NEW STUDY ON SUPPLEMENTARY FEEDING AND ENDANGERED AVIAN SCAVENGERS ON THE COVER OF FRONTIERS IN ECOLOGY AND THE ENVIRONMENT

In recent years, the populations of large avian scavengers have been suffering a severe decline. In order to counteract this trend, supplementary feeding stations (SFS – known as “vulture restaurants”) have been shown to be effective for conservation of these species.

In an article review with international collaborations and led by CIBIO-InBIO researcher Ainara Cortés-Avizanda, and published by the scientific journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment, examined the impact of these feeding stations at individual, population and community/ecosystem level.

Despite its mentioned effectiveness in the conservation of avian scavengers, this tool also generated some negative consequences due to large aggregations of individuals, promoting density-dependent decreases in productivity and favoring the congregation of predators, these feeding stations may also interfere with the natural selection processes and severely reduce populations that are not adapted to their natural environments.

This review highlights the need for new research studies aimed at examining future scenarios for avian scavengers in relation to ecosystem services and reevaluating the existence of SFS in certain landscapes.

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