The impact of some spatial factors on disturbance and reaction distances on nest occupation by the near threatened Cinereous Vulture (Aegypius monachus)

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Tarih

2016

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Yayıncı

Univ Oradea Publ House

Erişim Hakkı

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Özet

Scavenging has been threatened with the declines of vultures. The Cinereous Vulture Aegypius monachus is predicted to be decline with mainly anthropogenic activities in Turkey, having the second largest population of the species in Europe. Earlier studies urgently recommended constituting a buffer zone in a spatial and temporal context for breeding areas of the species. For an effective buffer zone, land managers mostly used both the empirically revealed flight and stress distances between human activity and breeding individuals. Furthermore, various spatial and temporal factors could influence the disturbance level and reaction distances to human activity. Furthermore, reaction distances could affect the nesting strategies of the species as a disturbance indicator. Therefore, the main aim of this study is to determine the reaction distances as well as the significant spatial factors that influence those distances and to demonstrate the relationship between reaction distances and nest occupation. The study was carried out with the population of Cinereous Vultures in the Middle Sakarya Region in Northwest of Turkey. Based on 61 field observations, the average flight distance was 281.35 m, and stress distance was 467.53 m. The results also indicated that highly accessible and visible slopes located opposite the nest and concentrated in and/or around pathways/roads influenced the reaction distances of the breeding individuals significantly. Moreover, the reaction distances and roads are the primary factors for the decision of nest occupation in the study area. According to the study, 1084 m could be used as a radius for the inner buffer zone and the buffer zone was estimated as 369 ha. If it is not acceptable for economic reasons, at least 870 m should be used as a radius for the critical buffer zone. In conclusion, this study supports that the sensitivity of the Cinereous Vulture increases with the increase in accessibility/visibility of nest sites and those sensitivity levels may have affected the nest occupation of the species.

Açıklama

Anahtar Kelimeler

Cinereous Vulture, Disturbance, Reaction Distance, Buffer Zone, Spatial Factors, Nest Occupation

Kaynak

North-Western Journal Of Zoology

WoS Q Değeri

Q3

Scopus Q Değeri

Q3

Cilt

12

Sayı

2

Künye