| Dropping dead: causes and consequences of vulture population declines worldwide. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 22175274 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
Vultures are nature's most successful scavengers, and they provide an array of ecological, economic, and cultural services. As the only known obligate scavengers, vultures are uniquely adapted to a scavenging lifestyle. Vultures' unique adaptations include soaring flight, keen eyesight, and extremely low pH levels in their stomachs. Presently, 14 of 23 (61%) vulture species worldwide are threatened with extinction, and the most rapid declines have occurred in the vulture-rich regions of Asia and Africa. The reasons for the population declines are varied, but poisoning or human persecution, or both, feature in the list of nearly every declining species. Deliberate poisoning of carnivores is likely the most widespread cause of vulture poisoning. In Asia, Gyps vultures have declined by >95% due to poisoning by the veterinary drug diclofenac, which was banned by regional governments in 2006. Human persecution of vultures has occurred for centuries, and shooting and deliberate poisoning are the most widely practiced activities. Ecological consequences of vulture declines include changes in community composition of scavengers at carcasses and an increased potential for disease transmission between mammalian scavengers at carcasses. There have been cultural and economic costs of vulture declines as well, particularly in Asia. In the wake of catastrophic vulture declines in Asia, regional governments, the international scientific and donor communities, and the media have given the crisis substantial attention. Even though the Asian vulture crisis focused attention on the plight of vultures worldwide, the situation for African vultures has received relatively little attention especially given the similar levels of population decline. While the Asian crisis has been largely linked to poisoning by diclofenac, vulture population declines in Africa have numerous causes, which have made conserving existing populations more difficult. And in Africa there has been little government support to conserve vultures despite mounting evidence of the major threats. In other regions with successful vulture conservation programs, a common theme is a huge investment of financial resources and highly skilled personnel, as well as political will and community support. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Darcy L Ogada; Felicia Keesing; Munir Z Virani |
Related Documents
:
|
15950824 - Multihydro and montehydro: conformational search and monte carlo calculation of solutio... 1775564 - A computer-aided procedure for measuring lashley iii maze performance. 3376184 - Warfarin dosage predictions assisted by the analog computer. 17272034 - Measurement of ocular torsion using digital fundus image. 2355724 - Consequences of current lipid guidelines for the federal republic of germany. 3706364 - Successful program for recovery of dropouts to a clinical trial. |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2011-12-16 |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences Volume: - ISSN: 1749-6632 ISO Abbreviation: - Publication Date: 2011 Dec |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2011-12-19 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 7506858 Medline TA: Ann N Y Acad Sci Country: - |
Other Details:
|
Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: - |
Copyright Information:
|
© 2011 New York Academy of Sciences. |
Affiliation:
|
The Peregrine Fund, Boise, Idaho. National Museums of Kenya, Ornithology Section, Nairobi, Kenya. Bard College, Annadale-on-Hudson, New York. |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
|
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Single Molecular Conductance of Tolanes: An Experimental and Theoretical Study on the Junction Evolu...
Next Document: Substance P derivatives as versatile tools for specific delivery of various types of biomolecular ca...