Empresa de Gestión Medioambiental-Consejería de Medio Ambiente, Junta de Andalucía, Granada, Spain.
PLoS One. 2011;6(7):e22851. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0022851. Epub 2011 Jul 27.
Predation may potentially lead to negative effects on both prey (directly via predators) and predators (indirectly via human persecution). Predation pressure studies are, therefore, of major interest in the fields of theoretical knowledge and conservation of prey or predator species, with wide ramifications and profound implications in human-wildlife conflicts. However, detailed works on this issue in highly valuable--in conservation terms--Mediterranean ecosystems are virtually absent. This paper explores the predator-hunting conflict by examining a paradigmatic, Mediterranean-wide (endangered) predator-two prey (small game) system.
METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We estimated the predation impact ('kill rate' and 'predation rate', i.e., number of prey and proportion of the prey population eaten, respectively) of Bonelli's eagle Aquila fasciata on rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus and red-legged partridge Alectoris rufa populations in two seasons (the eagle's breeding and non-breeding periods, 100 days each) in SE Spain. The mean estimated kill rate by the seven eagle reproductive units in the study area was c. 304 rabbits and c. 262 partridges in the breeding season, and c. 237 rabbits and c. 121 partridges in the non-breeding period. This resulted in very low predation rates (range: 0.3-2.5%) for both prey and seasons.
CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The potential role of Bonelli's eagles as a limiting factor for rabbits and partridges at the population scale was very poor. The conflict between game profitability and conservation interest of either prey or predators is apparently very localised, and eagles, quarry species and game interests seem compatible in most of the study area. Currently, both the persecution and negative perception of Bonelli's eagle (the 'partridge-eating eagle' in Spanish) have a null theoretical basis in most of this area.
捕食可能会对猎物（直接通过捕食者）和捕食者（间接通过人类迫害）产生负面影响。因此，捕食压力研究在猎物或捕食者物种的理论知识和保护领域具有重要意义，对人类与野生动物的冲突具有广泛的影响和深远的意义。然而，在高度有价值的地中海生态系统中，几乎没有关于这个问题的详细研究。本文通过研究一个典范的、地中海范围内的（濒危）捕食者-两种猎物（小型猎物）系统，探讨了捕食者-狩猎冲突。
方法/主要发现：我们估计了在西班牙东南部的两个季节（鹰的繁殖期和非繁殖期，各 100 天）中，伯利兹鹰 Aquila fasciata 对兔 Oryctolagus cuniculus 和红腿鹧鸪 Alectoris rufa 种群的捕食影响（“捕杀率”和“捕食率”，即分别为猎物数量和被捕食的猎物种群比例）。在研究区域的七个鹰繁殖单位中，平均估计在繁殖季节捕杀了约 304 只兔子和约 262 只鹧鸪，而非繁殖季节则捕杀了约 237 只兔子和约 121 只鹧鸪。这导致了两个猎物和两个季节的捕食率都非常低（范围：0.3-2.5%）。
结论/意义：在种群规模上，伯利兹鹰对兔子和鹧鸪的潜在作用是有限的。猎物或捕食者的游戏盈利能力和保护利益之间的冲突显然是本地化的，在研究区域的大部分地区，鹰、猎物物种和游戏利益似乎是兼容的。目前，在该地区的大部分地区，对伯利兹鹰（西班牙语中的“吃鹧鸪的鹰”）的迫害和负面看法在理论上都没有依据。
