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Age-dependent survival of island vs. mainland populations of two avian scavengers: delving into migration costs

  • Population ecology - Original research
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Abstract

Large terrestrial long-lived birds (including raptors) are typically sedentary on islands, even when they are migratory on the mainland. Density-dependent variation in the age at first breeding has been described as responsible for the long-term persistence of long-lived bird populations on islands. However, sedentary island populations may also benefit from higher survival rates derived from the absence of migration costs, especially for young individuals. Thus, sedentary island populations can mimic a natural experiment to study migration costs. We estimated the age-dependent survival of two sedentary raptors on the island of Menorca (Egyptian vultures Neophron percnopterus and red kites Milvus milvus) and compared these estimates with those reported for other migratory and sedentary populations. In Menorca, Egyptian vultures, but not red kites, showed low levels of human-related mortality resulting in extremely high survival probabilities, probably due to different diet choices and behavioral patterns. Juvenile Egyptian vultures and red kites in the studied population had lower survival probabilities than adults. This difference, however, was smaller than those reported for mainland migrant populations, which showed a lower juvenile survival rate. In fact, between-population comparisons suggested that survival of the young in migrant populations may be triggered by mortality factors in wintering areas. In contrast, adult survival may respond to mortality factors in breeding areas. Our results suggest that raptor species that become sedentary on islands may benefit from higher pre-breeder survival prospects in comparison with their mainland migrant counterparts. This fact, in combination with an earlier age at first reproduction, may facilitate their persistence.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to Giacomo Tavecchia for his statistical advice and comments. This work was partially funded by projects JCI-2011-09085, CGL2012-40013-C02-01-02, a Severo Ochoa Excellence Award (SEV-2012-0262) from the Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of the Spanish Government and EU FEDER funds. The Regional Government of the Balearic Islands provided permits to capture birds and financed part of the work.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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All applicable institutional and/or national guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Conservation Biology, Estación Biológica de Doñana (CSIC), Américo Vespucio s/n, 41092, Seville, Spain

    Ana Sanz-Aguilar & José Antonio Donázar

  2. Population Ecology Group, Instituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados, IMEDEA (CSIC-UIB), Miquel Marqués 21, 07190, Esporles, Islas Baleares, Spain

    Ana Sanz-Aguilar

  3. Institut Menorquí d’Estudis (IME), Camí Vell des Castell 28, 07702, Mahón (Menorca), Islas Baleares, Spain

    Félix De Pablo

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  1. Ana Sanz-Aguilar
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  2. Félix De Pablo
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Correspondence to Ana Sanz-Aguilar.

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Communicated by Scott McWilliams.

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Sanz-Aguilar, A., De Pablo, F. & Donázar, J.A. Age-dependent survival of island vs. mainland populations of two avian scavengers: delving into migration costs. Oecologia 179, 405–414 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-015-3355-x

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