3. RESULTS
Griffon Vultures exploited very large annual home-range sizes
(ca. 5,000 km2), showing average monthly
cumulative distances travelled of 1,776 km (Table 1), and a monthly
home-range fidelity of 67.77 ± 25.05%. Monthly home-ranges differed
between sexes, seasons and breeding regions (Tables 2 and 3; Fig 2).
Males showed a smaller monthly home-range size than females
(Table 3). Birds also showed
larger home-ranges during spring and summer compared to autumn and
winter (Table S2; Fig 2). Individuals from southern breeding regions
(Cazorla, Cadiz), and central Pyrenees showed, on average, larger
home-ranges than those of central (Segovia) and northern breeding
regions (Alto Ebro) (Table S2 and Fig 2).
Monthly cumulative distance travelled were similar for both females and
males (Table 2 and 3; Fig 3). However, birds travelled longer distances
during spring and summer than during autumn and winter (Table S2).
Individuals from Alto Ebro, Segovia and Pyrenees travelled larger
monthly distances than those of Cazorla and Cadiz (Table S2; Fig 3).
The monthly home-range fidelity was slightly higher for males than
females, and during spring and summer, being the lowest in autumn and
winter. Likewise, there were differences in fidelity between breeding
regions. Individuals from Central Spain (Segovia) showed higher fidelity
over time than those from the north (Alto Ebro, Pyrenees) and southern
Spain (Cádiz, Cazorla) (Table 2, 3 and S2; Fig 4).