abandon traditional grazing activities. On the other hand, other regions will continue the intensive occupation and use of land, which may impose potentially greater impacts on natural systems. Birds of prey and avian scavengers in Europe could serve as a paradigmatic case in this regard. In this research line, we face questions such as: How Apex scavengers and birds of prey will fit in a wilder Europe from different perspectives, and at different scales or which are the consequences of the land-uses abandon processes according to different future socio-economic scenarios and their impacts on individuals behavior, the viability of endangered populations, ecosystem functioning and thus on the ecosystem services provided.
Photo Credit: I. Aton
HUMAN DIMENSION FOR BIODIVERSITY CONSERVATION
Considerable time and effort have been invested to implement accurate conservation initiatives to preserve endangered species worldwide. However, conservation is as much about people as it is about species and those conservation problems will never be solved by ignoring human dimensions. By means of ecological techniques and socio-ecological methodologies, this research line searches new insights to preserve areas and wildlife considering the perception and knowledge of stakeholders (e.g. tourists, farmers, hunters), and ensuring the provision of ecosystem services (e.g. recreational, economic, pollination, health). This research line examines the human dimensions of biodiversity conservation for conservation decisions and actions by mens of understanding the role of cultural landscapes or the perceptions of conservation by stakeholders.
ROLE OF TROPHIC PULSED RESOURCE IN THE ECOSYSTEMS
By definition pulsed resoruces are rare, brief and intense events of food overabundance in space and time. To investigate the temporal and spatial variation in the trophic structure of vertebrates communities and guilds. This research takes several examples of study models such as wild random carcasses that appear randomly distributes in nature or masting events at the best-preserved forest in Europe at hat occur at periodic years intervals and are followed by poor or nil crops in the intervening year.
FORAGING AND USE OF SOCIAL INFORMATION
Group living is common to many animal species, either permanently or during particular times of the year. In other words, individuals forage, move, and reproduce in a variety of environments (e.g. forests, deserts, or lakes), but many animals are doing these key activities in a constant environment: the group. How information spreads in groups and how individuals use this information is key to understanding the fitness benefits of living in groups. Group movement is an active area of research because it is viewed as an interesting system where to study the power of self-organization to create global patterns from interactions between group members. Often, these studies are done in laboratory conditions (e.g. in fish, cockroaches, grasshoppers), but studies in natural conditions are still scarce. Group foraging in vultures is a paradigmatic study model of group foraging. Carcasses are a very unpredictable food resource both in time and space, and vultures may spend several days without feeding while searching for a new carcass. Vultures often search alone or in very small groups. However, carcasses are often crowded with vultures feeding at the same time, clearly suggesting that some sort of social information transfer occurs. By means of integrating raw field data into Individual-Based Models this research line aim to understand how species use social information to locate trophic resources.