Apex scavengers from different European populations converge at threatened savannah landscapes

Abstract

Over millennia, human intervention has transformed European habitats mainly through extensive livestock grazing. ``Dehesas/Montados�� are an Iberian savannah-like ecosystem dominated by oak-trees, bushes and grass species that are subject to agricultural and extensive livestock uses. They are a good example of how large-scale, low intensive transformations can maintain high biodiversity levels as well as socio-economic and cultural values. However, the role that these human-modified habitats can play for individuals or species living beyond their borders is unknown. Here, using a dataset of 106 adult GPS-tagged Eurasian griffon vultures (Gyps fulvus) monitored over seven years, we show how individuals breeding in western European populations from Northern, Central, and Southern Spain, and Southern France made long-range forays (LRFs) of up to 800 km to converge in the threatened Iberian ``dehesas�� to forage. There, extensive livestock and wild ungulates provide large amounts of carcasses, which are available to scavengers from traditional exploitations and rewilding processes. Our results highlight that maintaining Iberian ``dehesas�� is critical not only for local biodiversity but also for long-term conservation and the ecosystem services provided by avian scavengers across the continent.