Juvenile birds fledging into saturated populations are exposed to high competition from conspecifics. However, little is known about how this competition affects range use and behaviours during natal dispersal, the period from fledging to the establishment of an own territory. The Golden Eagle is a characteristic species of Alpine habitats, and the Swiss population is close to saturated. In collaboration with the Max Planck Institute of Animal Behavior in Radolfzell and the Konrad Lorenz Research Center of the University of Vienna, the Swiss Ornithological Institute investigates how young Golden Eagles navigate the Alpine landscape, densely occupied by territorial eagles.
Dispersal ecology of Alpine Golden Eagles
Juvenile movement behaviour in a saturated population
Domain
Research
Unit
Ecological research
Topic
Distribution Ecology, Ecology
Habitat
alpine habitats, forest, meadows and pastures, rocky terrain, semi-open farmland
Project start
2017
Project status
ongoing
Project management
Martin Grüebler
Project region
Grisons, Europe
Project team members
Betroffene Vogelarten
Unit
Ecological research
We investigate the diverse interactions of birds with their environment, from individual settlement behaviour to species communities.