USE OF NONINVASIVE GENETICS TO ASSESS NEST AND SPACE USE BY WHITE-TAILED EAGLES

• Published in: Journal of Raptor Research
• Main Authors: Bulut, Zafer, Bragin, Evgeny A., DeWoody, J. Andrew, Braham, Melissa A., Katzner, Todd E., Doyle, Jacqueline M.
• Other Authors: Selçuk Üniversitesi
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: RAPTOR RESEARCH FOUNDATION INC 2016
• Subjects: White-tailed Eagle; Haliaeetus albicilla; DNA fingerprint; microsatellite; movement; noninvasive mark-recapture; space use; White-tailed eagle
• Online Access: https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12395/34184; https://doi.org/10.3356/JRR-15-84.1

WOS: 000390371200003 Movement and space use are important components of animal interactions with the environment. However, for hard-to-monitor raptor species, there are substantial gaps in our understanding of these key determinants. We used noninvasive genetic tools to evaluate the details of space use over a 3-yr period by White-tailed Eagles (Haliaeetus albicilla) at the Naurzum Zapovednik in northern Kazakhstan. We genotyped, at 10 microsatellite markers and one mitochondrial marker, 859 eagle feathers and assigned naturally shed feathers to individuals. We identified 124 White-tailed Eagles, including both members of 510 pairs per year, and were able to monitor birds across years. Distances between eagle nests and hunting perches were always greater than nearest neighbor distances, eagles never used the closest available hunting perch, and hunting perches were always shared with other eagles. When eagles switched nests between years, the nests they chose were almost always well outside the space that theory predicted they defended the prior year. Our data are inconsistent with classical territorial and colonial models of resource use; they more closely resemble semi-colonial behavior. It is unlikely that standard methods of animal tracking (e.g., marking and telemetry), would have provided a similarly cost-effective mechanism to gain these insights into spatial and temporal aspects of eagle behavior. When combined with existing information on space use of other local species, these data suggest that partitioning of spatial resources among White-tailed Eagles and other eagles at the Zapovednik may be facilitated by the alternative strategies of space use they employ. National Geographic SocietyNational Geographic Society; National Birds of Prey Trust; U.S. National Science FoundationNational Science Foundation (NSF) [INT-0301905]; Purdue University Faculty Scholar Program We thank M. Kochert, members of the DeWoody and Katzner lab groups, multiple anonymous reviewers, and I. Warkentin for their constructive criticisms on early versions of this manuscript. This research was funded in part by the National Geographic Society, the National Birds of Prey Trust, the U.S. National Science Foundation (INT-0301905), and the Purdue University Faculty Scholar Program. We acknowledge assistance of the Naurzum Zapovednik and the government of Kazakhstan. Feathers were gathered and imported under the appropriate Russian, United States, and Kazakhstan CITES (2005: 05US103491/9, 00KZ000631; 2006: 06US103491/9, 00KZ000719; 2007: 07US103491/9, 00KZ000780) and MBTA (MB103684-0) permits; details of these permits are available upon request. Any use of trade, firm, or product names is for descriptive purposes only and does not imply endorsement by the U.S. Government. Statement of author contributions: EAB, JAD, and TEK designed the study, EAB and TEK collected samples in the field, ZB, JMD, and JAD designed and performed the laboratory and genetic analyses, MB and TEK performed the spatial and statistical analyses, and all authors contributed to writing the manuscript.