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Publication Details
AFRICAN RESEARCH NEXUS
SHINING A SPOTLIGHT ON AFRICAN RESEARCH
agricultural and biological sciences
Effects of Vulture Declines on Facultative Scavengers and Potential Implications for Mammalian Disease Transmission
Conservation Biology, Volume 26, No. 3, Year 2012
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Description
Vultures (Accipitridae and Cathartidae) are the only known obligate scavengers. They feed on rotting carcasses and are the most threatened avian functional group in the world. Possible effects of vulture declines include longer persistence of carcasses and increasing abundance of and contact between facultative scavengers at these carcasses. These changes could increase rates of transmission of infectious diseases, with carcasses serving as hubs of infection. To evaluate these possibilities, we conducted a series of observations and experimental tests of the effects of vulture extirpation on decomposition rates of livestock carcasses and mammalian scavengers in Kenya. We examined whether the absence of vultures changed carcass decomposition time, number of mammalian scavengers visiting carcasses, time spent by mammals at carcasses, and potential for disease transmission at carcasses (measured by changes in intraspecific contact rates). In the absence of vultures, mean carcass decomposition rates nearly tripled. Furthermore, the mean number of mammals at carcasses increased 3-fold (from 1.5 to 4.4 individuals/carcass), and the average time spent by mammals at carcasses increased almost 3-fold (from 55 min to 143 min). There was a nearly 3-fold increase in the mean number of contacts between mammalian scavengers at carcasses without vultures. These results highlight the role of vultures in carcass decomposition and level of contact among mammalian scavengers. In combination, our findings lead us to hypothesize that changes in vulture abundance may affect patterns of disease transmission among mammalian carnivores. © 2012 Society for Conservation Biology.
Authors & Co-Authors
Ogada, Darcy L.
Kenya, Nanyuki
Mpala Research Centre
Kenya, Nairobi
National Museums of Kenya
United States, Boise
The Peregrine Fund
Torchin, M. E.
United States, Washington, D.c.
Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute
Kinnaird, Margaret F.
Kenya, Nanyuki
Mpala Research Centre
United States, New York
Wildlife Conservation Society
Ezenwa, Vanessa O.
Kenya, Nanyuki
Mpala Research Centre
United States, Athens
University of Georgia
Statistics
Citations: 218
Authors: 4
Affiliations: 6
Identifiers
Doi:
10.1111/j.1523-1739.2012.01827.x
ISSN:
08888892
e-ISSN:
15231739
Study Locations
Kenya