Moleón M., Sánchez-Zapata J.A., Gil-Sánchez J.M., Barea-Azcón J.M., Ballesteros-Duperón E., Virgós E.
Empresa de Gestión Medioambiental-Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Junta de Andalucía, Granada, Spain; Departamento de Biología Aplicada, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Orihuela, Alicante, Spain; Departamento de Biología y Geología, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain; Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa
Moleón, M., Empresa de Gestión Medioambiental-Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Junta de Andalucía, Granada, Spain, Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal, Plant and Environmental Sciences, Univ. of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa; Sánchez-Zapata, J.A., Departamento de Biología Aplicada, Universidad Miguel Hernández, Orihuela, Alicante, Spain; Gil-Sánchez, J.M., Empresa de Gestión Medioambiental-Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Junta de Andalucía, Granada, Spain; Barea-Azcón, J.M., Empresa de Gestión Medioambiental-Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Junta de Andalucía, Granada, Spain; Ballesteros-Duperón, E., Empresa de Gestión Medioambiental-Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Junta de Andalucía, Granada, Spain; Virgós, E., Departamento de Biología y Geología, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Móstoles, Madrid, Spain
Background: Predation may potentially lead to negative effects on both prey (directly via predators) and predators (indirectly via human persecution). Predation pressure studies are, therefore, of major interest in the fields of theoretical knowledge and conservation of prey or predator species, with wide ramifications and profound implications in human-wildlife conflicts. However, detailed works on this issue in highly valuable -in conservation terms- Mediterranean ecosystems are virtually absent. This paper explores the predator-hunting conflict by examining a paradigmatic, Mediterranean-wide (endangered) predator-two prey (small game) system. Methodology/Principal Findings: We estimated the predation impact ('kill rate' and 'predation rate', i.e., number of prey and proportion of the prey population eaten, respectively) of Bonelli's eagle Aquila fasciata on rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus and red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa populations in two seasons (the eagle's breeding and non-breeding periods, 100 days each) in SE Spain. The mean estimated kill rate by the seven eagle reproductive units in the study area was c. 304 rabbits and c. 262 partridges in the breeding season, and c. 237 rabbits and c. 121 partridges in the non-breeding period. This resulted in very low predation rates (range: 0.3-2.5%) for both prey and seasons. Conclusions/Significance: The potential role of Bonelli's eagles as a limiting factor for rabbits and partridges at the population scale was very poor. The conflict between game profitability and conservation interest of either prey or predators is apparently very localised, and eagles, quarry species and game interests seem compatible in most of the study area. Currently, both the persecution and negative perception of Bonelli's eagle (the 'partridge-eating eagle' in Spanish) have a theoretical basis in most of this area. © 2011 Moleón et al.
Alectoris rufa; Aquila fasciata; article; bird; breeding; controlled study; eagle; game bird; nonhuman; Oryctolagus cuniculus; population density; population dynamics; predator prey interaction; predator stress; rabbit; seasonal variation; sensitivity analysis; Spain; species conservation; animal; conflict; diet; Galliformes; geography; human; physiology; predation; rabbit; Accipitridae; Alectoris rufa; Aquila; Oryctolagus cuniculus; Animals; Breeding; Conflict (Psychology); Diet; Eagles; Galliformes; Geography; Humans; Predatory Behavior; Rabbits
