Populationdynamics and dietary changes of the EasternImperial Eagle in Hungary

Population dynamics and dietary changes of the Eastern Imperial Eagle in Hungary

Márton HORVÁTH, Imre FATÉR, Tibor JUHÁSZ, Gábor DEÁK & Szilvia PÁSZTORY-KOVÁCS VIII. International Conference on the Conservation of the Eastern Imperial Eagle Eagles of Palearctic: Study and Conservation Conference Katun village, Altai Kray, Russia 8 September 2018

1. Population dynamics in relation to predator poisoning intensity

Introduction

• 1945-1989: 15-25 pairs in Hungary • Mountain forests (400-1000 m a.s.l.)

Extermination of several raptor species from the Hungarian plain due to: • direct persecution • general predator poisoning • DDT

The Hungarian Hunter (1949) Poisoned raptors and corvids

Hungarian Hunting Magazine (1941) The Hungarian Hunter (1962) Shot imperial eagle

Game keeper with the results of one week of poisoning

Monitoring and conservation efforts (1980-2011) • Hungarian Imperial Eagle Working Group (national parks, NGOs: 300 participants) • Annual population survey and regular nest controlls • Bird-friendly modification of electric power lines (>50 000) • Artificial nests (>1 000) • Restriction of human activities around nest sites (100-600 m, 1-5/y) • Rehabilitation of specimens (1-5/y) • Nest guarding (occassionally) • Publicity (10-100 reports/y in media) Bagyura, J., Szitta, T., Haraszthy, L., Firmánszky, G., Viszló, L., Kovács, A., Demeter, I., Horváth, M. (2002) Aquila Horváth, M., Szitta, T., Fatér, I., Kovács, A., Demeter, I., Firmánszky, G. & Bagyura, J. (2011) Acta Zoologica Bulgarica

• 1990-2012: sixfold increase to 150 pairs • Expansion to plains (70-150 m a.s.l.) with agricultural fields and grasslands

Expansion of several raptor species to the Hungarian plain due to: • strenghtening conservation (from 1973) • ban of predator poisoning • ban of DDT (by 1970)

The increasing trend has stopped by 2011

Development of monitoring

LOW DENSITY AREAS POTENTIAL EMPTY AREAS

Eagles are usually accidental victims among foxes, corvids and predators in general, but sometimes they are the real targets Perpetrators are hunters (90%), pigeon fanciers and poultry keepers

Location of poisoned eagles found in Hungary

No. of specimens: Imperial eagle

White-tailed eagle

Golden eagle

Was the extremely high non-natural mortality (predator poisoning) limiting the population?

Conservational questions: Can specific actions reduce the prevalance of predator poisoning?

Will the population continue to increase if the prevalance of predator poisoning was reduced?

Š csonkapeter.hu

Biological question:

Methods

Conservation of imperial eagles by managing human-eagle conflicts in Hungary 2012-2016 (Helicon, LIFE10 NAT/HU/019) Coordinating beneficiary: 1. MME BirdLife Hungary Associated beneficiaries: 2. Hortobágy National Park Directorate (HNPD) 3. Bükk National Park Directorate (BNPD) 4. Körös-Maros National Park Directorate (KMNPD) 5. Budapest Zoo and Botanical Garden 6. Zoological Park and Botanical Garden of Jászberény 7. Hungarian Hunters’ National Chamber (HHNC) 8. Hungarian National Bureau of Investigation (HNBI) 9. Filmjungle.eu Society

20122016

PannonEagle LIFE (2016-2022), 5 countries

Anti-Poisoning Working Group Hungarian Raptor Conservation Council Standardized protocol for 25 organizations 250 rangers & employees, 300 volunteers

Satellite tagging 74 imperial eagles tagged in Hungary Continuous monitoring Urgent reaction in case of suspected problem More than 800,000 records (www.satellitetracking.eu)

Genetic monitoring • Shed feathers of adults collected since 1997 (covering annually 30-60% of the breeding population) • DNA fingerprinting of individuals • Annual mortality estimated • Blackspots could be identified, where adults are changing

Blood clot

Dog unit Anti-Poisoning Dog Unit formed in 2013 („Falco”) All reported poisoning cases are investigated 547 field surveys executed, 201 findings related to wildlife crime (2013-2016)

(See the poster of Deák et al.)

Case study – Tiszaalpár, Septemer 2013 • Dog-unit found further 13 marsh harriers, 1 buzzards and 3 saker falcons underground, and >10 poisoned eggs

Camera traps

i

Imperial eagle

Exemplary habitat management • To promote:

- eagle-friedly game management - game-friendly ariculture • Purchase and manage abandoned house yards (5,4 ha) • Manage municipality roads („Hare Roads”, ca. 15 km, 18 ha)

Cooperation with hunters, farmers, vets, police, prosecutors, judges • 79 workshops with 6090 participants • Hunter’s Yearbook (65,000 copies) • Bird-safe traps and trapping courses • Research on game-predator interactions

Raising public awareness • Eagle Centre & Educational Trails (2700 visitors) • Exhibitions in Zoos • Media (1908 reports, >100 million consumers) • Web, Facebook, Ustream (>5 million page views) • Youtube movies (31 films, >75,000 views) • Educational materials

Results

First precedent judgments • 2000-2014: • > 250 known cases • no judgments • 2015-2016: • 4 professional hunters: 400-2200 € penalty, suspended jail (1 year 3 months) • 1 poultry keeper: suspended jail (1 year 7 months)

No. of detected predator poisoning cases in Hungary between 2012 and 2016

Outside the main project areas At main project areas

Annual mortality of immature imperial eagles based on satellite-tracked individuals

Estimated annual mortality of breeding imperial eagles based on DNA-tracked individuals

No. of poisoned imperial eagles in Hungary

No. of nesting imperial eagle pairs in Hungary

Improved survey

Changes in distribution

2008 2013 2018

Breeding density of imperial eagles in Hungary in 2018

Discussion

Was the extremely high non-natural mortality (predator poisoning) limiting the population?

Probably yes Conservational questions: Can specific actions reduce the prevalance of predator poisoning?

Yes Will the population continue to increase if the prevalance of predator poisoning has been reduced?

Yes

Š csonkapeter.hu

Biological question:

2. Dietary changes

Methods • 1997-2017 • During ringing (June) and after fledging (July-Sept) • In and under nests and nearby (<1 km) roosting trees • Field identification („easy” species) • Collection and laboratory identification with the help of museum reference material • Excluding possible duplications (minimal estimation) • Involving previous datasets from 1982-1996 (Haraszthy et al. 1996, Szitta et al. unpubl., Firmánszky et al. unpubl.)

The coverage of sampling was extended in parallel with the population expansion to south direction (98% of the samples were from the core Eastern populations)

1982-1991 1992-2004 2005-2017

Results • 1982-1991: 627 spec. (Haraszthy et al. 1996) • 1992-2017: 7916 spec. (with coordinates & territory) • 4038 collected (51%) • 1006 collected AND identified in field (13%) • 2872 identified in field (36%)

• All together:

• 8543 specimens • 135 species

Horváth et al. (2018) Temporal changes in the diet composition of the Eastern Imperial Eagle (Aquila heliaca) in Hungary. Ornis Hungarica 2018(1).

Number of identified prey items per year

Black: collected items, Light grey: identified in the field, Dark grey: both methods

1982-1991

1992-2004

2005-2017

20 years trend of main prey types (1998-2017)

20 years trend of main prey types (1998-2017)

Discussion • Souslik and hamster became marginal • Brown hare, pheasant and roe deer are important (conflict management with hunters) • Increasing importance of medium sized birds (corvids and waterbirds): 40-45% • Flexibility and good adaptation ability – only if alternative prey species were available

Discussion • Increasing eagle population • Occasional predation on protected species (Great Bustard, Souslik) • Possible interspecific competition with other raptors (Saker Falcon) • Unproved conclusions could raise conflicts even within the conservation community • Evidence-based conclusions should drive multi-species conservation strategy

Acknowledgement • EU LIFE Nature Programme (LIFE02NAT/H/8627, LIFE10 NAT/HU/019, LIFE15NAT/HU/902) • Hungarian Imperial Eagle Working Group: János Bagyura, Iván Demeter, Gábor Firmánszky, László Haraszthy, András Kovács, Imre Tóth, Tamás Szitta and 80 colleagues • Szent István University, Biological Institute, Conservation Genetics Working Group: Szilvia Kovács, Szilvia Kövér, Krisztián Szabó, Nóra Vili, Bernadett Zsinka • Ministry of Agriculture: András Schmidt • PhD grant of Eötvös Loránd University, Department of Ethology • Small grants of BirdLife International, Lush Retail Ltd., Alcoa Foundation, Spanish Ministry of Education and Science and Doñana Biological Station • All volunteers and subcontractors

@PannonEagleLIFE www.imperialeagle.hu www.imperialeagle.eu horvath.marton@mme.hu The 1st recorded 4-chicks brood of imperial eagles in Hungary (2018)