Diet Plasticity of Cinereous Vulture Aegypius monachus in Different Colonies in the Extremadura (SW Spain)

[摘要] ThecurrentfeedinghabitsoftheCinereousVultureAegypiusmonachusremainlargelyunknownsincemoststudieswerecarriedoutinthe1970s.Toupdatetheinformation,westudiedthedietofthespeciesindifferentcoloniesinExtremadurabyanalyzingthefrequencyofpresenceof378preyitemsobservedin283pellets.Inallcolonies,sheepcarcassesformedthestaplefood.Nevertheless,thereweremajordifferencesbetweencoloniesinsupplementaryprey:farmpoultryandswineinSierradeGata,swineanddeerinSierradeSanPedroandGranadilla.TherewerealsovariationsbetweensubcolonieswithinacolonyanddifferenceswithcolonieselsewhereintheIberianPeninsula.Incoloniessituatedinareaswithahighabundanceoflagomorphsanddeer,suchasCabañerosandSierradeAndujar,thedietisbasedonwildanimalpopulations.Inothercolonies,thedietdependstoalargeextentonlivestockfarming:sheepinSierradeGata,GranadillaandSierradeSanPedro,andswineandsheepinSierradeGuadarrama.TheCinereousVulturethusshowsgreattrophicplasticity,takingadvantageofnewresources(suchascarcassesofpoultryfrompoultryfarms)andrespondingtovariationsinpreyavailabilityintheareasurroundingthecolonies.Thesecircumstancesneedtobetakenintoconsiderationfortheconservationofthespecies,inparticularwhenthevulturesdependonhumanresources,whicharepronetodrasticchangesinavailability.Therecentoutbreaksofveterinarydiseases(likeBSE,foot-and-mouthdisease,RiftValleyfeverandbluetonguedisease)andreformsrelatedtotheCommonAgriculturalPolicy,areapointincase.

[学科分类] 动物科学

[关键词] Trophic Plasticity