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Carrion Ecology and Management pp 255–274Cite as

Studying Movement of Avian Scavengers to Understand Carrion Ecology

Part of the Wildlife Research Monographs book series (WIREMO,volume 2)

Abstract

Scavenging is a key process in the ecosystems. Studying foraging movements of obligate scavengers such as vultures can contribute to a better understanding of the scavenging-related patterns and processes. Here we review methods that can be used to track foraging vultures in the field. Yet, in order to track, vultures need to be trapped and tagged in manner that would ensure their health and normal survival and behavior. GPS telemetry is currently the best tool to track vultures for foraging studies. In a review of recent studies, we highlight the predominance of studies of species from Europe, North America and Southern Africa, and we deplore the lack of knowledge of species from the Tropics. Home ranges vary tremendously between sites, season and species (from a few km2 to >300,000 km2) but also depending on the analysis method used. Daily distances travelled are more repeatable between species, with values ranging between 30 and 40 km. Yet the way that carrion distribution can affect scavenger distribution and foraging behavior is still poorly understood.

Keywords

  • Accipitridae
  • Cathartidae
  • Home range
  • Space use
  • Tagging
  • Telemetry
  • Trapping

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Acknowledgements

The authors want to thank all their colleagues who helped capturing and tagging vultures in the field, A. Camiña, I. Shaked and J. Brandt for providing photos of trapping and tagging techniques, and the editors of the book for giving the opportunity to write this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CEFE UMR 5175, CNRS, Université de Montpellier, Université Paul-Valéry Montpellier, EPHE, Montpellier, France

    Olivier Duriez

  2. Movement Ecology Lab, Department of Ecology, Evolution and Behavior, Alexander Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel

    Roi Harel

  3. Science Division, Israel Nature and Parks Authority, Jerusalem, Israel

    Ohad Hatzofe

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  1. Olivier Duriez
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  2. Roi Harel
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  3. Ohad Hatzofe
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Correspondence to Olivier Duriez .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Investigación en Biodiversidad y Cambio Global (CIBC-UAM), Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Pedro P. Olea

  2. Centre for Functional Ecology (CFE), Department of Life Sciences, University of Coimbra, Coimbra, Portugal

    Patricia Mateo-Tomás

  3. Departamento de Biología Aplicada, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Elche, Spain

    José Antonio Sánchez-Zapata

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Duriez, O., Harel, R., Hatzofe, O. (2019). Studying Movement of Avian Scavengers to Understand Carrion Ecology. In: Olea, P., Mateo-Tomás, P., Sánchez-Zapata, J. (eds) Carrion Ecology and Management. Wildlife Research Monographs, vol 2. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-16501-7_11

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