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Diversity
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Conservation and Ecology of Raptors—3rd Edition
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Conservation and Ecology of Raptors—3rd Edition

A special issue of Diversity (ISSN 1424-2818). This special issue belongs to the section "Animal Diversity".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 August 2026 | Viewed by 3110

Editors

Dr. Vladimir D. Dobrev

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Interests: conservation biology; raptor ecology; bird migration; scavengers; biodiversity
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dobromir D. Dobrev

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, Sofia, Bulgaria
Interests: raptors; scavengers; conservation ecology; behavioural ecology; spatial ecology; movement
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Dimitar A. Demerdzhiev

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Bulgarian Society for the Protection of Birds, Plovdiv, Bulgaria
Interests: conservation biology; raptor ecology; bird migration; dietary research; niche overlapping; raptor ethology
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Raptors consist of diverse avian guilds that are distributed worldwide and have adapted to different environments. They have attracted a strong interest from scientists because of their conservation status and ecology. Raptors provide critical ecosystem services based on their role in the natural food chain. Raptors have ecologically evolved to adapt and specialize to different habitats and prey species. Thus, they are subject to a wide range of biological, ecological, and evolutionary studies. Nowadays, this guild of birds faces a high risk of extinction due to numerous threats that occur in their breeding, migration and wintering areas. Globally, 18% of raptors are threatened with extinction and 52% of raptors have declining populations. Raptors stand at the top of the food pyramid and are normally found in low densities over vast areas. Some species are long-distance migrants while others are sedentary. Hence, they cover a huge range of habitats and environments and interact with humans during their migration, wintering and breeding. Therefore, they play a key role in the conservation of ecosystems and are assumed as a flagship species in relation to other species. Understanding and studying their demography, abundance, diet, resource selection, movements, ecological requirements, and threats will provide valuable information about the current functioning and status of ecosystems.

This Special Issue will provide information on the growing threats, the current status of raptors around the world, and their role in global conservation priorities.

Dr. Vladimir D. Dobrev
Dr. Dobromir D. Dobrev
Dr. Dimitar A. Demerdzhiev
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Diversity is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2100 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • raptor ecology
  • migration ecology
  • demography
  • population dynamics
  • habitat
  • threats and conservation management
  • diet
  • home range

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 19516 KB  
Article
Space Use in Cinereous Vultures (Aegypius monachus): The Role of Artificial Feeding
by Dimitrios Vasilakis, Konstantina Zografou, Vasilios Liordos and Vasiliki Kati
Diversity 2026, 18(8), 466; https://doi.org/10.3390/d18080466 - 1 Aug 2026
Viewed by 1346
Abstract
The factors affecting vultures’ space use can be complex, but food availability is often considered the primary determinant. However, when vultures’ food resources become highly predictable, their role in movement ecology has been little studied. Conservation planning for endangered vulture species requires a [...] Read more.
The factors affecting vultures’ space use can be complex, but food availability is often considered the primary determinant. However, when vultures’ food resources become highly predictable, their role in movement ecology has been little studied. Conservation planning for endangered vulture species requires a comprehensive understanding of space use. In this study, we quantified several metrics that may affect the space use of Cinereous Vultures (Aegypius monachus), a central-place forager isolated in the southeastern Balkans, which had access to substantial artificially provided food (33 tons per year) during the study period (2004–2009). Metrics examined for putative influence on ranging behavior included season, age, sex, breeding status, and artificially provided food quantity. Home range and core area sizes were larger during the breeding season and smaller during the non-breeding season. Although age, sex, and breeding status did not affect space use, we found strong evidence that artificially provided food predictability can shape the movement ecology of Cinereous Vultures. Annual home range size, core area, and seasonal overlap of the spatial parameters did not vary greatly over the years, suggesting repeatability in the species’ ranging behavior. Highly predictable artificially provided food can modify the movement ecology of necrophagous species. Yet, providing safe food is essential to preserve this endangered vulture. We suggest that feeding programs be gradually diversified to simulate natural carrion availability by using multiple small feeding sites and supplementing them unpredictably with small amounts of food. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conservation and Ecology of Raptors—3rd Edition)
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9 pages, 1022 KB  
Article
Relative Abundance and Anthropogenic Disturbance Effects on the Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) in Grasslands of the Southern Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico
by María Paola Ovalle-Prado, Alina Olalla Kerstupp, Mayra A. Gómez Govea, Antonio Guzman Velasco, Jose I. Gonzalez Rojas and Gabriel Ruiz Aymá
Diversity 2026, 18(6), 363; https://doi.org/10.3390/d18060363 - 14 Jun 2026
Viewed by 1023
Abstract
Grassland ecosystems are among the most threatened habitats in North America, and their degradation has contributed to widespread population declines of grassland-dependent birds. The Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) is a grassland specialist whose populations have shown sustained declines at a continental [...] Read more.
Grassland ecosystems are among the most threatened habitats in North America, and their degradation has contributed to widespread population declines of grassland-dependent birds. The Burrowing Owl (Athene cunicularia) is a grassland specialist whose populations have shown sustained declines at a continental scale; however, quantitative data on relative abundance remain limited in northern Mexico. We estimated a relative abundance index for the Burrowing Owl in the grasslands of the southern Chihuahuan Desert, Mexico, using vehicle-based line transects expressed as the number of individuals per linear kilometer (ind/km). Additionally, we evaluated the relationship between human disturbance and owl records using a standardized Human Disturbance Index (HDI) based on field indicators of grazing pressure and solid waste. A total of 18 transects (1 km each) yielded 83 detections, with a mean relative abundance of 4.61 ± 5.93 standard deviation (SD) ind/km. A Generalized Linear Model with a Negative Binomial distribution revealed a significant negative effect of the HDI on owl abundance (β = −1.27, z = −3.81, p = 0.0001; incidence rate ratio (IRR) = 0.28, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.14–0.51). Our results provide a baseline abundance estimate for the Burrowing Owl in the southern Chihuahuan Desert and highlight the importance of habitat disturbance metrics to assess population status in fragmented and human-impacted grassland landscapes. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Conservation and Ecology of Raptors—3rd Edition)
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