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Kaizer M, Fabres B, Aguiar-Silva FH, Sanaiotti TM, Dias AR, Banhos A. The prey of the Harpy Eagle in its last reproductive refuges in the Atlantic Forest. Sci Rep 2023; 13:18308. [PMID: 37880262 PMCID: PMC10600338 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-44014-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2023] [Accepted: 10/03/2023] [Indexed: 10/27/2023] Open
Abstract
The Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) is threatened with extinction throughout its distribution in the neotropical forests. In the Atlantic Forest, deforestation has reduced the number of suitable habitats, with only a few remnant forest fragments hosting active nests; currently, the only known nests in this region are in the Central Atlantic Forest Ecological Corridor (CAFEC), in Brazil. Little is known about Harpy Eagle diets in this region, despite this information being essential for developing effective conservation strategies. We classified the composition, frequency, richness, ecological attributes, and conservation status of the species that make up the Harpy Eagle's diet in its last refuges in the CAFEC. Between 2017 and 2021, we collected and analyzed 152 prey remains and 285 camera trap photographs from seven active nests. We identified at least 16 mammal species (96.7%), one parrot and other bird remains (3.3%). The Harpy Eagle's diet consisted mainly of medium-sized arboreal, folivorous, frugivorous, and diurnal mammals. Five prey species are currently threatened with extinction at global, six at national and seven at regional levels. The majority of the diet consists of Sapajus robustus, which is threatened, and Bradypus variegatus, which is not threatened. In addition to the effects of habitat loss and hunting, the Harpy Eagle may also suffer from the decline in the populations of their prey in the Atlantic Forest.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mylena Kaizer
- Projeto Harpia - Mata Atlântica (Harpy Eagle Project - Atlantic Forest), Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo - UFES, Alto Universitário, Guararema, Alegre, Espírito Santo, 29500-000, Brazil
- Projeto Harpia (Harpy Eagle Project - Brazil), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia - INPA, Av. André Araújo, 2936, Aleixo, Manaus, Amazonas, 69067-375, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Zoologia - PPGZOOL, Universidade Federal do Amazonas - UFAM, Av. General Rodrigo Otávio Jordão Ramos, 3000, Coroado, Manaus, Amazonas, 69077-000, Brazil
| | - Brener Fabres
- Projeto Harpia - Mata Atlântica (Harpy Eagle Project - Atlantic Forest), Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo - UFES, Alto Universitário, Guararema, Alegre, Espírito Santo, 29500-000, Brazil
- Projeto Harpia (Harpy Eagle Project - Brazil), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia - INPA, Av. André Araújo, 2936, Aleixo, Manaus, Amazonas, 69067-375, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Biologia Animal) - PPGBAN, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo - UFES, Avenida Fernando Ferrari, 514, Prédio Barbara Weinberg, Vitória, Espírito Santo, 29075-910, Brazil
| | - Francisca Helena Aguiar-Silva
- Projeto Harpia - Mata Atlântica (Harpy Eagle Project - Atlantic Forest), Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo - UFES, Alto Universitário, Guararema, Alegre, Espírito Santo, 29500-000, Brazil
- Projeto Harpia (Harpy Eagle Project - Brazil), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia - INPA, Av. André Araújo, 2936, Aleixo, Manaus, Amazonas, 69067-375, Brazil
- Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia - INPA, Avenida André Araújo, 2936, Petrópolis, Manaus, Amazonas, 69067-375, Brazil
| | - Tânia Margarete Sanaiotti
- Projeto Harpia - Mata Atlântica (Harpy Eagle Project - Atlantic Forest), Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo - UFES, Alto Universitário, Guararema, Alegre, Espírito Santo, 29500-000, Brazil
- Projeto Harpia (Harpy Eagle Project - Brazil), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia - INPA, Av. André Araújo, 2936, Aleixo, Manaus, Amazonas, 69067-375, Brazil
- Coordenação de Biodiversidade, Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia - INPA, Avenida André Araújo, 2936, Petrópolis, Manaus, Amazonas, 69067-375, Brazil
| | - Alexandro Ribeiro Dias
- Projeto Harpia - Mata Atlântica (Harpy Eagle Project - Atlantic Forest), Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo - UFES, Alto Universitário, Guararema, Alegre, Espírito Santo, 29500-000, Brazil
- Reserva Particular de Patrimônio Natural Estação Veracel, Rodovia BR-367, 37, Porto Seguro, Bahia, 45810-000, Brazil
| | - Aureo Banhos
- Projeto Harpia - Mata Atlântica (Harpy Eagle Project - Atlantic Forest), Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo - UFES, Alto Universitário, Guararema, Alegre, Espírito Santo, 29500-000, Brazil.
- Projeto Harpia (Harpy Eagle Project - Brazil), Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas da Amazônia - INPA, Av. André Araújo, 2936, Aleixo, Manaus, Amazonas, 69067-375, Brazil.
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Biológicas (Biologia Animal) - PPGBAN, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo - UFES, Avenida Fernando Ferrari, 514, Prédio Barbara Weinberg, Vitória, Espírito Santo, 29075-910, Brazil.
- Departamento de Biologia, Centro de Ciências Exatas, Naturais e da Saúde, Universidade Federal do Espírito Santo - UFES, Alto Universitário, Guararema, Alegre, Espírito Santo, 29500-000, Brazil.
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Sumasgutner P, Buij R, McClure CJW, Shaw P, Dykstra CR, Kumar N, Rutz C. Raptor research during the COVID-19 pandemic provides invaluable opportunities for conservation biology. BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION 2021; 260:109149. [PMID: 35722248 PMCID: PMC9188743 DOI: 10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2020] [Revised: 04/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/21/2021] [Indexed: 05/26/2023]
Abstract
Research is underway to examine how a wide range of animal species have responded to reduced levels of human activity during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this perspective article, we argue that raptors (i.e., the orders Accipitriformes, Cariamiformes, Cathartiformes, Falconiformes, and Strigiformes) are particularly well-suited for investigating potential 'anthropause' effects: they are sensitive to environmental perturbation, affected by various human activities, and include many locally and globally threatened species. Lockdowns likely alter extrinsic factors that normally limit raptor populations. These environmental changes are in turn expected to influence - mediated by behavioral and physiological responses - the intrinsic (demographic) factors that ultimately determine raptor population levels and distributions. Using this population-limitation framework, we identify a range of research opportunities and conservation challenges that have arisen during the pandemic, related to changes in human disturbance, light and noise pollution, collision risk, road-kill availability, supplementary feeding, and persecution levels. Importantly, raptors attract intense research interest, with many professional and amateur researchers running long-term monitoring programs, often incorporating community-science components, advanced tracking technology and field-methodological approaches that allow flexible timing, enabling continued data collection before, during, and after COVID-19 lockdowns. To facilitate and coordinate global collaboration, we are hereby launching the 'Global Anthropause Raptor Research Network' (GARRN). We invite the international raptor research community to join this inclusive and diverse group, to tackle ambitious analyses across geographic regions, ecosystems, species, and gradients of lockdown perturbation. Under the most tragic of circumstances, the COVID-19 anthropause has afforded an invaluable opportunity to significantly boost global raptor conservation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Petra Sumasgutner
- Department of Behavioral & Cognitive Biology, University of Vienna, Althanstraße 14, 1090 Vienna, Austria
| | - Ralph Buij
- The Peregrine Fund, 5668 West Flying Hawk Lane, Boise, ID 83709, USA
- Animal Ecology Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, Netherlands
| | | | - Phil Shaw
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK
| | | | - Nishant Kumar
- Edward Grey Institute of Field Ornithology, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3SZ, UK
- Mansfield College, University of Oxford, Mansfield Road, UK
- Wildlife Institute of India, Uttarakhand 248001, India
| | - Christian Rutz
- Centre for Biological Diversity, School of Biology, University of St Andrews, St Andrews KY16 9TH, UK
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