Vultures Their Evolution, Ecology and Conservation

About this book

Vultures: Their Evolution, Ecology and Conservation reexamines current knowledge on the evolution, ecology, and conservation biology of both New World vultures (Cathartidae) and Old World vultures (Accipitridae) and seeks answers to past and present regional extinctions, colorizations, and conservation questions. Extinct species of both families are examined, as is the disputed evidence for familial similarities and differences currently under review by geneticists and ornithologists.

Conservation questions concern the extent to which recent land cover change (deforestation, urbanization, and desertification), wildlife depletions, and pollution have affected scavenging vultures. Such changes are examined as both positive and negative for vultures – a growing body of literature hints at the positive impacts of urban waste, more open forests, forest fires, landscape cultivation, road kills, and shore development, especially with increased attention to bird adaptation and "new" theories of adaptive management in conservation. These are contrasted with the conservation of other raptors and scavengers. Within new trends in conservation, with emphases on animal/human shared co-evolution in intensely habituated spaces, vulture conservation requires important new perspectives that contrast with the needs of other species conservation.

Contents

- The current situation of vultures
- The biology of vulture evolution and past species
- The New World vultures
- The Old World vultures
- The ecological niche of vultures compared with scavengers and raptors
- Factors for vulture decimation and extinction
- Conservation strategies for vultures; possibilities and alternatives
- The future for vultures in a changing world

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