Guidelines for the conservation of Bonelli’s eagle populations

Abstract

This book provides a comprehensive suite of protocols and methods summarized in the form of guidelines to solve Bonelli’s eagle conservation problems applicable at different spatial scales, from territories to populations. The Bonelli's eagle is an endangered raptor of Mediterranean environments in Europe playing a key role as top predator in these natural systems. Chapters are grouped into two general sections that relate to two different stages required to implement conservation actions: (1) Identifying conservation targets, that is, evaluating the problem, and (2) Implementing conservation actions, that is, solving the problem. A decision tree for conservation of Bonelli’s eagle populations is provided and described in the first introductory chapter. By answering the set of questions in order, the reader will end up to one of the chapters of this document. Five ‘methodological’ chapters are included in the first section, (1) Population monitoring, (2) Determining territorial home-ranges and dispersal areas, (3) Population viability analyses, (4) Determining prey consumption and (5) Estimating mortality causes. And three chapters are included in the second section, (1) Legal tools for conservation, (2) Improving food supply and (3) Mitigation of mortality causes, where conservation actions are described to solve particular conservation problems identified in the first section. Overall, these guidelines provide an example of applied research and achievable conservation practice easily exportable to other populations of Bonelli's eagle as well as other endangered raptors.