Effect of human activities on bearded vulture behaviour and breeding success in the French Pyrenees

Abstract

The bearded vulture is a threatened species for which human disturbance has been suggested as an important factor potentially influencing breeding success. Additionally, disturbance remains one of the few factors that is possible to control through directed policy. We evaluated the effect of human activities on the behaviour and breeding success of bearded vultures breeding in the French Pyrenees. Human activities influenced bearded vulture behaviour (primarily through a decrease in nest attendance), but this effect varied in relation to the type of activities and the distance to the nest. Very noisy activities and hunting most frequently provoked nest unattendance even when occurring far (>1.5 km) from the nest. People on foot or cars/planes only affected bearded vulture behaviour if close (<500–700 m) to the nest. We also found a significant relationship between human activities and vulture breeding success: the probability of failure increased with the frequency of human activities. In particular, there was a significant relationship between the probability of failure and the frequency of very noisy activities. We discuss the implications of our results for management schemes and conservation of this species.