Distribution and habitat of the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) in Sonora, Mexico, 1892-2019
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22201/ib.20078706e.2020.91.3056Palabras clave:
Birds of prey, Conservation, Deserts, Grasslands, Madrean Sky Islands, Raptors, ThreatsResumen
The Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is listed as threatened in Mexico but there is little information on populations in the state of Sonora. We amalgamated 121 records of the Golden Eagle in Sonora between 1892 and 2019, including 49 observations by the authors between 1997 and 2016. Observations were from all months of the year, peaked during the breeding season and again in December with 53.7% representing likely breeding individuals. Most observations were from the Sky Islands region and Sonoran Desert of northern Sonora, with fewer from coastal west-central and especially southern Sonora. Most observations were from grasslands (34.3%), Madrean evergreen woodland (31.3%), and desert-scrub (30.3%), and very few were from subtropical forest and thorn-scrub (≤ 2.0%) suggesting preference for open vegetation communities that foster hunting. We found evidence of recent occupation of all general portions of Sonora that were occupied historically, except in central Sonora due possibly to changes in land use and land cover. Although our results suggest broad-scale distribution has been largely stable, more focused monitoring is needed to understand population trends. Large-scale urban and agricultural development, loss of grasslands and other open environments, electrocution, and poisoning pose major threats to Golden Eagles in Sonora.
Citas
Bedrosian, B. E., R. Domenech, A. Shreading, M. Hayes, T. Booms, and C. Barger (2018). Migration corridors of adult Golden eagles originating in northwestern North America. PLoS ONE 13:e0205204.
Bojórquez, A., J.C. Álvarez-Yépiz, A. Búrquez, and A. Martínez-Yrízar (2019). Understanding and predicting frost-induced tropical tree mortality patterns. Global Change Biology. https://doi.org/10.1111/gcb.14775
Braham, M., T. Miller, A. E. Duerr, M. Lanzone, A. Fesnock, L. LaPre, D. Driscoll, and T. Katzner (2015). Home in the heat: dramatic seasonal variation in home range of desert Golden eagles informs management for renewable energy development. Biological Conservation 186:225-232.
Brown, D. E. (1982). Biotic communities of the American Southwest-United States and Mexico. Desert Plants 4:1-342.
Calderon-Aguilera, L.E., V.H. Rivera-Monroy, L. Porter-Bolland, A. Martínez-Yrízar, L. B. Ladah, M. Martínez-Ramos, et al. (2012). An assessment of natural and human disturbance effects on Mexican ecosystems: current trends and research gaps. Biodiversity and Conservation 21:589-617.
Campos-Rodríguez, J. I., X. Flores-Leyva, D. Pérez-Valera, and D. P. García-Martínez (2018). Anidación del águila real en el sureste de Zacatecas, México. Huitzil Revista Mexicana de Ornitología 20:1-13.
Ceballos, G., and L. Márquez-Valdelamar (2000). Las aves de México en peligro de extinción. Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México. Comisión Nacional para el Conocimiento y Uso de la Biodiversidad. Fondo de Cultura Económica, México D.F.
Ceballos, G., and J. Pacheco (2000). Los perros llaneros de Chihuahua: importancia biológica y conservación. Biodiversitas 31:1-5.
Comisión de Energía del Estado de Sonora (2019). Renewable Energy Projects as the Megaregion Sonora-Arizona. Gobierno del Estado de Sonora. Available at: http://www.coees.sonora.gob.mx
Corman, T. E., and C. Wise-Gervais (2005). Arizona breeding bird atlas. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque, NM. USA.
de León-Girón, G., R. Rodríguez-Estrella, and G. Ruiz-Campos (2016). Current distribution status of Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) in northwestern Baja California, Mexico. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 87:1328-1335.
Delfín-Alfonso, C. A., C. A. López-González, and M. Equihua (2012). Potential distribution of American black bears in northwest Mexico and implications for their conservation. Ursus 23:65-78.
Dwyer, J. F., R. E Harness, and D. Eccleston (2017). Avian electrocutions on incorrectly retrofitted power poles. Journal of Raptor Research 51:293-305.
Farías, V., O. Hernández, M. C. Arizmendi, O. Téllez, F. Botello, S. J. Olivares, and M. Correa (2016). Registro notable de Águila Real (Aquila chrysaetos) en la Reserva de la Biosfera Tehuacán-Cuicatlán, Puebla, México. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 87: 1153–1158.
Flesch, A. D. (2003). Distribution, abundance, and habitat of Cactus Ferruginous Pygmy-Owls in Sonora Mexico. M.S. Thesis, University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ
Flesch, A. D. (2008). Distribution and status of breeding landbirds in northern Sonora Mexico. Studies in Avian Biology 37:28-45.
Flesch, A. D. (2014). Spatiotemporal trends and drivers of population dynamics in a declining desert predator. Biological Conservation 175:110-118.
Flesch, A. D. (2017). Influence of local and landscape factors on distributional dynamics: A species-centered fitness-based approach. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London B: Biological Sciences 284:20171001. https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2017.1001.
Flesch, A. D. (2018). Patterns and drivers of long-term changes in breeding bird communities in a global biodiversity hotspot in Mexico. Diversity and Distribution 25:499–513. https://doi.org/ 10.1111/ddi.12862.
Flesch, A. D., and L. E. Hahn (2005). Distribution of birds and plants at the western and southern edges of the Madrean Sky Island region in Sonora, Mexico. In Connecting Mountain Islands and Desert Seas: Biodiversity and Management of the Madrean Archipelago II (G. J. Gottfried, B. S. Gebow, L. G. Eskew and C.B. Edminster, Editors). Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, CO, USA. pp. 80-87.
Flesch, A. D., and R. J. Steidl (2007). Detectability and response rates of ferruginous pygmy-owls. Journal of Wildlife Management 71:981-990.
Flesch, A. D., C. W. Epps, J. W. Cain, M. Clark, P. R. Krausman, and J. R. Morgart (2010). Potential effects of the United States-Mexico border fence on wildlife. Conservation Biology 24:171-181.
Flesch, A. D., R. L. Hutto, W. J. D. van Leeuwen, K. Hartfield, and S. Jacobs (2015a). Spatial, temporal, and density-dependent components of habitat quality for a desert owl. PLoS ONE 10:e0141178. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0141178
Flesch, A. D., P. Warshall, and S. Jacobs (2015b). Avian richness, status, and conservation in the northwestern Neotropics in Sonora, México. Natural Areas Journal 35: 288-296.
Flesch, A. D., C. G. Sánchez, and J. V. Amarillas (2016). Abundance and habitat relationships of breeding birds in the Sky Islands and adjacent Sierra Madre Occidental of northwest Mexico. Journal of Field Ornithology 87:176-195.
Guerrero-Cárdenas, I. G., P. Galina-Tessaro, S. Álvarez-Cárdenas, and E. Mesa-Zavala (2012). Avistamientos recientes de águila real (Aquila chrysaetos) en la sierra El Mechudo, Baja California Sur, México. Revista Mexicana de Biodiversidad 83:397-401.
Harness, R. E. and K. R.Wilson (2001). Electric-utility structures associated with raptor electrocutions in rural areas. Wildlife Society Bulletin 29:612-623.
Harrison, J. T., and E. Hallingstad (2018). Direct Observation of Insectivory by a Golden eagle. Journal of Raptor Research 52:261-263.
Howell, S. N. G., and S. Webb (1995). A guide to the birds of México and Northern Central America. Oxford University Press. New York, NY, USA.
Johnsgard, P. A. (1990). Hawks, eagles, and falcons of North America. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington, D.C. USA.
Katzner, T. E., D. Brandes, T. Miller, M. Lanzone, C. Maisonneuve, J. A. Tremblay, and G. T. Merovich (2012a). Topography drives migratory flight altitude of Golden eagles: implications for on-shore wind energy development. Journal of Applied Ecology 49:1178-1186.
Katzner, T., B. W. Smith, T. A. Miller, D. Brandes, J. Cooper, M. Lanzone, D. Brauning, C. Farmer, S. Harding, D. E. Kramar, and C. Koppie (2012b). Status, biology, and conservation priorities for North America's eastern Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) population. Auk 129:168-176.
Kochert, M. N., K. Steenhof, L.B. Carpenter, and J.M. Marzluff (1999). Effects of fire on Golden eagle territory occupancy and reproductive success. The Journal of Wildlife Management 63:773-780.
Kochert, M. N., and K. Steenhof (2002). Golden eagles in the U.S. and Canada: Status, trends, and conservation challenges. Journal of Raptor Research 36:32–40.
Kochert, M. N., K. Steenhof, C. L. McIntyre, and E. H. Craig (2002). Golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos). In The Birds of North America (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://birdsna.org/Species-Account/bna/species/goleag.
Kramer, J. L., and P. T. Redig (1997). Sixteen years of lead poisoning in eagles, 1980-95: An epizootiologic view. Journal of Raptor Research 31:327-332.
Lafón-Terrazas, A., Cirett-Girón, J. M., Esquer-Robles, J. A., Higuera-Martínez, F. J., and A. Macías-Duarte (2016). Monitoreo de la Situación Poblacional del Águila Real en las Islas del Cielo, Informe Final. Programa de Conservación de Especies en Riesgo (PROCER). Comisión Nacional de Áreas Naturales Protegidas, Hermosillo, Sonora, México.
Marquiss, M., D. A. Ratcliffe, and R. Roxburgh (1985). The numbers, breeding success and diet of Golden eagles in southern Scotland in relation to changes in land use. Biological Conservation 34:121–140.
Marshall, J. T. (1957). Birds of pine-oak woodland in southern Arizona and adjacent Mexico. Pacific Coast Avifauna 32. Cooper Ornithological Society, Berkeley, CAL, USA.
Marzluff, J. M., S. T. Knick, M. S. Vekasy, L. S. Schueck, and T. J. Zarriello (1997). Spatial use and habitat selection of Golden eagles in southwestern Idaho. Auk 114:673-687.
McIntyre, C. L., D. C. Douglas, and M. W. Collopy (2008). Movements of Golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) from interior Alaska during their first year of independence. The Auk 125:214-224.
Millsap, B. A. (1981). Distributional status of Falconiformes in west central Arizona with notes on ecology, reproductive success and management. U.S. Department of Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Phoenix District Office, Phoenix, AZ, USA.
Millsap, B. A., G. S. Zimmerman, J. R. Sauer, R. M. Nielson, M. Otto, E. Bjerre, and R. Murphy (2013). Golden eagle population trends in the western United States: 1968–2010. The Journal of Wildlife Management 77:1436-1448.
Murphy, R. K., J. R. Dunk, B. Woodbridge, D. W. Stahlecker, D. W. LaPlante, B. Millsap, and K. V. Jacobson (2017). First-year dispersal of Golden eagles from natal areas in the Southwestern United States and implications for second-year settling. Journal of Raptor Research 51:216-233.
Nielson, R. M., McManus, L., Rintz, T., Mcdonald, L. L., Murphy, R. K., Howe, W. H. and R. E. Good (2014). Monitoring abundance of Golden eagles in the western United States. The Journal of Wildlife Management 78:721-730.
Nocedal, J., A. Zúñiga-Fuentes, and S. I. Arroyo (2010). El Águila Real (Aquila chrysaetos) en el Estado de Durango, México: distribución e implicaciones para su protección y conservación. El Canto del Cenzontle 1:134-147.
Nocedal, J., and A. Zúñiga-Fuentes (2012). Biología de la nidificación del Águila Real (Aquila chrysaetos) en el sur del Desierto Chihuahuense, México. El Canto del Cenzontle 3:26-37.
Pool, D. B., A. O. Panjabi, A. Macias-Duarte, and D. M. Solhjem (2014). Rapid expansion of croplands in Chihuahua, Mexico threatens declining North American grassland bird species. Biological Conservation 170:274–281.
Preston, C. R., R. E. Jones, and N. S. Horton (2017). Golden eagle Diet Breadth and Reproduction in Relation to Fluctuations in Primary Prey Abundance in Wyoming's Bighorn Basin. Journal of Raptor Research 51:334-346.
Rodríguez-Estrella, R. (2002). A survey of Golden eagles in northern Mexico in 1984 and recent records in central and southern Baja California Peninsula. Journal of Raptor Research 36:3-9.
Rodríguez-Estrella, R., J. G. Llinas, and J. Cancino (1991). New Golden eagle records from Baja California. Journal of Raptor Research 25:68-71.
Rosenberg, K.V., A.M. Dokter, P.J. Blancher, J. R. Sauer, A. C.
Smith, P. A. Smith, J. C. Stanton, A. Panjabi, L. Helft, M. Parr, and P. P. Marra (2019). Decline of the North American avifauna. Science 366:120-124.
Russell, S. M., and G. Monson (1998). The birds of Sonora. University of Arizona Press. Tucson, AZ, USA.
Rzedowski, J. (1978). La vegetación de Mexico. Limusa-Wiley, Mexico D. F.
Secretaría de Medio Ambiente y Recursos Naturales (2010). Norma Oficial Mexicana NOM-059 SEMARNAT-2010. Protección ambiental – Especies nativas de México de flora y fauna silvestres – Categoría de riesgo y especificaciones para su inclusión, exclusión o cambio – Lista de especies de riesgo. Diario Oficial de la Federación, Órgano del Gobierno Constitucional de Estados Unidos Mexicanos.
Shreve, F. (1951). Vegetation of the Sonoran Desert. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication No. 591. Washington, D.C. USA.
Soutullo, A., V. Urios, M. Ferrer, and S. G. Peñarrubia (2006). Dispersal of Golden eagles Aquila chrysaetos during their first year of life. Bird Study 53:258–264.
Stahlecker, D. W., D. G. Mikesic, J. N. White, S. Shaffer, J. O. de Long, M. R. Blakemore, and C. E. Blakemore (2009). Prey remains in nests of four corners Golden eagles, 1998-2008. Western Birds 40:301-306.
Steenhof, K., M. N. Kocher, and T. L. Mcdonald (1997). Interactive effects of prey and weather on Golden eagle reproduction. Journal of Animal Ecology 66:350-362.
Van Rossem, A. J. (1945). A distributional survey of the birds of Sonora, Mexico (No. 21). Louisiana State University Press. Baton Rouge LA, USA.
Warshall, P. (1995). The Madrean Sky Island Archipelago in Biodiversity and Management of the Madrean Archipelago: The Sky Islands of Southwestern United States and Northwestern Mexico. USDA Forest Service General Technical Report RM-GTR-264. Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fort Collins, CO.
Watson, J., S. R. Rae, and R. Stillman (1992). Nesting density and breeding success of golden eagles in relation to food supply in Scotland. Journal of Animal Ecology 61:543–550.
Watson, J. (2010). The Golden eagle, Second Ed. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT, USA.
Whitfield, D. P., D. R. McLeod, A. H. Fielding, R. A. Broad, R. J. Evans, and P. F. Haworth (2001). The effects of forestry on Golden eagles on the island of Mull, western Scotland. Journal of Applied Ecology 38:1208-1220.
