HUYGHE, M., GROOT, de S. & PEREBOOM, Z. (2010)
European Studbook of the European black vulture (Aegypius monachus)
Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp.
Introduction:
Since the establishment of the EEP for the European black vulture (Aegypius monachus) in 1987, 3 editions of the studbook have been published (the last one in 2002). In the meantime, working versions of the current population within the EEP program were made and distributed to the EEP participants.
This publication of the studbook is divided into 4 parts. Part one contains general information on the European black vulture, its status in the wild, the ex situ situation, the EEP breeding program, the reintroduction programs and the partners for conservation.
Part two contains the genetic and demographic analyses of the EEP population. These reports show that only 20% of the founders are breeding, resulting in an yearly average of 7 hatches. Most of the chicks reaching a juvenile stage are used for release projects (on average 2 per year), so releasing vultures in the wild contributes to a negative growth rate in the EEP population. The main challenge in the coming years is to improve the breeding success such, to reach self sustainable population and releases can be continued.There are several possible causes for the poor breeding result, but preliminary research suggests that a main problem is the lack of strong pair bonds in the existing pairs, resulting in a high amount of infertile eggs and a poor breeding result. On the other hand, there are some proven breeding pairs, which have ceased successful breeding without clear reasons.
Part three includes different types of studbook reports for the European black vulture, historical and present, recorded in the SPARKS dataset. This dataset is based on the information provided by thenstitutions and individuals that are keeping European black vultures at present or that have kept the species in the past. This implicates that these reports are not restricted to the managed EEP population, but also include information on European black vultures kept in several institutes not participating in the EEP which could be important for the management of the species. More detailed information concerning the reports can be found in paragraph 6.1.
To achieve the goal of having a self sustainable population, more detailed knowledge on the species is vital. In 2009, husbandry guidelines were published to support holders to create optimal conditions for keeping and breeding the species. The actual publication of the studbook contributes to the knowledge on the population itself and not only points out weaknesses but also opportunities. However, even more important is the information provided by all EEP participants. Only if they continue providing information on the status of their birds and the breeding behavior in particular, proper analyses can be made, possible causes determined and recommendations made for improvement. Fortunately, a lot of effort has been made by most holders to collect as many data as possible of their historical collection. However, the provision of complete data and the will to cooperate as lacking to a certain extent in some institutions. To ensure the future health of the EEP population and the maintenance of the release projects, it is necessary to improve the overall communication about births, deaths and most in particular transfers within the captive breeding program.
In 2009 the Centre for Research and Conservation (CRC), the research department of the Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp initiated a research project about mate choice and patterns of adaptive variation in European black vultures with the use of MHC analysis, in order to increase the captive breeding success of the European black vulture. Holders of European black vultures are encouraged to participate in this study, by providing samples or information when requested by the researchers.
For more inforation and anouncements about this research project, please visit the website (http://webhost.ua.ac.be/crc/Conservation/Vultures.html) or send an email to:
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