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Spatial and temporal movement of the Bearded Vulture using GPS telemetry in the Himalayas of Nepal |
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| Authors: | Tulsi R. Subedi Juan M. Pérez-García Shahrul A.M. Sah Sandesh Gurung Hem S. Baral Laxman P. Poudyal Hansoo Lee Simon Thomsett Munir Z. Virani José D. Anadón |
| Affiliation: | 1. Centre for Marine and Coastal Studies (CEMACS), Universiti Sains Malaysia, Gelugor, 11800 Pulau Pinang, Malaysia;2. Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Life Sciences and Engineering, University of Lleida, 25198 Lleida, Spain;3. Himalayan Nature, PO Box 10918, Kathmandu, Nepal Nepalese Ornithological Union (NOU), PO Box 21016, Kathmandu, Nepal;4. Zoological Society of London – Nepal Office, PO Box 5867, Kathmandu, Nepal;5. Department of National Parks and Wildlife Conservation, PO Box 860, Kathmandu, Nepal;6. Korea Institute of Environment Ecology, 62-12 Techno 1-ro, Yusunggu, Daejeon, 305-509 Korea;7. Ornithology Section, Department of Zoology, National Museums of Kenya, PO Box 40658-00100, Nairobi, Kenya;8. The Peregrine Fund, 5668 West Flying Hawk Lane, Boise, ID, 83709 USA;9. Department of Biology, Queens College, City University of New York Queens, New York, NY, 11367 USA |
| Abstract: | This study addresses for the first time the movement patterns of the globally near-threatened Bearded Vulture Gypaetus barbatus in its most important stronghold, the high-altitude mountain ranges of Asia. Tracked individuals (n = 8) in the Annapurna Himalayan range (Nepal) foraged over a vast range of 60 715.9 km2 and our results indicated age-class differences in the use of space. Territorial adults showed very small annual home-ranges (K90 = 150.3 km2), whereas immatures wandered extensively and covered vast ranges of the mountains (K90 = 23 930.8 km2). For adults and immatures, these values are notably larger than the other two studied populations in the world (Pyrenees and South Africa). This suggests that the studied Annapurna population might exhibit lower breeding density than in the Pyrenees or South Africa, possibly due to lower food availability. |
| Keywords: | Annapurna distance travelled Gypaetus barbatus home-range scavenger sex segregation |