2011/11/21 by Antoni Margalida, José Ramón Benítez, José A. Sánchez‐Zapata +3 · 57 citations
Environmental Science · #Wildlife Ecology and Conservation #Avian ecology and behavior #Animal Ecology and Behavior Studies #Vulture #Biology #Predation #Reproductive success #Productivity #Livestock #Population #Ecology #Reproduction #Zoology #Demography
paper · open access · doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.2011.01189.x
published in Ibis 154(1), 184-188 (Wiley)
openalex publication_date 2011/11/21 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Between 2000 and 2009 we studied the diet and breeding success of Egyptian Vultures Neophron percnopterus in southern Spain. Wild species accounted for 74.9% of prey items ( n = 1071) with a predominance of mammals (62.3%), followed by birds (20.8%) and reptiles (13.1%). Spatially, the diet was highly varied and not restricted to carcasses of livestock; wild Rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus accounted for 54% of the overall remains. The spatial variability may reflect regional and local disparity in the availability of main prey. The temporal relationship between variation in trophic diversity and Vulture nesting productivity (both values showing a long‐term decrease) might suggest a causal link between variation in diet and reproductive output. We hypothesize that high turnover rates could explain productivity variation as a consequence of the recruitment of less experienced individuals to the breeding population. This could in turn generate covariation between diet and reproductive output.