Louis J. Backstrom, Corey T. Callaghan, Hannah Worthington, Richard A. Fuller, Alison Johnston
{"title":"Estimating sampling biases in citizen science datasets","authors":"Louis J. Backstrom, Corey T. Callaghan, Hannah Worthington, Richard A. Fuller, Alison Johnston","doi":"10.1111/ibi.13343","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ibi.13343","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The rise of citizen science (also called community science) has led to vast quantities of species observation data collected by members of the public. Citizen science data tend to be unevenly distributed across space and time, but the treatment of sampling bias varies between studies, and interactions between different biases are often overlooked. We present a method for conceptualizing and estimating spatial and temporal sampling biases, and interactions between them. We use this method to estimate sampling biases in an example ornithological citizen science dataset from eBird in Brisbane City, Australia. We then explore the effects of these sampling biases on subsequent model inference of population trends, using both a simulation study and an application of the same trend models to the Brisbane eBird dataset. We find varying levels of sampling bias in the Brisbane eBird dataset across temporal and spatial scales, and evidence for interactions between biases. Several of the sampling biases we identified differ from those described in the literature for other datasets, with protected areas being undersampled in the city, and only limited seasonal sampling bias. We demonstrate variable performance of trend models under different sampling bias scenarios, with more complex biases being associated with typically poorer trend estimates. Sampling biases are important to consider when analysing ecological datasets, and analysts can use this method to ensure that any biologically relevant sampling biases are detected and given due consideration during analysis. With appropriate model specification, the effects of sampling biases can be reduced to yield reliable information about biodiversity.</p>","PeriodicalId":13254,"journal":{"name":"Ibis","volume":"167 1","pages":"73-87"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ibi.13343","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141504956","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Wenxin Liu, Junjian Zhang, Tetsuo Shimada, Yanlei Liu, Yanbo Xie, Nyambayar Batbayar, Hiroyoshi Higuchi, Iderbat Damba, Lei Cao, Anthony D. Fox
{"title":"Life in the fast and slow lanes: contrasting timing of annual cycle events in high- and mid-latitude breeding Whooper Swans (Cygnus cygnus)","authors":"Wenxin Liu, Junjian Zhang, Tetsuo Shimada, Yanlei Liu, Yanbo Xie, Nyambayar Batbayar, Hiroyoshi Higuchi, Iderbat Damba, Lei Cao, Anthony D. Fox","doi":"10.1111/ibi.13339","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ibi.13339","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Shorter duration of ice-free conditions at successively northern latitudes increasingly constrains large-bodied waterbirds from completing their reproductive cycle before freeze-up, affecting their migration and breeding schedules. We compared migration timing and duration of stay in summering areas between 127 tracked East Asian Whooper Swans <i>Cygnus cygnus</i> breeding at high latitude (HLP, 67°N, Japan wintering) and mid-latitude (MLP, 48°N, China wintering) based on tracking and remote-sensing data. Adult breeding site arrival dates were positively correlated with latitude. HLP adults arrived just before 50% snow melt, and summered for 142 days (the duration of the ice-free period there), just over the c.130 days required to hatch and raise cygnets to fledging. MLP adults arrived 3 weeks after 50% snow melt, and summered for c.209 days (c.80% of the total ice-free period of 267 days), laying eggs c.33 days after arrival. These results suggest that HLP breeders were more likely to invest stored nutrients and energy brought from winter quarters and/or on migration to enable rapid egg-laying post-arrival at the breeding grounds (a more ‘capital’ breeding strategy). By contrast, MLP females appear able to obtain most, if not all, of their energetic and nutritional reproductive needs exogenously post-arrival at breeding areas (a more ‘income’ breeding strategy). HLP individuals left the breeding grounds before MLP, but all departed before freeze-up. Migration duration did not differ between the two groups, so differential summer residency times affected duration on wintering areas. We recommend follow-up investigations of the relative degree of capital/income investment among birds from both groups and their effects on their respective demographics, population dynamics and growth rates.</p>","PeriodicalId":13254,"journal":{"name":"Ibis","volume":"166 4","pages":"1157-1171"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-28","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141504955","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Charly Souc, Carole Leray, Thomas Blanchon, Thomas Dagonet, Marion Vittecoq, Raül Ramos, Karen D. McCoy
{"title":"No detrimental effects of wing-harnessed GPS devices on the breeding performance of Yellow-legged Gulls (Larus michahellis): A multi-colony evaluation","authors":"Charly Souc, Carole Leray, Thomas Blanchon, Thomas Dagonet, Marion Vittecoq, Raül Ramos, Karen D. McCoy","doi":"10.1111/ibi.13338","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ibi.13338","url":null,"abstract":"<p>A recent study revealed that wing-harnessed tracking devices negatively affected reproductive success of Great Black-backed Gulls <i>Larus marinus</i>. To evaluate the generality of this effect in large gulls, we investigated the reproductive performance associated with the same type of GPS-mounted system in four Mediterranean breeding colonies of the Yellow-legged Gull <i>Larus michahellis</i> in 2022. We found no significant difference in reproductive parameters among adults handled with a mounted device, adults handled with no device, and controls, and no interaction with colony of origin. The impact of the GPS harness system on short-term reproduction is therefore not generalizable among larid species, and should be tested and reported whenever a new tracking programme is employed.</p>","PeriodicalId":13254,"journal":{"name":"Ibis","volume":"166 4","pages":"1404-1412"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ibi.13338","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141504957","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ben F. King, George Sangster, Colin R. Trainor, Martin Irestedt, Dewi M. Prawiradilaga, Per G. P. Ericson
{"title":"A new species of nightjar (Caprimulgus) from Timor and Wetar, Lesser Sunda Islands, Wallacea","authors":"Ben F. King, George Sangster, Colin R. Trainor, Martin Irestedt, Dewi M. Prawiradilaga, Per G. P. Ericson","doi":"10.1111/ibi.13340","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ibi.13340","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The nightjars of the <i>Caprimulgus macrurus</i> complex are distributed from Pakistan to Australia and comprise six morphologically similar but vocally distinct species. Fieldwork on Timor and Wetar, Lesser Sunda Islands, has resulted in the discovery of a seventh species in the complex, which we describe as a new species. This species has previously been confused with <i>Caprimulgus macrurus</i>, <i>Caprimulgus celebensis</i> and <i>Caprimulgus manillensis</i> but it differs from these and all other species in the complex by at least 13 vocal characters. Discriminant function analysis correctly classified all recordings in the complex to species. <i>Caprimulgus ritae</i> is known from five adult museum specimens, which are the smallest in the complex and which differ from other species in the complex in several morphological characters. A molecular phylogenetic analysis indicated that <i>C. ritae</i> is sister to <i>C. meesi</i> from Flores and Sumba, and that these species together are sister to <i>C. macrurus</i>. <i>C. ritae</i> is a tropical forest specialist occurring from sea level to at least 1500 m (probably mostly below 1000 m). Lowland and montane forests on Timor are threatened. Wetar is one of the least developed islands in Indonesia, and retains >95% natural vegetation, dominated by <i>Eucalyptus</i> woodlands, with tropical forests in river gorges and slopes in upland areas. Pressure for development is accelerating throughout the range of <i>C. ritae</i>, and a detailed assessment of its conservation status is urgently needed.</p>","PeriodicalId":13254,"journal":{"name":"Ibis","volume":"166 4","pages":"1241-1263"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ibi.13340","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141514838","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
D. A. Villar, Ever Yanes, Edwin R. Gutiérrez Tito, Andrew G. Gosler
{"title":"Addressing conflict between fishermen and the Titicaca Grebe (Rollandia microptera) through diet analysis","authors":"D. A. Villar, Ever Yanes, Edwin R. Gutiérrez Tito, Andrew G. Gosler","doi":"10.1111/ibi.13337","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ibi.13337","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Human–wildlife conflict is often a driver of species declines, and understanding the material basis of this conflict is the first step in addressing it. The Titicaca Grebe <i>Rollandia microptera</i> is an endangered endemic species found solely in the Lake Titicaca watershed of Peru and Bolivia, and has experienced population declines due to fisheries bycatch. Human fishers often have negative opinions of the Titicaca Grebe, because they consider it as a competitor for declining fish stocks. We tested that assumption by an analysis of the bird's diet and found that the Titicaca Grebe does not compete with fishers for more lucrative fish species such as trout <i>Oncorhynchus</i> sp. and Pejerrey <i>Odontesthes bonariensis</i>, but does compete for the less desirable (to human fishers) native <i>Orestias</i> sp.</p>","PeriodicalId":13254,"journal":{"name":"Ibis","volume":"166 4","pages":"1395-1403"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-06-14","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ibi.13337","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141338419","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Kim T. Scribner, Sandra L. Talbot, Barbara J. Pierson, John D. Robinson, Richard B. Lanctot, Daniel Esler, Kathryn Dickson
{"title":"A phylogeographical study of the discontinuously distributed Harlequin Duck (Histrionicus histrionicus)","authors":"Kim T. Scribner, Sandra L. Talbot, Barbara J. Pierson, John D. Robinson, Richard B. Lanctot, Daniel Esler, Kathryn Dickson","doi":"10.1111/ibi.13336","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ibi.13336","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Species distributions are often indicative of historical biogeographical events and contemporary spatial biodiversity patterns. The Harlequin Duck <i>Histrionicus histrionicus</i> is a sea duck of conservation concern that has a disjunct distribution, with discrete portions of its range associated with northern Pacific and Atlantic Ocean basins. Movement data indicate migratory connectivity within regions of each ocean basin but not cross-continent dispersal, suggesting that genetic structuring could exist at multiple spatial scales. Little is known regarding the impacts of past vicariance events on the species phylogeographical structure and historical demography, or rates of gene flow at different spatial scales. We used data from microsatellite loci and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) sequences to quantify levels of genetic diversity within, and the extent of spatial genetic differentiation among locations sampled at multiple spatial scales across the species range. Samples were collected at nonbreeding locations, which represent groupings appropriate for characterizing genetically differentiated subgroups at regional and continental scales. Collectively, genetic data and coalescence modelling suggested that individuals colonized regions currently occupied within both ocean basins in the Holocene from a single refuge in the Atlantic. Further, it seems likely there was secondary contact with lineages derived from populations in Asia, based on the shallow species-wide mtDNA phylogeny and high incidence of recently derived private mtDNA haplotypes. Estimates of inter-location variance in microsatellite allele and mtDNA haplotype frequency were moderate and significant between western (Pacific – North America) and eastern (Atlantic – North America, Greenland and Iceland) ocean basins and among sampling groups within each ocean basin. Genetic differentiation among sampling groups was particularly evident at the species distributional margins in the Atlantic (Iceland) and the Pacific (Shemya Island) Ocean basins. Coalescent modelling results suggest that contemporary spatial genetic patterns in the species arose through the combined influences of secondary contact, shared ancestry and gene flow after the last glacial maxima.</p>","PeriodicalId":13254,"journal":{"name":"Ibis","volume":"166 4","pages":"1218-1240"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-05-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ibi.13336","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141197525","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Redistribution of songbirds within a migratory stopover site as a response to sylviid warbler song playback","authors":"Yael Lehnardt, Nir Sapir","doi":"10.1111/ibi.13330","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ibi.13330","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Assessing habitat quality is critical for migrating birds, with implications for fuel loading, predation risk and timing of departure. To efficiently distribute within stopover sites, migrants rely on various cues that facilitate habitat quality assessment. In this study, we conducted a playback experiment at a mid-route stopover site to test the effects of vocal cues, specifically bird songs, on habitat redistribution during spring migration. To estimate the effect of bird songs on bird abundance we mist-netted and ringed birds for 60 days on alternating playback treatment (playing songs of three sylviid warbler species) and no playback (control) days. A nearby site was used to control for fluctuations caused by migration waves. Overall, total bird abundance was significantly increased by the playback treatment. This increase resulted from the attraction of conspecifics (species whose songs were played) rather than of other species – sylviids or others. Correspondingly, species richness was seemingly unaffected. To investigate the relationship between internal-state factors and the attraction to playback in the most abundantly attracted species, Eurasian Blackcap <i>Sylvia atricapilla</i>, we tested associations with age, sex and body condition index but found no significant effects, possibly because of the limited sample size. Our findings challenge established ideas regarding heterospecific attraction and contradict previous studies. Attraction to bird song is discussed in the context of geographical location, timing and internal drivers. Vocal cues, specifically bird songs, may affect micro-habitat selection by migrating songbirds during stopovers. Consequently, we call for consideration of the influence of the acoustic environment on birds during migratory stopover in future studies, habitat management and conservation efforts.</p>","PeriodicalId":13254,"journal":{"name":"Ibis","volume":"166 4","pages":"1184-1198"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-05-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ibi.13330","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140969141","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Thalissa Inch, Malcolm A.C. Nicoll, Chris J. Feare, Catharine Horswill
{"title":"Population viability analysis predicts long-term impacts of commercial Sooty Tern egg harvesting to a large breeding colony on a small oceanic island","authors":"Thalissa Inch, Malcolm A.C. Nicoll, Chris J. Feare, Catharine Horswill","doi":"10.1111/ibi.13326","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ibi.13326","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The over-exploitation of wild birds and the products derived from them can be a key threat driving changes in bird species richness and abundance. However, inadequate information on harvest levels combined with irregular population monitoring often means that the role of harvesting in population decline is difficult to quantify. Historically, the pan-tropical Sooty Tern <i>Onychoprion fuscatus</i> has been subjected to extensive egg harvesting, yet the role of sustained harvesting in population change and future population viability remains unclear. In this study, we used published and new estimates of key demographic rates for a large, harvested Sooty Tern population in Seychelles, western Indian Ocean, to run a series of population viability analyses. We retrospectively assess the impact of historical levels of egg harvesting, and also predict how this population may respond under different future harvesting regimes, assuming no additional environmental change. We provide evidence that egg harvesting has played a substantial role in driving the population decline of Sooty Terns to date and demonstrate that continued harvesting will probably lead to further, possibly dramatic, declines in population size. These results indicate that recent levels of egg harvesting in Seychelles are not sustainable. We also show that the life-history strategy of Sooty Terns, including a delayed age of first breeding, means the current 2-year local moratorium on egg harvesting is unlikely to generate an observable population-level response in Seychelles. Instead, we recommend that the current moratorium is extended at least beyond the age of first breeding (i.e. 5 years) to support appropriate evaluation. We additionally show that harvesting Sooty Tern eggs at much lower levels, i.e. 10% of the population size, is unlikely to reverse population decline. Therefore, long-term egg harvesting strategies require careful evaluation to maintain a balance between the social, commercial, cultural and biodiversity significance of Sooty Terns in Seychelles.</p>","PeriodicalId":13254,"journal":{"name":"Ibis","volume":"166 4","pages":"1296-1310"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-05-08","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ibi.13326","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140927276","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Ron W. Summers, Ben Swallow, Jonas Fridman, Tatu Hokkanen, Ian Newton, Stephen T. Buckland
{"title":"Irruptions of crossbills Loxia spp. in northern Europe – patterns and correlations with seed production by key and non-key conifers","authors":"Ron W. Summers, Ben Swallow, Jonas Fridman, Tatu Hokkanen, Ian Newton, Stephen T. Buckland","doi":"10.1111/ibi.13328","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ibi.13328","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Irruptions by boreal seed-eating and frugivorous birds are assumed to be driven by the production of seeds and fruits, crops of which are highly variable between years. Using data from Sweden, we tested whether irruptions of Common Crossbills <i>Loxia curvirostra</i> were correlated with low Norway Spruce <i>Picea abies</i> seed production in the same year as the irruption and/or high seed production in the year prior to an irruption. Similar tests were made for Parrot Crossbill <i>Loxia pytyopsittacus</i> irruptions in relation to Scots Pine <i>Pinus sylvestris</i> seed production. In northern Europe, these conifers represent the key food species of the two crossbill species, respectively. Despite differing times that seeds take to mature and asynchronous seed production between the two conifer species, including a 3-year cycle for Norway Spruce, the two crossbill species often irrupted in the same year as one another. Analyses showed that irruptions into Britain and other parts of western Europe by both crossbill species were correlated with low seed production by Norway Spruce in Sweden. Low seed production by Scots Pine had a marginally non-significant additive effect on both crossbill species. In a second set of analyses, the best-fitting model was one in which low seed production by both conifers in a given year and high seed production in the previous year were each correlated with large numbers of irrupting Common and Parrot Crossbills. The models indicate that the incidental co-occurrence of low seed production of Norway Spruce and Scots Pine in a given year, after a year of high seed production, may result in an irruption. The seed production of Norway Spruce and Scots Pine in Sweden was correlated with production by the same species in Finland, indicating widespread synchrony of cropping across northern Europe.</p>","PeriodicalId":13254,"journal":{"name":"Ibis","volume":"166 4","pages":"1172-1183"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-04-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ibi.13328","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140802849","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Christopher Beirne, Mark Thomas, Arianna Basto, Eleanor Flatt, Giancarlo Inga Diaz, Diego Rolim Chulla, Flor Perez Mullisaca, Rosio Vega Quispe, Caleb Jonatan Quispe Quispe, Adrian Forsyth, Andrew Whitworth
{"title":"Scouts vs. usurpers: alternative foraging strategies facilitate coexistence between neotropical Cathartid vultures","authors":"Christopher Beirne, Mark Thomas, Arianna Basto, Eleanor Flatt, Giancarlo Inga Diaz, Diego Rolim Chulla, Flor Perez Mullisaca, Rosio Vega Quispe, Caleb Jonatan Quispe Quispe, Adrian Forsyth, Andrew Whitworth","doi":"10.1111/ibi.13327","DOIUrl":"10.1111/ibi.13327","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Understanding how diverse assemblages of scavengers can coexist on shared ecological resources is a fundamental challenge in community ecology. However, current approaches typically focus on behaviour at carcass provisioning sites, missing how important differences in movement behaviour and foraging strategies can facilitate sympatric species coexistence. Such information is particularly important for vultures – obligate scavengers representing the most endangered avian foraging guild. Their loss from ecosystems can trigger trophic cascades, mesopredator release and disease outbreaks. We provide the first-ever analyses of GPS location data from wild King Vultures <i>Sarcoramphus papa</i> and Greater Yellow-headed Vultures <i>Cathartes melambrotus</i>, coupled with trait data (from both wild-living and museum specimens) and visitation data from camera traps deployed at provisioned carcasses, to characterize vulture flight behaviour and strategies in the Peruvian Amazon. We found marked species differences in several key movement characteristics, including: King Vultures having home-ranges five times larger, average flight heights four times greater and ground speeds 40% faster than those of Greater Yellow-headed Vultures. Despite these differences, both species flew similar distances each day (on average), probably due to King Vultures taking 50% fewer flights and spending 40% less time in the air per day. Consistent with these patterns, King Vulture body mass was more than double that of the Greater Yellow-headed Vulture, with a substantially larger hang wing index (a measure of long-distance flight efficiency). At carcasses, Greater Yellow-headed Vultures typically arrived first but were rapidly outnumbered by both King and Black Vultures <i>Coragyps atratus</i>. We find that the movement behaviour of obligate apex scavengers in the western Amazon is linked to their ability to coexist – Greater Yellow-headed Vultures, a smaller stature ‘scouting’ species adapted to fly low, forage early and arrive first at carcasses, are ultimately displaced by larger-bodied, wider ranging King Vultures at large ephemeral carrion resources. Expansion of future GPS tracking initiatives could facilitate the exploration of direct facultative interactions from animal movement data and give further insight into how diverse communities assemble and interact.</p>","PeriodicalId":13254,"journal":{"name":"Ibis","volume":"166 4","pages":"1368-1383"},"PeriodicalIF":1.8,"publicationDate":"2024-04-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/ibi.13327","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140657465","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"生物学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}