ABSTRACT
Quantifying space use and segregation, as well as the extrinsic and
intrinsic factors affecting them, is crucial to increase our knowledge
of species-specific movement ecology and to design effective management
and conservation measures. This is particularly relevant in the case of
species that are highly mobile and dependent on sparse and unpredictable
trophic resources, such as vultures. Here, we used the GPS-tagged data
of 127 adult Griffon Vultures Gyps fulvus captured at five
different breeding regions in Spain to describe the movement patterns
(home-range size and fidelity, and monthly cumulative distance). We also
examined how individual sex, season and breeding region determined the
cumulative distance travelled and the size and overlap between
consecutive monthly home-ranges. Overall, Griffon Vultures exhibited
very large annual home-range sizes of 5,027 ± 2,123
km2, mean monthly cumulative distances of 1,776 ±
1,497 km, and showed a monthly home-range fidelity of 67.8 ± 25.5 %.
However, individuals from northern breeding regions showed smaller
home-ranges and travelled shorter monthly distances than those from
southern ones. In all cases, home-ranges were larger in spring and
summer than in winter and autumn. Moreover, females showed larger
home-ranges and less monthly fidelity than males, indicating that the
latter tended to use the similar areas throughout the year. Overall, our
results indicate that both extrinsic and intrinsic factors modulate the
home-range the social Griffon Vulture and that spatial segregation
depend on sex and season at the individual level, without relevant
differences between breeding regions in individual site fidelity.
Keywords: Griffon Vulture, home-range, scavenger, spatial
segregation, site fidelity.