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Nesting Martial Eagle (Polemaetus Bellicocus) Diet: Influence of Prey Delivery and Diversity in Two Kenyan Ecosystems

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Nesting Martial Eagle (Polemaetus Bellicocus) Diet: Influence of Prey Delivery and Diversity in Two Kenyan Ecosystems Nesting martial eagle (Polemaetus bellicocus) diet: Influence of prey delivery and diversity in two Kenyan ecosystems. Biological baseline study Häckande stridsörns (Polemaetus bellicocus) diet: påverkan av bytesleverans och variation i två kenyanska ekosystem Biologisk baslinjestudie Hollie Manuel (M’gog) Faculty of Health, Science and Technology Biology: Ecology and Conservation Biology Master’s thesis, 30hp Supervisor: Larry Greenberg Examiner: Eva Bergman 2020-06-05 Series Number: 20:14 Abstract Populations of birds of prey, henceforth raptors, have declined worldwide, mostly from anthropogenic causes. Because their role as apex predators in ecosystems is considered vital for ecosystem health, conservation efforts have been implemented throughout their distribution. In many cases, we do not know enough about their basic food and habitat requirements, which is requisite if we are going to be able to protect them. The purpose of this study was to describe the habits and biology of nesting martial eagles by looking at the chick’s diets and the roles of male and female eagles in provision and presentation (dismemberment) of prey to the chicks. Data were collected non-obtrusively by fitting five nests in the Maasai Mara and one in the Rift Valley region of Kenya with cameras that were both motion-triggered and programmed to take images every five minutes. Based on analysis of 214,000 image frames, the diet of nesting martial eagles and their chicks was found to be comprised of 23 different species within four broad prey categories (gamebirds, domestic poultry, large ungulates and small ungulates), of which gamebirds were the most important. There were sex-based differences in parental feeding, with females selecting for larger and heavier prey items than males. Males were the primary foragers for the chicks up until the eighth to eleventh week of chick development, after which the females became more involved. In addition, before delivery to the nest, large prey were more often dismembered than small and medium-sized prey. This study is the first in Africa to use nest-cams to study martial eagles over the breeding season, corroborating previous studies that have shown sex- dependent differences in chick nurturing. My results contribute to establishing a fuller picture that can be used in future conservation actions and management decisions that can be used to protect this species and their prey base. Sammanfattning Beståndet på rovfåglar (hädanefter raptor) har minskat över hela världen, mestadels på grund av all antropomorfisk verksamhet. Eftersom deras roll som topprovdjur i ekosystem anses vara oerhört viktig för ekosystemens hälsa har bevarandeinsatser genomförts i alla deras habitat. I många fall vet vi inte tillräckligt om deras grundläggande mat- och livsmiljökrav, vilket är nödvändigt om vi skall kunna skydda dem. Syftet med denna studie var att beskriva habitat och biologi hos häckande stridsörnar genom att titta på ungarnas dieter och rollen som hanor och honor i tillhandahållande och presentation (rivning) av byte till ungarna. Data samlades in genom att använda en icke-störande teknik. Kameror som var både rörelsestyrda och programmerade att ta bilder var femte minut monterades vid fem bon i Maasai Mara och en i Rift Valley-regionen i Kenya. Baserat på analys av 214 000 bildramar konstaterades att dieten för häckande stridsörnar och deras ungar bestod av 23 olika arter inom fyra breda byteskategorier (viltfåglar, tamfåglar, stora hovdjur och små hovdjur), varav viltfåglar var de viktigaste. Det fanns könsbaserade skillnader i kost som ungarna fick, med honor som valde större och tyngre byte än hanar valde. Hanar var de främsta furagerare fram till den åttonde veckan av ungarnas utveckling, då blir honor mer involverade. Dessutom blev stort byte ofta delade ned innan leverans till boet än små och medelstora byten. Denna studie är den första i Afrika som använde kamror för stridsörnar under Häckningssäsong och den bekräftar tidigare studier som har visat könsberoende skillnader i skötsel av ungar. Mina resultat bidrar till att skapa en mer fullständig bild som kan användas i framtida bevarandeåtgärder och förvaltningsbeslut som kan användas för att skydda denna art. Introduction It is widely believed that we are currently in an extinction crisis, the seventh mass extinction of its kind (Carpenter & Bishop, 2009). If a species is not at risk of extinction, it is most certainly in decline as a direct result of anthropogenic disturbance and/or activities (Lande, 1998; Hunt, et al., 2017). This huge loss of biodiversity will serve to disrupt ecosystem services, which in turn will affect human well-being (Ceballos et al., 2015). Raptors are considered indicators of ecosystem health and are well documented to provide ecosystem services such as the elimination of disease through carcass removal and the reduction of fly populations as a result (O’Bryan et al., 2018). Apex avian predators are both threatened and understudied, and their seemingly important roles in food webs are not well understood (Amar et al., 2018; Runge et al., 2014). On a positive side, in many cases, the causes of raptor declines have been identified and actions have been taken to stabilise the populations, some of which have resulted in dramatic recoveries such as seen for peregrine falcons (Mizera & Sielicki, 2009) and bald eagles (Grier, 1982),whose numbers rebounded after DDT was banned. Another raptor, the vulture is beginning to slowly recover on the Indian sub- continent, after it was identified that the drug, diclofenac, was the cause of their crash in numbers (Green et al., 2004). Factors believed to contribute to the decline of raptors - electrocution, drowning, poisoning, availability of prey and nesting trees, habitat loss and chick survival rates, direct and indirect anthropogenic impacts - mean that many species may not be able to breed fast enough to counter their losses (Brandl et al., 1985; Boshoff & Palmer1980; Sorley &Anderson 1994 & BirdLife International 2012 & 2017). This exposes entire species to the threat of extinction (Ferguson-lees & Christie, 2001; Sorley & Anderson, 1994; Lande, 1998; Hunt, et al., 2017)and makes it all the more important for protection of avian apex predators to be included within conservation management plans (Machange et al., 2005). Conservation of these apex avian predators poses a unique challenge. They rely upon many habitat types for survival while the males and females utilise space differently, especially during breeding season (Sonerud et al., 2014; Hatfield, 2018). Diet (prey base), home ranges and territories, feeding behaviour and nesting, need all to be considered (Amar & Cloete, 2017) as well as their conservation in relation to people (Brown, 1991; Lande, 1998).Because raptors are of primary importance to ecosystem health, more detailed scientific knowledge about them can bring them to the fore in conservation planning (Machange et al., 2005). Martial eagles are, as with all raptors, slow breeding (Cloete, 2013; Newton, 1979) apex predators that are low in density (Amar et al., 2018). They have reclusive habits and as a result are very difficult to monitor and gather qualitative and/or quantitative data (Ripple et al., 2014; Amar et al., 2018). The martial eagle is listed as vulnerable, in fast decline throughout large portions of its range (Brown, 1991; Simmons & Jenkins, 2014; Hatfield, 2018) and uncommon by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (Birdlife International, 2017; Nature Kenya, 2018; Simmons & Brown, 2004). Nevertheless, this eagle is still widespread and occurs throughout sub-Saharan Africa in a wide range of habitats (not dense forest), up to 3,000m asl (Ferguson-lees & Christie, 2001; Simmons & Jenkins, 2014; Hatfield, 2018), from semi-desert to savannah grassland to thorn scrub (Cloete, 2013; Amar et al., 2016). Breeding of the eagle is known to be erratic and is very much dependent on prey availability and the length of the post-nest dependence period (Ferguson-lees &Christie, 2001; Hatfield, 2018; Brown, 1963). When they do breed though, it is either annually or biennially (Boshoff, 1993; Brown, 1963) with a single egg laid (Boshoff, 1993; Ferguson-lees & Christie, 2001). More often than not it is the martial female that incubates the egg (custodian adult) and stays at the nest with the chick for the majority of the time so as to deter predators, provide shade and rip prey into smaller pieces for the chick (Hustler & Howells, 1987). As the chick grows and can be safely left alone at the nest, both male and female eagles forage and deliver prey (Boshoff, 1990; Brown, 1991). To date, in-depth dietary studies of martial eagles have been conducted in the Cape provinces of South Africa (Boshoff & Palmer, 1980; Steyn, 1980; Boshoff et al., 1990) and in Tsavo East National Park, Kenya (Smeenk, 1974) and one other study that used web-sourced photography of martial eagles with prey species (Naude et al., 2019) .These studies, based on identification of prey remains and castings found at nest sites, provide a basic understanding of martial eagle diet. The results did not reflect prey diversity or numbers of individuals preyed upon, and were not able to attribute kills to either male or female eagles (Bakaloudiset al., 2012; Boshoff& Palmer, 1980; Redpathet al., 2001; Marti, 1987). In general though,martial eagle diet is thought to be composed in large part, of small mammals, but also birds and reptiles (Ferguson-lees & Christie, 2001; Boshoff& Palmer, 1980; Boshoffet
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