Birds of Prey PDF
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José Hernán Sarasola Juan Manuel Grande · Juan José Negro Editors Birds of Prey Biology and conservation in the XXI century Birds of Prey José Hernán Sarasola Juan Manuel Grande • Juan José Negro Editors Birds of Prey Biology and conservation in the XXI century Editors José Hernán Sarasola Juan Manuel Grande Centro para el Estudio y Conservación de Centro para el Estudio y Conservación de las Aves Rapaces en Argentina (CECARA) las Aves Rapaces en Argentina (CECARA) Universidad Nacional de La Pampa Universidad Nacional de La Pampa (UNLPam) & Consejo Nacional de (UNLPam) & Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas de Argentina (CONICET) Argentina (CONICET) Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina Santa Rosa, La Pampa, Argentina Juan José Negro Department of Evolutionary Ecology Doñana Biological Station (EBD-CSIC) Seville, Spain ISBN 978-3-319-73744-7 ISBN 978-3-319-73745-4 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73745-4 Library of Congress Control Number: 2018944273 © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, express or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. Printed on acid-free paper This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer International Publishing AG part of Springer Nature. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Preface Birds of prey have fascinated humans through time perhaps more than any other group of birds. Proof of the respect, admiration, and veneration that raptors gained in ancient but also in modern human civilizations is found in the diversity of sym- bolisms, from hieroglyphs to country flags and emblems, condensing the ideals that raptors transmitted to these cultures, such as power, vitality, sacredness, and nobil- ity. From the eighteenth century to modern societies, however, and although raptors are still admired as singular and as the most majestic species among birds, some divorce occurred with part of the society, and a majority of raptor species have suf- fered and still suffer from active human persecution. From an ecological perspective, birds of prey are the main avian top predators found in almost all mainland terrestrial ecosystems all around the world, playing a key role in regulating prey populations and structuring natural communities. However, such features also make raptors very susceptible to environmental changes, being species that have suffered the most from the impacts of human mod- ifications of natural habitats. Changes, by the way that are jeopardizing biodiversity conservation at an unprecedented global scale. The industrial revolution beginning in the mid-nineteenth century allowed the development of technical advances that lay the foundations for the current well-being of modern societies, including energy and food production. However, these advances, along with the expansion of com- munication and transportation infrastructures, needed to fulfill the increasing demands of a growing world human population. This resulted in the expansion of agricultural areas and urban sprawl, along with all the infrastructures needed for the supply of food, water, and energy, and thus permitted the transformation of enor- mous areas of natural habitats and the exploitation of natural resources at rates never recorded before. In this context, many raptor species around the world have become severely threatened and their populations reduced in numbers to levels that compro- mise their conservation. This book is aimed to provide readers, either students, researchers, or plain rap- tor enthusiasts, with the most exhaustive up-to-date review of topics related to rap- tor biology and conservation. Even though we are facing a severe environmental v vi Preface crisis, new technologies and accumulated knowledge have permitted the development of a number of tools that may traduce in the improvement of methodologies applied in the field of avian biology and conservation. In this sense, this book intends to gather exhaustive revisions of some of the latest technical and methodological advances on the study of raptors. Most of these advances were unforeseen even just a few years ago and currently represent important research opportunities for the study of birds of prey. In addition, novel ways in which raptors are threatened by human activities are recorded in conjunction with alternatives to mitigate such impacts. This book, focused mainly in diurnal raptors but with some references and exam- ples to nocturnal ones in general topics, is divided into three main sections. The first section deals with some of the most important aspects on the general biology and ecology of raptors: from phylogeny and taxonomy to breeding, behavioral ecology, migration, and dispersion, including a review of one of the particular functions that birds of prey play in natural communities as dispersers of plant seeds. The second section is concerned with the interactions between raptors and humans, human activities, and the resulting human-modified environments. In this section, chapters cover issues from the protagonism of diurnal raptors since prehis- tory, in ancient human civilizations and up to the present day. This section deals, for instance, with the main threats that raptors currently face when living in urban and human-altered environments. This section also includes a review of the state of the art in some of the most important anthropogenic threats for raptors, such as avian electrocution in powerlines and lead poisoning. The third and last section is concerned with raptor conservation worldwide. Species conservation is strongly influenced by their particular habits and behavior, but also by the singularities of the ecosystems or regions they live in. For that rea- son, chapters in this part include both biogeographical and taxonomical approaches. Thus, some particular groups, such as the Old World vultures, are analyzed in detail, while biogeographical-based assessments include some of the regions holding a greater diversity of raptors and also some of the most threatened species. Two of the chapters, as an example, deal with the development of novel tools applied to the study, monitoring, and hands-on conservation of birds of prey, including the latest available molecular techniques in conservation genetics, or the use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for nest surveying minimizing disturbance. As editors, we wish to acknowledge and heartily thank all our coauthors in this book. Their expertise and love for raptors have made possible this joint effort with contributions from all over the world. If this book helps, even minimally, to provide directions for preserving raptors and their habitats, our goals when we embarked in this endeavor will be fulfilled. Santa Rosa, Argentina José Hernán Sarasola Santa Rosa, Argentina Juan Manuel Grande Seville, Spain Juan José Negro 25 January 2018 Contents Part I General Biology 1 Phylogeny, Taxonomy, and Geographic Diversity of Diurnal Raptors: Falconiformes, Accipitriformes, and Cathartiformes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 David P. Mindell, Jérôme Fuchs, and Jeff A. Johnson 2 Behavioural Ecology of Raptors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Juan José Negro and Ismael Galván 3 Breeding and Nesting Biology in Raptors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 Luis Tapia and Iñigo Zuberogoitia 4 Dispersal in Raptors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95 David Serrano 5 Raptor Migration . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123 Keith L. Bildstein 6 Raptors as Seed Dispersers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139 Néstor Pérez-Méndez and Airam Rodríguez Part II R aptors in Human Landscapes 7 Raptors and People: An Ancient Relationship Persisting Today . . . . 161 Juan José Negro 8 Costs and Benefits of Urban Living in Raptors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 177 Claudina Solaro 9 Birds of Prey in Agricultural Landscapes: The Role of Agriculture Expansion and Intensification . . . . . . . . . . . 197 Juan Manuel Grande, Paula Maiten Orozco-Valor, María Soledad Liébana, and José Hernán Sarasola vii viii Contents 10 Toxicology of Birds of Prey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 229 Judit Smits and Vinny Naidoo 11 Lead Poisoning in Birds of Prey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 251 Oliver Krone 12 Raptor Electrocutions and Power Line Collisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 273 Duncan T. Eccleston and Richard E. Harness 13 Impact of Renewable Energy Sources on Birds of Prey . . . . . . . . . . . 303 James F. Dwyer, Melissa A. Landon, and Elizabeth K. Mojica Part III Raptor Conservation 14 Use of Drones for Research and Conservation of Birds of Prey . . . . . 325 David Canal and Juan José Negro 15 Conservation Genetics in Raptors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 339 Begoña Martínez-Cruz and María Méndez Camarena 16 Conservation Status of Neotropical Raptors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 373 José Hernán Sarasola, Juan Manuel Grande, and Marc Joseph Bechard 17 Conservation Threats and Priorities for Raptors Across Asia . . . . . . 395 Camille B. Concepcion, Keith L. Bildstein, Nigel J. Collar, and Todd E. Katzner 18 Conservation and Ecology of African Raptors. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 419 Arjun Amar, Ralph Buij, Jessleena Suri, Petra Sumasgutner, and Munir Z. Virani 19 Old World Vultures in a Changing Environment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 457 Antoni Margalida and Darcy Ogada 20 Raptor Conservation in Practice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 473 Richard T. Watson Raptor Species Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 499 Word-Topics Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 507 Part I General Biology Chapter 1 Phylogeny, Taxonomy, and Geographic Diversity of Diurnal Raptors: Falconiformes, Accipitriformes, and Cathartiformes David P. Mindell, Jérôme Fuchs, and Jeff A. Johnson Introduction An ideal taxonomy for organisms incorporates comprehensive knowledge of exist- ing species diversity and their phylogenetic relationships. This knowledge is used in developing consistent criteria for recognizing and naming species as well as mono- phyletic groups (clades) above the species level, including genera, families, and orders. This provides well-justified, consensus names for taxa that can be used globally in studying and managing the health of species and their populations. Having the taxonomic hierarchy of names reflects evolutionary history and advances our understanding of the origins and causes of change over time in biological diversity. Ideal classifications also include information on the relative distinctiveness of clades, as indicated by their assigned rank. However, placement of taxa into catego- ries of genus, family, order, and others is contentious because decisions are subjec- tive, varying with the relative priority given to different kinds of traits (e.g., morphological, molecular, ecological) both within and among organismal groups. It has long been suggested that geological age for clade origins be used as a stan- dardized criterion for assigning taxonomic rank across life forms (e.g., Bigelow 1956; Hennig 1966; Sibley and Ahlquist 1990), as time (age) is an objective metric that can be applied and compared across all life forms. There is no such objective D. P. Mindell (*) Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, Berkeley, CA, USA J. Fuchs Institut Systématique Evolution Biodiversité (ISYEB), Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, CNRS, Sorbonne Université, EPHE 57 rue Cuvier, CP51, 75005 Paris, France J. A. Johnson Department of Biological Sciences, Institute of Applied Sciences, University of North Texas, Denton, TX, USA e-mail: [email protected] © Springer International Publishing AG, part of Springer Nature 2018 3 J. H. Sarasola et al. (eds.), Birds of Prey, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73745-4_1
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