ECOLOGY/EVOLUTION: Vulnerable Vultures

Vultures

Buechley and Sekercioglu introduce vultures, the supreme avian scavengers that now face multiple threats.

Temperature Regulation in Turkey Vultures

Temperature regulation by six Turkey Vultures (Cathartes aura) was studied at ambient temperatures (T,) from 11 to 40°C in a metabolic chamber. Within this range body temperature varied little, averaging 39.7”C, and the ratio of CO, production to 0, consumption averaged 0.76. The thermal-neutral zone (TNZ) extended from 26 to 40°C. Below 26°C evaporative water loss and the heat-transfer coeffic...

Vulnerable Populations: Vulnerable People

The microbiome of New World vultures.

Vultures are scavengers that fill a key ecosystem niche, in which they have evolved a remarkable tolerance to bacterial toxins in decaying meat. Here we report the first deep metagenomic analysis of the vulture microbiome. Through face and gut comparisons of 50 vultures representing two species, we demonstrate a remarkably conserved low diversity of gut microbial flora. The gut samples containe...

Demographics of Black Vultures in North Carolina

Understanding the contributions of vital rates to species population growth is critical to developing new management protocols. We constructed a model population for black vultures (Coragyps atratus) in North Carolina, USA, based on demographic data from a 14-year study. The model population was similar in stage structure to the reference population, and adult survival was the primary contribut...