@misc{10481/78319,
year = {2022},
month = {10},
url = {https://hdl.handle.net/10481/78319},
abstract = {A reduction in adult survival in long-living species may compromise population growth rates. The
spur-thighed tortoise (Testudo graeca) is a long-lived reptile that is threatened by habitat loss and
fragmentation. Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), whose breeding habitats overlap that of tortoises,
may predate them by dropping them onto rocks and breaking their carapaces. In SE Spain, the number
of golden eagles has increased in the last decades and the abundance of their main prey (i.e., rabbits
Oryctolagus cuniculus) has decreased. Our aims were to 1) describe the role of tortoises in golden
eagles’ diet, and 2) estimate the predation impact of golden eagles on tortoises in eagles’ territories
and in the regional tortoise population. We collected regurgitated pellets and prey remains under
eagle nests and roosts, and obtained information on tortoise abundance and population structure and
rabbit abundance. We found that tortoises were an alternative prey to rabbits, so that eagles shifted
to the former where the latter were scarce. The average predation rate on tortoises was very low at
the two studied scales. However, eagles showed a marked selection for adult female tortoises, which
led the tortoise sex ratio to be biased towards males in those eagle territories with higher tortoise
predation. Whether this may compromise the spur-thighed tortoise long-term population viability
locally deserves further attention.},
organization = {Ministry of Science and Innovation, Spain (MICINN)},
organization = {Spanish Government	CGL2012-33536	
CGL2015-64144	
FPU1700633},
organization = {European Commission	CGL2012-33536	
CGL2015-64144},
organization = {MCIN/AEI	PID2019-105682RA-I00},
organization = {Regional Valencian Government	AICO/2021/145	
APOSTD/2020/090},
organization = {Ramon y Cajal research contract from MINECO	RYC-2015-19231},
organization = {European Union-Next Generation EU in the Maria Zambrano Program	ZAMBRANO 21-26},
publisher = {Nature},
title = {Predation impact on threatened spur‑thighed tortoises by golden eagles when main prey is scarce},
doi = {10.1038/s41598-022-22288-9},
author = {Gil Sánchez, José María and Moleón Páiz, Marcos},
}