Geographical variation and current knowledge on breeding traits of vultures in the neotropics
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Geographical variation and current knowledge on breeding traits of vultures in the neotropics Julio A. B. Monsalvo 1
&
Marcelo A.A. Silva 1
&
Neander M. Heming 2,3
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Miguel Â. Marini 2
# Sociedade Brasileira de Ornitologia 2020
Abstract New World vultures (Cathartidae) have essential roles in ecosystem functioning, but are susceptible to increasing anthropogenic impacts. Knowledge of several breeding, behavioral, and distributional parameters of Neotropical vultures is poorly organized and have not been properly reviewed. Here, we made a comprehensive review of original breeding records from museums, literature, and citizen science (WikiAves) for each of the six species of vultures occurring in the Neotropical region. These data were used to review breeding patterns and geographical distribution, and identify information gaps. The 567 records of breeding from the Neotropics assembled are very biased, mostly for Black Vulture Coragyps atratus (n = 319) and Turkey Vulture Cathartes aura (n = 166), and unevenly distributed among regions and subspecies. The four other species still have a great lack of knowledge about their breeding in the wild (Lesser Yellow-headed Vulture Cathartes burrovianus (n = 20), Greater Yellowheaded Vulture C. melambrotus (n = 2), King Vulture Sarcoramphus papa (n = 21), and Andean Condor Vultur gryphus (n = 30)). We show for the first time that Neotropical Cathartidae have convergent breeding seasons among sympatric taxa, delay start of breeding with increasing latitude, and have an allometric relationship between adult size and egg size. Nevertheless, larger samples of breeding data, especially from some regions and taxa, such as the two “Yellow-headed Vulture” species, are still needed. We also show that breeding traits could be helpful for preventive management and conservation strategies involving both expanding and decreasing populations of vultures in the Neotropics. Keywords Cathartidae . Knowledge gaps . Management . Nesting . New World vultures . Reproduction
Introduction Vultures have important roles in ecosystem services, as bioindicators, and in traditional cultures. As scavengers, they remove decomposing organic matter, accelerating nutrient Communicated by: Cristiano S. Azevedo Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s43388-020-00003-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. * Julio A. B. Monsalvo [email protected] 1
Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia, IB, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
2
Departamento de Zoologia, IB, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
3
Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia e Conservação da Biodiversidade, Departamento de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Estadual de Santa Cruz, Ilhéus, BA, Brazil
cycling processes and reducing the potential spread of pathogenic agents (Antas 2004; Donázar et al. 2012; McClure et al. 2018). Many of these birds are involved in mutualistic relationships with humans, obtaining their food prim
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