Large avian scavengers are characterized by long-distance movements whose magnitude was very poorly known before the emergence of individual tracking techniques using GPS. Our team carries out several research projects that deepen into the knowledge of the movement patterns of avian scavengers in the Iberian Peninsula, Macaronesia and the Americas. Our team, in collaboration with specialists from Universities and Research Centers of Spain and abroad, develops multiple projects that, from a general point of view, aim to examine how the movement of the individuals shapes the interactions of birds with humans, and in particular the provision of ecosystem services and the emergence of conflicts.

Next we group the projects and lines of research in three blocks, with well-defined objectives and study systems, although not independent of each other.

Global change, socioecological systems and movement ecology

This project (RTI2018-099609-B-C21), leaded by the UMH (Alicante) evaluate livestock transhumance as an adaptive management model for global change that includes the movement (human, animal and landscape) as a paradigm. On the one hand, use vultures as functional indicators of the movement of farmers, livestock and their herds and the ecosystem services they provide. Moreover, evaluate the sustainability of this socio-ecosystem movement in the face of the socio-economic challenges of global change that determine mobility. Finally, we will use historical series of climate and ecosystem productivity based on satellite image data to evaluate pasture production and the carrying capacity of the socioecosystem in a context of climate change that can mark the movements in the future landscapes of our pastures.

Featured publications:

Arrondo, E., Morales-Reyes, Z., Moleón, M.,Cortés-Avizanda, A., Sanchez-Zapata, J.A., Donázar, J.A. 2019. Rewilding traditional grazing areas affects scavenger assemblages and carcass consumption patterns . Basic and Applied Ecology.

Martín-Díaz, P. , Cortés-Avizanda, A., Serrano, D., Arrondo, A., Sáncez-Zapata, J.A., Donázar, J. A. 2020. Rewilding processes shape the use of Mediterranean landscapes by an avian top scavenger. Scientific Reports.

Donázar. J.A. Barbosa, J., García-Alfonso, M., van Overveld, T., Gangoso, L., de la Riva, M. 2020. Too much is bad: increasing numbers of livestock and conspecifics reduce body mass in an avian scavenger. Ecological Applications.

Use of the space and resources by large avian scavengers

Several of our projects aim to determine how individuals respond to changes in the distribution and abundance of resources, both trophic and otherwise. For this purpose, we have as an object of study populations of different species, mainly griffon and Egyptian vultures. At an intraspecific level, we focus on populations that differ in the nature, distribution and abundance of resources used by the individuals In particular, we are interested in seeing how birds respond to changes determined by the intensification of livestock and the rewilding of rural environments. Apart from that, we deep into the emerging conflicts with human interests, in particular the collisions of large soaring birds with aircraft and the mortality of birds in infrastructure such as power lines and wind farms. These projects have been developed since 2014 mainly in Cazorla and Cádiz (Andalusia) thanks to funds provided by Junta de Andalucía (RNM-1925) and a ECOTONE grant, and and in Bardenas Reales (Navarra) thanks to funds of the local Administration. In total, we have tagged 79 adult griffon vultures with GPS transmitters. Meanwhile, and with parallel objectives in the Canary Islands, 47 vultures have been marked.

During 2021 a new project started. We have Gps-marked 25 fledling griffon vultures in Andalusia (Cádiz, Cazorla) and Bardenas Reales (Navarra) to monitor long-term changes in individual movement strategies troughout the preadult period. We plan to tag a similar number in 2022.

Featured publications :

van Overveld, T., Gangoso, L., García-Alfonso, M., Bouten, W., de la Riva, M., Donázar, J.A. 2020. Seasonal grouping dynamics in a territorial vulture: ecological drivers and social consequences. Behavioural Ecology and Sociobiology.

Arrondo, E., Sanz-Aguilar, A., Pérez-García, J.M., Cortés-Avizanda, A., Sánchez-Zapata, J.A., Donázar, J.A. 2020. Landscape anthropization shapes the survival of a top avian scavenger. Biodiversity and conservation.

Martín-Díaz, P. , Cortés-Avizanda, A., Serrano, D., Arrondo, A., Sáncez-Zapata, J.A., Donázar, J. A. 2020. Rewilding processes shape the use of Mediterranean landscapes by an avian top scavenger. Scientific Reports.

García-Alfonso, M., van Overveld, T., Gangoso, L., Serrano, D., Donázar, J.A. 2021. Disentangling drivers of power line use by vultures: Potential to reduce electrocutions. Science of the Total Environment 793. 2021, 148534.

The Andean condor face to ecosystem and land-use changes in Patagonia.

Large vertebrates of the Americas have undergone processes of rarefaction and local extinction due to direct persecution as changes in local economies. Our goal was to determine the effect of these transformations in the populations of a "flagship" species, the Andean Condor. The project is being developed since 2010 and has involved the GPS-satellite radiotracking of 40 birds both adult and inmatures. Apart of this specific aims were devoted to the determination of lead contamination and sex-biased mortality drove by the increasing humanization as well as to the understanding of the ecological and evolutionary pressures which may have determined the unique life-history traits distinguishing this amazing species. Although the FBBVA Project was ended, the collaboration with Ecotono Laboratory, INIBIOMA-CONICET continues to deep into the available information and focusing on the analysis of movements of the tagged birds.

Featured publications:

Lambertucci, S.A., Navarro, J., Sanchez Zapata, J.A., Hobson, K.A., Alarcón, P.A.E., Wiemeyer, G., Blanco, G., Hiraldo, F., Donázar, J.A. 2018. Tracking data and retrospective analyses of diet reveal the consequences of loss of marine subsidies for an obligate scavenger. Proceedings Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences. 285: 20180550.

Guido, J.M., Alarcón, P-E., Donázar J.A., Hiraldo, F., Lambertucci, S.A. 2019. The use of biosphere reserves by a wideranging avian scavenger indicates its significant potential for conservation. Environmental Conservation 1-8. doi: 10.1017/S0376892919000304

Plaza, P., Blanco, G., Wiemeyer, G., López-Rull, I., Hornero-Méndez, D., Donázar, J.A., Hiraldo, F., Lambertucci, S. 2020. Protein electrophoresis in Andean condors (Vultur gryphus): Reference values and differences between wild and rehabilitating individuals. Zoo Biology.

Lambertucci, S. A., Margalida, A., Speziale, K. L. et al. 2021. Presumed killers? Vultures, stakeholders, misperceptions and fake news. Conservation Science and Practice.