@misc{10481/111236,
year = {2019},
month = {11},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/111236},
abstract = {The abandonment of traditional livestock farming systems in Mediterranean countries is triggering a large-scale habitattransformation, which, in general, consists of the replacement of open grazing areas by woodlands through non-managed regen-eration. As a consequence, wild ungulates are occupying rapidly the empty niche left by domestic ungulates. Both types ofungulates represent the main trophic resource for large vertebrate scavengers. However, a comparison of how vertebrate scav-engers consume ungulate carcasses in different habitats with different ungulate species composition is lacking. This knowledgeis essential to forecast the possible consequences of the current farmland abandonment on scavenger species. Here, we comparedthe scavenging patterns of 24 wild and 24 domestic ungulate carcasses in a mountainous region of southern Spain monitoredthrough camera trapping. Our results show that carcasses of domestic ungulates, which concentrate in large numbers in openpasturelands, were detected and consumed earlier than those of wild ungulate carcasses, which frequently occur in much lowerdensities at more heterogenous habitats such as shrublands and forest. Richness and abundance of scavengers were also higher atdomestic ungulate carcasses in open habitats. Vultures, mainly griffons (Gyps fulvus), consumed most of the carcasses, althoughmammalian facultative scavengers, mainly wild boar (Sus scrofa) and red fox (Vulpes vulpes), also contributed importantly tothe consumption of wild ungulate carcasses in areas with higher vegetation cover. Our findings evidence that the abandonmentof traditional grazing may entail consequences for the scavenger community, which should be considered by ecologists andwildlife managers.},
organization = {Junta de Andalucía (RNM-1925)},
organization = {Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and EU/ERDF (CGL2015-66966-C2-1-2-R and RTI2018-099609-BC21)},
organization = {La Caixa-Severo Ochoa International PhD Program 2015},
organization = {MECD (FPU12/00823)},
organization = {Severo Ochoa Program (SEV-2012-0262)},
organization = {MINECO (RYC-2015-19231)},
organization = {Juan de la Cierva Incorporación (IJCI2014-20744)},
organization = {Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad (PD/039/2017)},
publisher = {Elsevier},
keywords = {Facultative scavenger},
keywords = {Farmlands abandonment},
keywords = {Livestock},
title = {Rewilding traditional grazing areas affects scavengerassemblages and carcass consumption patterns},
doi = {10.1016/j.baae.2019.10.006},
author = {Arrondo, Eneko and Morales Reyes, Zebensui and Moleón Páiz, Marcos and Cortés-Avizanda, Ainara and Antonio Donázar, José and Sánchez Zapata, José Antonio},
}