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Can wild ungulate carcasses provide enough biomass to maintain avian scavenger populations? An empirical assessment using a bio-inspired computational model

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dc.creator Margalida, Antoni
dc.creator Colomer, M. Àngels (Maria Àngels)
dc.creator Sanuy i Castells, Delfí
dc.date 2011
dc.date.accessioned 2025-11-03T12:14:44Z
dc.date.available 2025-11-03T12:14:44Z
dc.identifier https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0020248
dc.identifier 1932-6203
dc.identifier http://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/41668
dc.identifier.uri http://fima-docencia.ub.edu:8080/xmlui/handle/123456789/23814
dc.description Background: The reduction in the amount of food available for European avian scavengers as a consequence of restrictive public health policies is a concern for managers and conservationists. Since 2002, the application of several sanitary regulations has limited the availability of feeding resources provided by domestic carcasses, but theoretical studies assessing whether the availability of food resources provided by wild ungulates are enough to cover energetic requirements are lacking. Methodology/Findings: We assessed food provided by a wild ungulate population in two areas of NE Spain inhabited by three vulture species and developed a P System computational model to assess the effects of the carrion resources provided on their population dynamics. We compared the real population trend with to a hypothetical scenario in which only food provided by wild ungulates was available. Simulation testing of the model suggests that wild ungulates constitute an important food resource in the Pyrenees and the vulture population inhabiting this area could grow if only the food provided by wild ungulates would be available. On the contrary, in the Pre-Pyrenees there is insufficient food to cover the energy requirements of avian scavenger guilds, declining sharply if biomass from domestic animals would not be available. Conclusions/Significance: Our results suggest that public health legislation can modify scavenger population trends if a large number of domestic ungulate carcasses disappear from the mountains. In this case, food provided by wild ungulates could be not enough and supplementary feeding could be necessary if other alternative food resources are not available (i.e. the reintroduction of wild ungulates), preferably in European Mediterranean scenarios sharing similar and socio-economic conditions where there are low densities of wild ungulates. Managers should anticipate the conservation actions required by assessing food availability and the possible scenarios in order to make the most suitable decisions.
dc.description AM was supported by the Departament of Medi Ambient i Habitatge of Generalitat de Catalunya and Ministerio de Medio Ambiente. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.
dc.language eng
dc.publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
dc.relation Reproducció del document publicat a https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0020248
dc.relation PLoS ONE, 2011, vol. 6, núm. 5, e20248
dc.rights cc-by, (c) Margalida, Colomer, Sanuy, 2011
dc.rights info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.rights http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.5/es/deed.ca
dc.subject Rapinyaires -- Europa
dc.subject Ocells -- Europa
dc.subject Ecosistemes -- Anàlisi
dc.subject Ecosistemes -- Mètodes de simulació
dc.subject Diversitat biològica -- Conservació
dc.title Can wild ungulate carcasses provide enough biomass to maintain avian scavenger populations? An empirical assessment using a bio-inspired computational model
dc.type article
dc.type publishedVersion


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