Abstract:
Protected areas are central to the conservation of biodiversity across the globe. However,
their performance, especially in relation to highly mobile species, is largely dependent on
the socio-ecological characteristics of the landscape that surrounds them. Here, we assess
the patterns of avian scavenger distribution, including both obligate (i.e., vultures) and
facultative (corvids and other raptors) scavenger species, inside and outside of protected
areas. We contrast the situation between an African area, which has protected areas surrounded
by mostly subsistence stockbreeding (KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa) and
a European area, which has protected areas surrounded by commercial farming (Ebro
Valley, Spain). We found large differences between the two areas. In the South African
area, the richness and abundance of vultures, but not of facultative scavengers, were higher
inside than outside of protected areas; as a result, the richness and abundance of vultures
were negatively related to the distance to the nearest protected area in South Africa. In
contrast, the richness and abundance of vultures in the Spanish area were similar inside and
outside of protected areas. We obtained similar results when focusing solely on presence
and abundance of Gyps vultures. The contrasting effects of protected areas in the distribution
of avian scavengers, especially vultures, in the studied areas may be due to differences
in agro-systems and socio-economical models that lead to differential availability of ungulate carcasses. We suggest that carrion shortage in the subsistence farming systems
in the South African area, whereby domestic livestock carcasses are generally used by
householders and thus rarely become available to vultures, should be considered alongside
poisoning prevention to help conserve African vulture populations.
