Research Project
Full description Vultures and large mammalian carnivores have both been extirpated from extensive areas in part due to similar causes. However, these declines may also be ecologically linked because large carnivores provide carcasses to vultures. Human-carnivore conflict, mainly involving livestock, often also results in indirect and secondary poisoning of vultures through carcass baiting. We seek to understand the links between large carnivore declines, and those of vultures. We first assess whether patterns of extirpation of 21 large carnivore species correlate with those of 22 vulture species globally. We then use structural equation modelling (SEM) to determine whether large carnivore extirpations directly or indirectly affect vultures, while controlling for shared anthropogenic threats and prey biomass.