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Waste Disposal Sites as All-You-Can Eat Buffets for Carrion Crows (Corvus corone).

Published version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

Change log

Authors

Preininger, Doris 
Schoas, Bjoern 
Kramer, Diether 

Abstract

In cities and densely populated areas, several corvid species are considered nuisance animals. In Austria, particularly carrion (Corvus corone) and hooded crows (C. cornix) are regarded as pests by the general public that frequently cause damage to crops, feed on human waste, and thus spread trash. We conducted a detailed one-year field survey to estimate the abundance of carrion crows in relation to potential anthropogenic food sources and reference sites in the Austrian Rhine valley. Our results demonstrated that the number and proximity of waste management facilities, animal feeding areas, and agricultural areas, and the productive capacity of agricultural areas, predominantly influenced habitat choice and abundance of carrion crows. In the current study, the probability of observing more than two carrion crows at a survey site decreased with increasing human population density. Moreover, the abundance of crows increased despite a continuous increase in crow hunting kills registered during the past 25 years. Our study suggests a regionally comprehensive waste management plan could serve as a promising strategy to manage nuisance birds. A reduction in anthropogenic food supply through improved waste management practices is required for long-term, sustainable management to limit the abundance of crow populations in and close to urban environments.

Description

Keywords

Corvus corone, abundance, anthropogenic food, corvid, crow, ecology, waste management

Journal Title

Animals (Basel)

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

2076-2615
2076-2615

Volume Title

9

Publisher

MDPI AG
Sponsorship
This research was funded by Inatura—Naturschau Dornbirn GmbH with the follwing project “name “Populationsrelevante Einflüsse von Biogas-, Grünmüllanlagen und ehemaligen Deponien auf die Corvidenfauna im Vorarlberger Rheintal: historische und rezente Entwicklungen” and was granted to Markus Boeckle.