Temporally unpredictable supplementary feeding may benefit endangered scavengers

Abstract

The monitoring of an experimental feeding station established in northern Spain allowed the evaluation of how this type of resource, predictable in space but not in time, was exploited by a guild of avian scavengers in relation to factors such as season, hour of disposal and presence of the dominant species. The presence of Egyptian Vultures Neophron percnopterus at carcasses was more likely during spring, and richness and diversity of avian scavengers was lower during the summer and when Griffon Vultures Gyps fulvus arrived earlier. The temporal unpredictability of the resource may favour exploitation by smaller and less competitive scavengers. New European regulations may present an opportunity to develop effective conservation measures to support functional scavenger assemblages.