Ornithology, Ecology and GIS/Remote Sensing

Effects of anthropogenic activities on populations of Hooded Vultures (Necrosytes monachus) and associated ecosystem services in The Gambia.

The research focuses on the quantification of waste removal by Hooded Vultures using experimental meat scraps. The critical question here is what amount or percentage of meat biomass Hooded Vultures remove in comparison to dogs and other scavengers. The objectives of this study are to measure the decomposition rate of organic waste in presence and absence of vultures, to understand what organic waste products Hooded Vultures consume, and what products they do not prefer. An additional goals is the estimation of the effectiveness of vultures to  remove waste products that may otherwise transmit diseases. To understand how the the total amount of waste removal depends on population sizes and activity of vultures, the distribution and abundance (and potentially movement) of Hooded Vultures is another vital component of this work.