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The Andean Condor (Vultur Gryphus) ​ ​

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The Andean Condor (Vultur Gryphus) ​ ​ Meghan Sullivan Sophomore College Final Paper 10/16/16 The Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) ​ ​ Introduction A common theme throughout our readings in the Patagonia Sophomore College was the negative impact of humans on animals. Indeed, many conservation problems arise because of human carelessness. This is true for the Andean Condor of Patagonia, which in the past has been hunted excessively by humans. Even though this problem has been addressed, the Andean Condor still faces population decline. In recent years, the number of tourists visiting Torres del Paine National Park has risen by 1400% between the years of 1986 and 2006. (Herrmann et al 2010: 6) If humans do negatively impact condors, then now more than ever, measures should be put in place to mitigate the effect. This research paper explores the relationship of humans and Andean Condors today. It will attempt to determine if human impact still negatively affects the Andean Condor population. Background At a wingspan of up to 10 ft, a height of up to 4 ft, and a weight of around 30 lbs, the Andean Condor is the largest flying bird in the world. It is known for it’s bald head, black body feathers, and white feather collar which is found only on the males. (National Geographic 2016) Man compared to Andean Condor (National Geographic 2016) Male Andean Condor (National Geographic 2016) They can be found from the Patagonian region of South America all the way to Ecuador. However, the population is not evenly distributed throughout these areas. As the Andean Condor Condor territory stretches more north, the population decreases. The Patagonian area has by far the most condors, with the IUCN listing the population there at around 300 compared to Ecuador’s 65. Total, there are around 10,000 Andean condors in South America. (IUCN 2012) The condor resides in the coastal and mountainous areas of these regions, as pictured below. This is partly due to the condor’s role as a scavenger, seeing as a heavily forested area would prohibit them from easily viewing carcasses. It is also due to their unique flying patterns. Condors primarily coast on the breeze, only flapping their wings during take off. Due to their large body mass, condors often have difficulty taking off if they are not in an area with substantial breeze. They often fly up to 16,000 ft in the air, so wind needs to be consistent throughout different altitudes in that region. Since coastal areas and mountainous regions often have windier environments, these locations are prime for condor habitats. (Herrmann et al 2010: 4) Andean Condor in flight (taken on our expedition) Condor habitats highlighted in yellow Condors are part of the Cathartidae family, which means they are related to the California condors. There are many similarities between the California condor, but overall the Andean condor is bigger, flies higher, and deals with more extreme habitat conditions (such as colder climate and higher wind speed). However, one similarity remains between the two: their endangerment. (National Geographic 2016) In the 1970s, the Andean condor was put on the endangered species list. (IUCN 2012) Since then, it has been moved to the near threatened category, which means that although it is no longer endangered, its population is still declining. When one takes into consideration the condor’s maturity rates and reproductive patterns, this is particularly alarming news. The condor has an extremely long lifespan - up to 70 years in some cases. They also have an interesting reproduction pattern: it takes them around 8 years to reach maturity, and once they reach that point they only breed every two years. During their breeding season, they have one mate and only lay one egg. These factors create a very low reproduction rate. This means that when death rates are high, it is hard for their reproduction rates to exceed their mortality rate, and in result the population remains unstable. Their endangerment may appear counterintuitive at first. The Andean Condor was revered in many South American indigenous cultures and legends. Currently, the Andean Condor is on the national seal for Ecuador, Chile, Colombia, and Peru. Clearly, there is great cultural significance to the bird. (Herrmann et al 2010: 6) However, their population decline stems from various factors. Because condors are scavengers, they are affected by changes in the animals they feed on. Much like the California Condor, the Andean Condor fell prey to lead poisoning via lead bullets in dead animals. Along with that, local hunters often mistook the condor’s scavenging as hunting, and in result would kill the condors to prevent their livestock from being harmed. (Lambertucci et al 2009: 3) Condors often feed on deceased sheep, which has been mistaken in the past as the condor killing the sheep A guanaco, one of the traditional animals that condors scavenge on Since the condor was first recognized as endangered, there have been efforts to stabilize their population. Bans were imposed on the killing of condors, and campaigns were launched which highlighted how the scavengers were of no threat to livestock. However, the population has still not returned to normal. (IUCN 2012) This leads to many unanswered questions, as the perceived main sources of their deaths have been addressed. An interesting correlation appears that might explain the continual decline: the population of condors decreases in areas where human population increases. (National Geographic 2016) Could the condor’s decline be due to human interaction? Hypotheses Hypothesis #1: Human impact causes the condor breeding and roosting ​ ​ areas to decrease. Hypothesis 1 explores the relationship between humans and condors when humans infringe on the condor’s roosting grounds. According to a 2010 study by Herrmann et al, condors are affected by humans from up to 200 meters away. The study, which examined the reactions of Torres Del Paine condors in their nesting areas when humans entered a 200 meter radius, showed a variety of reactions from the condors. While most of the condors hesitated to land on the roost, around 30 of them stayed away from the roost and around 10 abandoned the roost altogether. (Herrmann et al 2010: 7) No matter how one looks at the data, it shows that humans have a significant impact on condors. As shown above, only less than 5 condors had no reaction at all. Even more alarming was the fact that sound had an effect as well. As the study states, “Extremely loud noises, such as those made by helicopters provoked the greatest lack of attendance at roosts even when they came from a distance of more than 1.5 kilometers” (Herrmann et al. 2010: 3) Although noise was not the main focus of Herrmann’s study, that small portion of the study did prove that human externalities can also affect condors. Compared to the more urban environments one would find in Ecuador, places such as Torres del Paine are relatively devoid of human externalities. However, roads still stretch through these remote locations. A study by Speziale et al examined the effect of roads on the condor. In the study, they placed carrion 50-350 meters from a road in the Rio Negro province of Northwest Patagonia, then placed the same type of carrion 500-6000 meters away from the road. With a pool size of about 196 condors, they carefully measured the different reactions the condors had. The reactions of the condors were viewed over a period of about 66 days. As the graphs below show, more condors scavenged away from the road than near it. When they did scavenge on the road, they spent less time there, often leaving before they could eat. (Speziale et al 2008) This is significant for a couple reasons. One, it shows that condors are not only bothered by humans themselves, but are also bothered by other externalities that humans cause such as roads and noise. Two, the study concluded that “a strip of up to 350 meters away from a road is a bad habitat Andean Condors.”(Speziale et al 2008: 6) This means that not only will the condors avoid eating in areas near the road, but also avoid roosting near the road. As tourism increases, and more roads are eventually built, this could have a severe impact on roosting sites that are in the vicinity. Finally, it’s not only humans that drive condors away from their nests. Donazar et al examined a communal roost of around 30 mating pairs in Condorito National Park of Argentina. They found that “situations where preferred roosting places are limited, competition among individuals is expected and adjustments in social structure should occur.”(Donazar et al 2002: 3) Essentially, when humans are near roosting sites, condors start to compete with each other, driving the less dominant condors away from the roosting site. This poses a problem as the older and more dominant condors receive the safest roosting spots, while the younger condors are pushed into roosting areas with higher mortality rates. Because of this, condors who may only have a few years left to live are receiving the better benefits of the more ideal roosting sites, while young condors who are the hope for repopulation are being sent to their deaths. As Donazar noted, “Peripheral places, more prone to predation and hypothermia, were more commonly occupied by subordinate individuals” (Donazar et al 2002: 4) The two graphs below detail this, with the black bar indicating poor roosting grounds and the light bar indicating the preferred roosting grounds. A = adult, M = male, J = juvenile, and F = male (Donazar et al 2002: 6) ​ In conclusion, hypothesis 1 was confirmed. Although the pool sizes of condors were often small, in each study, human impact caused clear negative reactions from the condors.
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