Unravelling the decision making of foraging vultures: insights from a field experiment
Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT) integrates both the consumer and the resource, yet their simultaneous assessment is uncommon. Vultures represent an ideal model for OFT studies because carrion requires no capture effort and minimal handling, allowing them to focus primarily on food searching. Here, we...
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The Royal Society
2025-04-01
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| Series: | Royal Society Open Science |
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| Online Access: | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.250085 |
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| author | Eneko Arrondo Jorge Martinez Carracedo Patrick McAllister Zebensui Morales-Reyes Martina Scacco Roberto Pascual-Rico Ainara Cortés-Avizanda José Antonio Donázar Marcos Moleón José Antonio Sánchez-Zapata |
| author_facet | Eneko Arrondo Jorge Martinez Carracedo Patrick McAllister Zebensui Morales-Reyes Martina Scacco Roberto Pascual-Rico Ainara Cortés-Avizanda José Antonio Donázar Marcos Moleón José Antonio Sánchez-Zapata |
| author_sort | Eneko Arrondo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Optimal Foraging Theory (OFT) integrates both the consumer and the resource, yet their simultaneous assessment is uncommon. Vultures represent an ideal model for OFT studies because carrion requires no capture effort and minimal handling, allowing them to focus primarily on food searching. Here, we combined GPS tracking of 61 Iberian griffon vultures (consumers) with photo-trapping monitoring of 49 carcasses (resources) to assess the determinants of vulture foraging and the consequences for carrion consumption in two areas with different carrion abundances. First, we determined the importance of different factors (distance to the resource, hunger and competition) in the decisions of individuals of whether to descend or not on a carcass. Second, we compared carrion consumption patterns (time of carcass discovery and consumption, and maximum number of vultures gathered around the carcass) between areas. We found that distance, rather than hunger, is the primary factor determining whether a vulture descends to a carcass. In parallel, carrion was consumed similarly in areas with different resource availabilities. These findings indicate that vultures tend to eat whenever a nearby opportunity arises, consistent with a type-I functional response. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d97e0f5b38c9480daffed997f38fb85b |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2054-5703 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-04-01 |
| publisher | The Royal Society |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Royal Society Open Science |
| spelling | doaj-art-d97e0f5b38c9480daffed997f38fb85b2025-08-20T02:10:43ZengThe Royal SocietyRoyal Society Open Science2054-57032025-04-0112410.1098/rsos.250085Unravelling the decision making of foraging vultures: insights from a field experimentEneko Arrondo0Jorge Martinez Carracedo1Patrick McAllister2Zebensui Morales-Reyes3Martina Scacco4Roberto Pascual-Rico5Ainara Cortés-Avizanda6José Antonio Donázar7Marcos Moleón8José Antonio Sánchez-Zapata9Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD), CSIC, Sevilla, SpainUniversity of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UKUniversity of Ulster, Coleraine, Northern Ireland, UKDepartamento de Biología Animal, Edafología y Geología, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de La Laguna (ULL), San Cristóbal de La Laguna, SpainDepartment of Migration and Immuno-Ecology, Max-Planck-Institut fur Ornithologie, Radolfzell, GermanyResearch Institute of Hunting Resources (IREC), CSIC, Ciudad Real, SpainInstituto Mediterráneo de Estudios Avanzados (IMEDEA), CSIC, Esporles, Illes Balears, SpainEstación Biológica de Doñana (EBD), CSIC, Sevilla, SpainDepartment of Zoology, University of Granada, Granada, SpainDepartment of Applied Biology, Miguel Hernández University of Elche, Elche, SpainOptimal Foraging Theory (OFT) integrates both the consumer and the resource, yet their simultaneous assessment is uncommon. Vultures represent an ideal model for OFT studies because carrion requires no capture effort and minimal handling, allowing them to focus primarily on food searching. Here, we combined GPS tracking of 61 Iberian griffon vultures (consumers) with photo-trapping monitoring of 49 carcasses (resources) to assess the determinants of vulture foraging and the consequences for carrion consumption in two areas with different carrion abundances. First, we determined the importance of different factors (distance to the resource, hunger and competition) in the decisions of individuals of whether to descend or not on a carcass. Second, we compared carrion consumption patterns (time of carcass discovery and consumption, and maximum number of vultures gathered around the carcass) between areas. We found that distance, rather than hunger, is the primary factor determining whether a vulture descends to a carcass. In parallel, carrion was consumed similarly in areas with different resource availabilities. These findings indicate that vultures tend to eat whenever a nearby opportunity arises, consistent with a type-I functional response.https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.250085accelerometerGPS trackinggriffon vultureGyps fulvusoptimal foraging theorytype I functional response |
| spellingShingle | Eneko Arrondo Jorge Martinez Carracedo Patrick McAllister Zebensui Morales-Reyes Martina Scacco Roberto Pascual-Rico Ainara Cortés-Avizanda José Antonio Donázar Marcos Moleón José Antonio Sánchez-Zapata Unravelling the decision making of foraging vultures: insights from a field experiment Royal Society Open Science accelerometer GPS tracking griffon vulture Gyps fulvus optimal foraging theory type I functional response |
| title | Unravelling the decision making of foraging vultures: insights from a field experiment |
| title_full | Unravelling the decision making of foraging vultures: insights from a field experiment |
| title_fullStr | Unravelling the decision making of foraging vultures: insights from a field experiment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Unravelling the decision making of foraging vultures: insights from a field experiment |
| title_short | Unravelling the decision making of foraging vultures: insights from a field experiment |
| title_sort | unravelling the decision making of foraging vultures insights from a field experiment |
| topic | accelerometer GPS tracking griffon vulture Gyps fulvus optimal foraging theory type I functional response |
| url | https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsos.250085 |
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