The value of transhumance for biodiversity conservation: Vulture foraging in relation to livestock movements
In recent decades, intensive techniques of livestock raising have flourished, which has largely replaced traditional farming practices such as transhumance. These changes may have affected scavengers’ behaviour and ecology, as extensive livestock is a key source of carrion. This study evaluates the...
| Autores: | , , , , , , , |
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| Tipo de recurso: | artículo |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2021 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche |
| Repositorio: | REDIUMH. Depósito Digital de la UMH |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:dspace.umh.es:11000/33917 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/11000/33917 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Farming intensification GPS-tracking Livestock Traditional farming practices Vultures Wild ungulates CDU::5 - Ciencias puras y naturales::57 - Biología |
| Sumario: | In recent decades, intensive techniques of livestock raising have flourished, which has largely replaced traditional farming practices such as transhumance. These changes may have affected scavengers’ behaviour and ecology, as extensive livestock is a key source of carrion. This study evaluates the spatial responses of avian scavengers to the seasonal movements of transhumant herds in south-eastern Spain. We surveyed the abundance of avian scavengers and ungulates, and analysed the factors affecting the space use by 30 GPS-tracked griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus). Griffons’ foraging activity increased in the pasturelands occupied by transhumant herds, which implied greater vulture abundance at the landscape level during the livestock season. In contrast, facultative scavengers were more abundant without transhumant livestock herds, and the abundance of wild ungulates did not change in relation to livestock presence. We conclude that fostering transhumance and other traditional farming systems, to the detriment of farming intensification, could favour vulture conservation. |
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