Abstract
Dispersal is a key process affecting the dynamic and genetic structure of populations. To increase our knowledge on first-year dispersal in the white-tailed eagle (WTE), 35 nestlings in the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Austria were equipped with GPS/GSM loggers while on the nest between 2016 and 2019. Twenty-nine individuals surviving until March 31 were used to assess post-fledging areas, first-year dispersal distance and direction, temporary settlement areas, and habitat selection. The first flight from the nest was observed between May 19 and July 8. Start of dispersal from post-fledging areas occurred between July 1 and November 14. Post-fledging areas were significantly larger in males (p = 0.001, median 1236 km2, n = 15) than females (median 139 km2, n = 12). Maximal dispersal distance ranged from 93 to 433 km from the native nest (median = 187 km) and did not correlate with Simpson’s Diversity Index computed for habitats in individual 100% minimum convex polygons (MCP). Median sizes of minimum convex polygons were 26,888 km2 for 100% MCP and 13,376 km2 for 95% MCP (n = 29). Median sizes of kernel density estimates (KDE) were 3393 km2 for 80% KDE and 1137 km2 for 50% KDE. After start of dispersal, young WTEs returned to the proximity of the parental nest for night roosting sporadically. No sex-specific differences in dispersal distance were recorded. While young individuals from the three subpopulations are likely to occur in the same area during the first year of life, future nesting site identification will enable us to assess real gene flow and the connectivity level among them. As this study has illustrated, future conservation efforts to protect young WTEs will require cross-border cooperation.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The datasets used and analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.
Change history
16 July 2021
A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-021-01512-3
References
Aebischer NJ, Robertson PA, Kenward RE (1993) Compositional analysis of habitat use from animal radio-tracking data. Ecology 74:1313–1325
Babushkin MV, Kuznetsov AV, Demina OA (2017) White-tailed eagle on the Rybinsk reservoir: abundance, ecology, migration and wintering sites. In: The collection of abstracts and short notes of the Seaeagle 2017 conference, October 5-7. Roosta, Estonia. Eagle Club Estonia, pp 14–16
Balotari-Chiebao F, Villers A, Ijäs A, Ovaskainen O, Repka S, Laaksonen T (2016) Post-fledging movements of white-tailed eagles: conservation implications for wind-energy development. Ambio 45(7):831–840
Bekmansurov RH, Dzhamirzoev GS, Karyakin IV (2018) Tracking the white-tailed eagle movements by means of GPS/GSM transmitters. Raptors Conservation 1(Suppl. 1):30–32
Bělka T (2017) [White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) – 2016 report]. Zpravodaj SOVDS 17:7–8
Bělka T, Horal D (2009) The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) in the Czech Republic. In Probst R (ed) [The White-tailed Eagle in the heart of Europe]. Proceedings of the WWF Austria White-tailed Eagle Conference, November 17-18. Illmitz Denisia 27:65–77
Bossard M, Feranec J, Otahel J (2000) CORINE land cover technical guide – Addendum 2000. European Environment Agency, Copenhagen
Bragin EA, Poessel SA, Lanzone MJ, Katzner TE (2018) Post-fledging movements and habitat associations of white-tailed sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) in Central Asia. Wilson Journal of Ornithology 130(3):784–788
Büttner G, Kosztra B (2017) CLC2018 Technical Guidelines. Environment Agency, Austria, 60 pp
Cadahía L, López-López P, Urios V, Negro JJ (2008) Estimating the onset of dispersal in endangered Bonelli’s Eagles Hieraaetus fasciatus tracked by satellite telemetry: a comparison between methods. Ibis 150:416–420
Cadahía L, López-López P, Urios V, Negro JJ (2010) Satellite telemetry reveals individual variation in juvenile Bonelli’s eagle dispersal areas. Eur J Wildl Res 56:923–930
Cagnacci F, Boitani L, Powell RA, Boyce MS (2010) Animal ecology meets GPS-based radiotelemetry: a perfect storm of opportunities and challenges. Phil Trans Soc B 365:2157–2162
Clarke AL, Sæther B-E, Røskaft E (1997) Sex biases in avian dispersal: a reappraisal. Oikos 79:429–438
Core Team R (2019) R: a language and environment for statistical computing. R Foundation for Statistical Computing, Vienna, Austria https://www.R-project.org/
Cramp S, Simmons KEL (1982) The birds of the Western Palearctic, vol 2. Oxford University Press
Davis JM, Stamps JA (2004) The effect of natal experience on habitat preferences. Trends Ecol Evol 19(8):411–417
del Mar Delgado M, Penteriani V, Nams VO, Campioni L (2009) Changes of movement patterns from early dispersal to settlement. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 64:35–43
Demeter I, Horváth M, Prommer M (2017) Summary of population monitoring programmes run by MME / BirdLife Hungary´s Raptor Conservation Department (RCD) in 2017. Heliaca 15:74–75
Evans RJ, Pearce-Higgins J, Whitfield DP, Grant JR, MacLennan A, Reid R (2010) Comparative nest habitat characteristics of sympatric white-tailed Haliaeetus albicilla and Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos in western Scotland. Bird Study 57:473–482
Ferrer M (1993) Ontogeny of dispersal distances in young Spanish imperial eagles. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 32:259–263
Forero MG, Donázar JA, Hiraldo F (2002) Causes and fitness consequences of natal dispersal in a population of Black Kites. Ecology 83:858–872
Greenwood PJ (1980) Mating systems, philopatry and dispersal in birds and mammals. Anim Behav 28:1140–1162
Helander B (1981) Nestling measurements and weights from two White-tailed Eagle populations in Sweden. Bird Study 28:235–241
Helander B, Stjernberg T eds. (2002) Action plan for the conservation of white-tailed sea eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). BirdLife International Sweden
Helander B, Hailer F, Vilà C (2007) Morphological and genetic sex identification of white-tailed eagle Haliaeetus albicilla nestlings. J Ornithol 148:435–442
Hooten MB, Johnson DS, McClintock BT, Morales JM (2017) Animal movement: statistical models for telemetry data. CRC Press – Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton
Horváth Z (2009) White-tailed Eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) populations in Hungary between 1987–2007. In: Probst R (ed) [The White-tailed Eagle in the heart of Europe]. Proceedings of the WWF Austria White-tailed Eagle Conference, November 17-18, Illmitz. Denisia 27:85-95
Kays R, Crofoot MC, Jetz W, Wikelski M (2015) Terrestrial animal tracking as an eye on life and planet. Science 348(6240):aaa2478
Kingma SA, Komdeur J, Burke T, Richardson DS (2017) Differential dispersal costs and sex-biased dispersal distance in a cooperatively breeding bird. Behav Ecol 28(4):1113–1121
Kloubec B, Hora J, Šťastný K (2015) Birds of South Bohemia. Jihočeský kraj, České Budějovice
Krone O, Berger A, Schulte R (2009) Recording movement and activity pattern of a white-tailed sea eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) by a GPS datalogger. J Ornithol 150:273–280
Krone O, Nadjafzadeh M, Berger A (2013) White-tailed sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) defend small home ranges in north-east Germany throughout the year. J Ornithol 154(3):827–835
Literák I, Mrlík V, Hovorková A, Mikulíček P, Lengyel J, Šťastný K, Cepák J, Dubská L (2007) Origin and genetic structure of white-tailed sea eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) in the Czech Republic: an analysis of breeding distribution, ringing data and DNA microsatellites. Eur J Wildl Res 53:195–203
López-Idiáquez D, Vergara P, Fargallo JA, Martínez-Padilla J (2018) Providing longer postfledging periods increases offspring survival at the expense of future fecundity. PLoS One 13(9):e0203152
López-López P (2016) Individual-based tracking systems in ornithology: welcome to the era of the big data. Ardeola 63(1):103–136
Mellone U, Yáñez B, Limiñana R, Muñoz A-R, Pavón D, González J-M, Urios V, Ferrer M (2011) Summer staging areas of non-breeding short-toed snake eagles Circaetus gallicus. Bird Study 58(4):516–521
Mirski P (2017) Spatial ecology of white-tailed eagle in north-eastern Poland. In: The collection of abstracts and short notes of the Seaeagle 2017 conference, October 5-7, Roosta, Estonia. Eagle Club Estonia, 83
Mirski P, Anderwald D, Lewandowski S, Pieczyński P, Zawadzka D (2017) Movements of juvenile white-tailed eagles from Wigry National Park after fledgling. Studia i Materiały CEPL 53(4):56–66
Morandini V, Gonzáles E, Bildstein K, Ferrer M (2020) Juvenile dispersal in an uninhabitat continent: young Spanish Imperial Eagles in Africa. J Ornithol 161:373–380
Nemček V, Uhrin M, Chavko J, Deutschova L, Maderič B, Noga M (2016) Habitat structure of temporary settlement areas of young Saker Falcon Falco cherrug females during movements in Europe. Acta Ornithologica 51(1):93–103
Nemesházi E, Kövér S, Zachos FE, Horváth Z, Tihanyi G, Mórocz A, Mikuska T, Hám I, Literák I, Ponnikas S, Mizera T, Szabó K (2016) Natural and anthropogenic influences on the population structure of white-tailed eagles in the Carpathian Basin and central Europe. J Avian Biol 47:795–805
Nemesházi E, Szabó K, Horváth Z, Kövér S (2018) The effects of genetic relatedness on mate choice and territorial intrusions in a monogamous raptor. J Ornithol 159:233–244
Nygård T, Mee A (2017) The reintroduction of the white-tailed eagle to Ireland. In: The collection of abstracts and short notes of the Seaeagle 2017 conference, October 5-7. Roosta, Estonia. Eagle Club Estonia, pp 87–88
Nygård T, Kenward R, Einvik K (2000) Radiotelemetry studies of dispersal and survival in juvenile white-tailed sea eagles Haliaeetus albicilla in Norway. In: Chancellor RD, Meyburg B-U (eds) Raptors at risk. WWGBP, Hancock House, pp 487–497
Nygård T, Kenward R, Einvik K (2003) Dispersal in juvenile white-tailed sea eagles in Norway shown by radio-telemetry. In: Helander, B., Marquiss, M. & Bowerman, W. (eds) Sea Eagle 2000. Proceedings from an International Conference at Björkö, Sweden, 13–17 September 2000:191–196. Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, Stockholm
Penteriani V, del Mar Delgado M (2009) Thoughts on natal dispersal. J Raptor Res 43(2):90–98
Penteriani V, Ferrer M, del Mar DM (2011) Floater strategies and dynamics in birds, and their importance in conservation biology: towards an understanding of nonbreeders in avian populations. Anim Conserv 14:233–241
Probst R (2009) [The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) in Austria: the white-tailed eagle project of WWF Austria]. In: Probst R (ed) [The White-tailed Eagle in the heart of Europe]. Proceedings of the WWF Austria White-tailed Eagle Conference, November 17-18, Illmitz. Denisia 27:29-50
Probst R, Peter H (2009) [The white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) in Austria: a revision of historical data]. In: Probst R (ed) [The White-tailed Eagle in the heart of Europe]. Proceedings of the WWF Austria White-tailed Eagle Conference, November 17-18, Illmitz. Denisia 27:19-28
Probst R, Pichler C (2017) The White-tailed Eagle in Austria: distribution and numbers, productivity and migration. In: The collection of abstracts and short notes of the Seaeagle 2017 Conference, 5-7 October, Roosta, Estonia. Eagle Club Estonia, 91
Prugnolle F, de Meeus T (2002) Inferring sex-biased dispersal from population genetic tools: a review. Heredity 88:161–165
Ronce O (2007) How does it feel to be like a rolling stone? Ten questions about dispersal evolution. Annu Rev Ecol Evol Syst 38:231–253
Rymešová D, Pavlíček D, Kirner J, Mráz J, Papoušek I, Literák I (2020) Parentage analysis in white-tailed eagle Haliaeetus albicilla: are moulted feathers from nest sites a reliable source of parental DNA? Acta Ornithol 55:41–52
Sándor AD, Alexe V, Marinov M, Doroşencu A, Domşa C, Kiss BJ (2015) Nest-site selection, breeding success, and diet of white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) in the Danube Delta, Romania. Turkish J Zool 39:300–307
Saurola P (2017) Movements of Finnish sub-adult white-tailed eagles tracked by satellites 2009-2017. In: The collection of abstracts and short notes of the Seaeagle 2017 conference, October 5-7. Roosta, Estonia. Eagle Club Estonia, pp 94–95
Škorpíková V, Tunka Z (2013) The successful breeding of a three-year-old female of the white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla). Crex 32:65–70
Soutullo A, Urios V, Ferrer M, Peñarrubia SG (2006a) Post-fledging behaviour in Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos: onset of juvenile dispersal and progressive distancing from the nest. Ibis 148:307–312
Soutullo A, Urios V, Ferrer M, Peñarrubia SG (2006b) Dispersal of Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos during their first year of life. Bird Study 53:258–264
Struwe-Juhl B, Grünkorn T (2007) Results of colour-ringing white-tailed sea eagles Haliaeetus albicilla in Schleswig-Holstein: site fidelity, movements, dispersal, age of first breeding, age structure and breeding of siblings. Vogelwelt 128:117–129
Suh A, Kriegs JO, Brosius J, Schmitz J (2011) Retroposon insertions and the chronology of avian sex chromosome evolution. Mol Biol Evol 28(11):2993–2997
Sulkava S, Tornberg R, Koivusaari J (1997) Diet of the white-tailed eagle Haliaeetus albicilla in Finland. Ornis Fenn 74:65–78
Tapia L, Zuberogoitia I (2018) Breeding and nesting biology in raptors. In: Sarasola JH, Grande JM, Negro JJ (eds) Birds of prey: biology and conservation in the XXI century. Springer, Cham
Tihanyi G, Dudás M, Horváth T (2009) First breeding record of colour ringed white-tailed eagle in Hungary. Heliaca 7:87–88
Tikkanen H, Balotari-Chiebao F, Laaksonen T, Pakanen V-M, Rytkönen S (2018) Habitat use of flying subadult white-tailed eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla): implications for land use and wind power plant planning. Ornis Fenn 95:137–150
Tucker MA, Alexandrou O, Bierregaard RO Jr et al (2019) Large birds travel farther in homogeneous environments. Glob Ecol Biogeogr 28(5):576–587. https://doi.org/10.1111/geb.12875
Végvári Z, Katona G, Vági B, Freckleton RP, Gaillard J-M, Székely T, Liker A (2018) Sex-biased breeding dispersal is predicted by social environment in birds. Ecol Evol 8(13):6483–6491
Whitfield DP, Duffy K, McLeod DRA, Evans RJ, MacLennan AM, Reid R, Sexton D, Wilson JD (2009a) Juvenile dispersal of white-tailed eagles in western Scotland. J Raptor Res 43(2):110–120
Whitfield DP, Douse A, Evans RJ, Grant J, Love J, McLeod DRA, Reid R, Wilson JD (2009b) Natal and breeding dispersal in a reintroduced population of white-tailed eagles Haliaeetus albicilla. Bird Study 56(2):177–186
Acknowledgements
We thank the following ornithologists and their cooperators for monitoring white-tailed eagles and their nest sites in the field: K. Makoň, H. Matušík, J. Mráz, and M. Váczi. We thank Kevin Roche for language editing. We also thank the editor and the anonymous referees for their valuable comments.
Code availability
Not applicable
Funding
This research was financially supported by the IGA VFU Brno (project no. 216/2019/FVHE).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
RR and IL designed the study and provided legislative permissions. RR, IL, PS, DR, and DH participated in the tagging of nestlings and regular checks of locations recorded and individual fates. DR, with VM, DD, and LR, analysed the data in GIS. DR contributed most to the writing of the paper, which was reviewed and approved by the other co-authors.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Ethics approval
All animal manipulation and tagging were consistent with the laws of the Czech Republic, Austria, and Hungary. Tagging was allowed on the basis of the following permissions: (1) Czech Republic: JMK 48995/2017 (S-JMK 25358/2017 OŽP/Ško), JMK 18112/2018 (S-JMK 176395/2017 OŽP/Ško), KUCJK 40400/2017 (OZZL 25808/2017); (2) Austria: GFL2-J-107/014; (3) Hungary: tagging was performed by the ringer Péter Spakovszky under general deliverance PE-KTF/97-13/2017 of the Hungarian Bird Ringing Centre (MME/BirdLife).
Consent to participate
Not applicable
Consent for publication
Not applicable
Conflict of interest
The authors declare no competing interests.
Additional information
Publisher’s note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Rymešová, D., Raab, R., Machálková, V. et al. First-year dispersal in white-tailed eagles Haliaeetus albicilla. Eur J Wildl Res 67, 44 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-021-01490-6
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-021-01490-6