A lifetime track of a griffon vulture: The moving story of <scp>Rehovot</scp> (<scp>Y64</scp>)

Acácio, Marta; Anglister, Nili; Vaadia, Gideon; Harel, Roi; Nathan, Ran; Hatzofe, Ohad; Spiegel, Orr

doi:10.1002/ecy.3985

Cited by 16 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…However, released griffons died for other reasons, especially those in the Judean desert. Although almost all of the griffons were equipped with GPS that facilitated quick recovery (Acácio et al, 2023) and despite intensive tests for pathogens and toxins, we could not establish the cause of death in most of these cases (over 60% of all released). Some of the griffons did show weakness, tremors, and circling behavior, however, no pathogens, toxins, or conclusive pathological or clinical findings were identified.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extreme temperatures impede the release success of captive-bred avian scavengers

Anglister,

Acácio,

Vaadia

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Conservation translocations (reinforcements and reintroductions) are central for managing various endangered species, yet, their implementation is logistically and financially challenging. Because many translocations fail due to the mortality of released individuals, identifying and preventing these factors is crucial. Here we examine risk factors affecting the post-release survival of the Griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus). The Israeli population is facing extinction, and the recovery efforts by the local Nature and Parks Authority include supplemental releases of individuals from captive-breeding or rehabilitated birds (mostly imported from Spain). We use GPS tracking and thermometers to compare movement, behavior, and weather conditions experienced by released and wild-born individuals active in the same area and time. Our results show that the Judean Desert release site had a significantly lower survival rate than other release sites included in the program. After excluding several possible factors (e.g. known pathogens) with pathological examinations, we found that released individuals at this area were exposed to higher temperatures preceding their death (compared to wild-born griffons nearby), suggesting heat stress as the cause of death. Arguably, they failed to avoid the harsh environmental conditions, resulting in overheating due to their inexperience and undeveloped flight ability, as reflected by their lower probabilities of flying and shorter travel distances per day compared to wild-born vultures. These findings have led to adjustments of the local release protocol, (namely winter releases) resulting in a significant improvement in the early survival of translocated Griffons in the Judean Desert. Accounting for the harmful effects of extreme weather conditions is particularly important in a world facing climate change. More broadly, this sequence of scientific investigation with data integration from ecological, clinical, and biotelemetry sources, leading to improvement in translocation success demonstrates how conservation practices can be optimized by supporting studies to ensure the survival of endangered species in the wild.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Extreme temperatures impede the release success of captive-bred avian scavengers

Anglister,

Acácio,

Vaadia

et al. 2024

Preprint

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“…Between 2008 and 2022, we GPS-tracked 319 griffon vultures in Israel. To account for the differences in the GPS transmitters' sampling rate over this 15-year period 38 , and to maximize the available data, we analysed different measures of roosting behaviour as a proxy for movement and social behaviour (e.g., higher roost fidelity representing higher site fidelity and higher co-roosting strength representing stronger social bonds 33 ). In total, we identified 145,270 roost-locations (locations where griffons spent the night).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A historical population of thousands of individuals 54 declined to about 400 griffons three decades ago and to less than 200 individuals today. To prevent the local extinction of this species, there has been an intense conservation and management effort, including provisioning of food at supplementary feeding stations for vultures, release of captive-bred and translocated individuals 55 , minimizing mortality caused by energy infrastructures, seasonal censuses, and monitoring through individual marking and GPS transmitters 38 .…”

Section: Study System and Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Behavioural plasticity shapes population ageing patterns

Acácio,

Gahm,

Anglister

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Ageing is ubiquitous across living organisms, leading to behavioural changes throughout life [1][2][3][4] ("behavioural ageing"). Younger, sexually immature individuals tend to differ from older, mature individuals in a number of behavioural traits, including how they move (e.g., flight performance 5 ) and how they interact with conspecifics (e.g., strength of social interactions 6,7 ). Such behavioural changes may influence space use 3,8 , the spread of infectious diseases 1 , and even the lifespan of individuals 9 .Behavioural changes with age may also play an important role in how populations adjust to environmental change: young individuals may adopt novel behaviours and be the agents of change 10,11 , while old individuals, with their accumulated knowledge and experience, may adjust to the environment by shifting behavioural strategies over their lifetimes [12][13][14] . Despite the importance of understanding behavioural ageing in nature, most ecological studies focus on binary comparisons between young and old animals, failing to track individuals throughout their lives 15 . Specifically, longitudinal studies that follow long-lived animals throughout most of their lives are rare, mostly due to methodological contraints 15 . This gap hinders the identification of gradual and non-monotonic behavioural changes in the wild or the mechanisms that underlie population-level ageing patterns.Research on behavioural ageing reveals a spectrum of patterns at the population level (Figure 1): some behaviours remain fixed throughout life 16 , while others change, either gradually 2 , or drastically at specific ages (e.g., early 17,18 or late in life 19,20 ; the latter usually associated with senescence and loss of physiological or physical capacities 21,22,3 , Figure 1A). Population-level behavioural changes with age can arise from two, non-mutually exclusive mechanisms. First, individuals may change their behaviour throughout their lifetimes (behavioural plasticity 23,24,6 ).Second, natural selection may act against behaviours that can confer lower fitness, resulting in differential mortality (or selective disappearance) of particular phenotypes 25,26 . Such selection may result in changes to the behavioural composition of the population with increasing age, without within-individual behavioural plasticity 27,28 (Figure 1B). Ultimately, examining the patterns and

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“…Teflon harness in a leg-loop configuration (for more details see Nemtzov et al, 2021;Acácio et al, 2023). The GPS tags provide information on vulture location approximately every 10 minutes during the day.…”

Section: Study Systemmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social interactions do not affect mycoplasma infection in griffon vultures

D'Bastiani,

Anglister,

Lysnyansky

et al. 2024

Preprint

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Uncovering the ways in which pathogens spread has important implications for population health and management. Pathogen transmission is influenced by various factors, including patterns of social interactions and shared use of space. We aim to understand how the social behavior of griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus), a species of conservation interest, influences the presence or absence of mycoplasma, a group of bacteria known to cause respiratory diseases in birds. We investigated how direct and indirect social interactions of griffon vultures in the wild, in different social situations, impacted the mycoplasma infection status. We inferred interactions from high-resolution Global Positioning system (GPS) tracking data. Specifically, we assessed how social behavior affects infection status when vultures share feeding and roosting locations, either at the same time (direct interactions) or subsequently, when space use is asynchronous (indirect interactions). We did not detect a significant effect of any type of social interaction on infection status. However, we observed a high population prevalence of Mycoplasma spp., suggesting that other factors might be more important than social interactions in determining disease dynamics in this population. Uncovering the mechanisms that underlie infection status in wildlife is crucial for maintaining viable populations, designing containment management actions, and gaining insights into the ecological mechanisms that drive infectious disease dynamics.

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A lifetime track of a griffon vulture: The moving story of Rehovot (Y64)

Cited by 16 publications

References 31 publications

Extreme temperatures impede the release success of captive-bred avian scavengers

Extreme temperatures impede the release success of captive-bred avian scavengers

Behavioural plasticity shapes population ageing patterns

Social interactions do not affect mycoplasma infection in griffon vultures

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