The influence of vulture restaurants on breeding success and nestling body condition of Gyps vulture populations across southern Africa

dc.contributor.advisorThomson, Robert
dc.contributor.advisorAmar, Arjun
dc.contributor.authorZimunya, Tapiwa
dc.date.accessioned2019-02-22T07:29:28Z
dc.date.available2019-02-22T07:29:28Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.date.updated2019-02-22T06:02:39Z
dc.description.abstractVulture populations in many parts of the world continue to decline owing to numerous threats, such as lack of adequate food sources, poisoning and collisions with power-lines. Worldwide, supplementary feeding sites (hereafter, vulture restaurants) have been used as a conservation tool aimed at supporting vulture populations. However, in many parts of the world there is little scientific evidence about their effectiveness in aiding vulture populations. Here, I assessed the relationship between chick condition (African White-backed Vultures) and breeding success (Cape Vultures/African White-backed Vultures) in relation to a variety of variables which described levels of access to vulture restaurants. My data suggest the potential of vulture restaurants to increase breeding success in vulture populations. Breeding success generally increased for nests closer to vulture restaurants. There was a significant positive correlation between African White-backed Vulture breeding success and proximity to vulture restaurants (p< 0.05), but little evidence to support such a relationship for Cape Vultures (p> 0.05). Nestling body condition of African White-backed Vultures was also not influenced by proximity to vulture restaurants (p> 0.05). Findings of this study provide motivation on the use of vulture restaurants as a conservation strategy across southern Africa. The current study informs future conservation efforts on the use of vulture restaurants across the region, particularly in countries where a network of vulture restaurants is still being established.
dc.identifier.apacitationZimunya, T. (2018). <i>The influence of vulture restaurants on breeding success and nestling body condition of Gyps vulture populations across southern Africa</i>. (). University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences. Retrieved from http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29719en_ZA
dc.identifier.chicagocitationZimunya, Tapiwa. <i>"The influence of vulture restaurants on breeding success and nestling body condition of Gyps vulture populations across southern Africa."</i> ., University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 2018. http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29719en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationZimunya, T. 2018. The influence of vulture restaurants on breeding success and nestling body condition of Gyps vulture populations across southern Africa. University of Cape Town.en_ZA
dc.identifier.ris TY - Thesis / Dissertation AU - Zimunya, Tapiwa AB - Vulture populations in many parts of the world continue to decline owing to numerous threats, such as lack of adequate food sources, poisoning and collisions with power-lines. Worldwide, supplementary feeding sites (hereafter, vulture restaurants) have been used as a conservation tool aimed at supporting vulture populations. However, in many parts of the world there is little scientific evidence about their effectiveness in aiding vulture populations. Here, I assessed the relationship between chick condition (African White-backed Vultures) and breeding success (Cape Vultures/African White-backed Vultures) in relation to a variety of variables which described levels of access to vulture restaurants. My data suggest the potential of vulture restaurants to increase breeding success in vulture populations. Breeding success generally increased for nests closer to vulture restaurants. There was a significant positive correlation between African White-backed Vulture breeding success and proximity to vulture restaurants (p< 0.05), but little evidence to support such a relationship for Cape Vultures (p> 0.05). Nestling body condition of African White-backed Vultures was also not influenced by proximity to vulture restaurants (p> 0.05). Findings of this study provide motivation on the use of vulture restaurants as a conservation strategy across southern Africa. The current study informs future conservation efforts on the use of vulture restaurants across the region, particularly in countries where a network of vulture restaurants is still being established. DA - 2018 DB - OpenUCT DP - University of Cape Town LK - https://open.uct.ac.za PB - University of Cape Town PY - 2018 T1 - The influence of vulture restaurants on breeding success and nestling body condition of Gyps vulture populations across southern Africa TI - The influence of vulture restaurants on breeding success and nestling body condition of Gyps vulture populations across southern Africa UR - http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29719 ER - en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/11427/29719
dc.identifier.vancouvercitationZimunya T. The influence of vulture restaurants on breeding success and nestling body condition of Gyps vulture populations across southern Africa. []. University of Cape Town ,Faculty of Science ,Department of Biological Sciences, 2018 [cited yyyy month dd]. Available from: http://hdl.handle.net/11427/29719en_ZA
dc.language.isoeng
dc.publisher.departmentDepartment of Biological Sciences
dc.publisher.facultyFaculty of Science
dc.publisher.institutionUniversity of Cape Town
dc.subject.otherConservation Biology
dc.titleThe influence of vulture restaurants on breeding success and nestling body condition of Gyps vulture populations across southern Africa
dc.typeMaster Thesis
dc.type.qualificationlevelMasters
dc.type.qualificationnameMSc
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