Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T13:16:27.316Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Harpy Eagle Harpia harpyja nest activity patterns: Potential ecotourism and conservation opportunities in the Amazon Forest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 December 2021

EVERTON B. P. MIRANDA Open the ORCID record for EVERTON B. P. MIRANDA [Opens in a new window] ,
CAIO F. KENUP ,
CHARLES A. MUNN ,
NIKI HUIZINGA ,
NICKOLAS LORMAND Open the ORCID record for NICKOLAS LORMAND [Opens in a new window]  and
COLLEEN T. DOWNS Open the ORCID record for COLLEEN T. DOWNS [Opens in a new window]
EVERTON B. P. MIRANDA
Affiliation:
Centre for Functional Biodiversity, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, P/Bag X01. Pietermaritzburg, 3209, South Africa. The Peregrine Fund, 5668 West Flying Hawk Lane, Boise, ID, 83709, USA
CAIO F. KENUP
Affiliation:
Wildlife and Ecology Group, Massey University, Palmerston North, 4410, New Zealand.
CHARLES A. MUNN
Affiliation:
SouthWild, Várzea Grande, Mato Grosso, 78125-048, Brazil.
NIKI HUIZINGA
Affiliation:
HAS University, 90108 5200, Netherlands.
NICKOLAS LORMAND
Affiliation:
New Mexico Highlands University, New Mexico, 87701, USA.
COLLEEN T. DOWNS*
Affiliation:
Centre for Functional Biodiversity, School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, P/Bag X01. Pietermaritzburg, 3209, South Africa.
*
*Author for correspondence; email: downs@ukzn.ac.za
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Tourism can be a powerful tool for wildlife conservation if well controlled and responsibly managed. Apex predators constitute particularly attractive subjects for tourism, but simultaneously they may generate conflict with local communities. Harpy Eagles Harpia harpyja are the largest eagle species and are highly sought-after by ecotourists. The last stronghold of the Harpy Eagle is the Amazon Forest, which is being deforested for cattle ranching. We tested methods for developing Harpy Eagle ecotourism as a potential tool to harmonize these issues. Using camera traps, we collected data on timing of Harpy Eagle visits to their nests, as well as on probabilities of viewing an eagle. Harpy Eagles can only be seen predictably during the first 12 of the 30–36 month nest cycle. In nests with nestlings (up to 5–7 months), adults are visible on a daily basis, and this period lasts 16.6% of the nesting cycle, demanding a minimum of 13, 17, and 26 nests to have at least one nest with a nestling on 90%, 95% and 99% of the days. After this 5–7 month window, we found that two and 4.16 days spent at nests afforded high probabilities of sighting a fledgling or adult eagle, respectively. Harpy Eagles were mainly active at the beginning and the end of the day. Activity core lasted 6.5 decimal hours for adults, peaking at 10h00, and 7.45 decimal hours for fledged eagles, peaking at 15h00. Our results demonstrate that Harpy Eagles fit several criteria for a viable wildlife attraction: predictable in activity and location, viewable, and diurnal, even though at the same time they are considered a rarity. In a broader perspective, Harpy Eagle tourism shows every indication of being a significant tool for more robust rainforest conservation.

Keywords

activity patternsapex predatorArc of Deforestationcanopyecotourism
Type
Research Article
Information
Bird Conservation International , Volume 32 , Issue 4 , December 2022 , pp. 609 - 623
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of BirdLife International

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anfuso, J., Suarez, M. and Chebez, J. (2008) Nuevo registro de nidificación de la harpía (Harpia harpyja) en la provincia de Misiones, Argentina y consideraciones sobre su conservación. Nótulas Faunísticas 21: 1–13.Google Scholar
Ashe, E., Noren, D. P. and Williams, R. (2010) Animal behaviour and marine protected areas: incorporating behavioural data into the selection of marine protected areas for an endangered killer whale population. Anim. Conserv. 13: 196–203.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Banhos, A., Hrbek, T., Sanaiotti, T. M. and Farias, I. P. (2016) Reduction of genetic diversity of the Harpy Eagle in Brazilian tropical forests. PLoS One 11: e0148902.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Barbosa, H. (2012) Estrutura de comunidades de mamíferos de médio e grande porte em fragmentos florestais da Amazônia Meridional. Cáceres: Unemat.Google Scholar
Blank, M. H., Oliveira, M. J., Cubas, Z. S., Morae, W., Moreira, N. and Pereira, R. J. (2020) Fecal sex steroids and reproductive behaviors in Harpy Eagles (Harpia harpyja). Zoo Biol. 39: 1–10.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Boubli, J. P., Byrne, H., da Silva, M. N., Silva-Júnior, J., Araújo, R. C., Bertuol, F., Silva, F. E., Gonçalves, J., Melo, F. R. de, Farias, P., Schneider, H., Hrbek, T., Rylands, A. B., A.Mittermeier, R., E. Silva, F., Rossik, V., Carneiro, J., Sampaio, I., Farias, I. P., M. Alencar, R., D.Nash, S., Canale, G. and Hrbek, T. (2019) On a new species of titi monkey (Primates: Plecturocebus Byrne et al., 2016), from Alta Floresta, southern Amazon, Brazil. Mol. Phylogenet. Evol. 132: 117–137.Google ScholarPubMed
Buckley, R., ed. (2010) Conservation tourism. Wallingford: CAB International.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Burger, J. and Gochfeld, M. (2003) Parrot behavior at a Rio Manu (Peru) clay lick: temporal patterns, associations, and antipredator responses. Acta Ethol. 6: 23–34.Google Scholar
Carrero, G. C., Fearnside, P. M., do Valle, D. R. and de Souza Alves, C. (2020) Deforestation trajectories on a development frontier in the Brazilian Amazon: 35 years of settlement colonization, policy and economic shifts, and land accumulation. Environ. Manage. 66: 966–984.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cavalcante, T., Tuyama, C. A. and Mourthe, I. (2019) Insights into the development of a juvenile Harpy Eagle’s hunting skills. Acta Amaz. 49: 114–117.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Collopy, M. W. (1984) Parental care and feeding ecology of Golden Eagle nestlings. Auk 101: 753–760.Google Scholar
Costa-Araújo, R., Melo, F. R. de, Canale, G. R., Hernández-Rangel, S. M., Messias, M. R., Rossi, R. V., Silva, F. E., Silva, M. N. F. da, Nash, S. D., Boubli, J. P., Farias, I. P. and Hrbek, T. (2019) The Munduruku marmoset: a new monkey species from southern Amazonia. PeerJ 7: e7019.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
D’Cruze, N., Machado, F. C., Matthews, N., Balaskas, M., Carder, G., Richardson, V. and Vieto, R. (2017) A review of wildlife ecotourism in Manaus, Brazil. Nat. Conserv. 22: 1–16.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ellis, D. H. and Schimitt, N. J. (2017) Behavior of the golden eagle: an illustrated ethogram, Surrey: Hancock House Publishers.Google Scholar
Eri, M., Junior, C. A. da S., Lima, M., Júnior, N. L. S., Oliveira-Júnior, J. F. de, Teodoro, P. E., Capristo-Silva, G. F., Caione, G. and Peres., C. A. (2020) Capitalizing on opportunities provided by pasture sudden death to enhance livestock sustainable management in Brazilian Amazonia. Environ. Dev. 4: 100499.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fearnside, P. M. and Figueiredo, A. M. (2015) China’s influence on deforestation in Brazilian Amazonia: A growing force in the state of Mato Grosso. P. 229 in BU Global Economic Governance Initiative Discussion Papers 2015-3. Boston: Boston University.Google Scholar
García-Jiménez, R., Morales-Reyes, Z., Pérez-García, J. M. and Margalida, A. (2021) Economic valuation of non-material contributions to people provided by avian scavengers: Harmonizing conservation and wildlife-based tourism. Ecol. Econ. 187: 107088.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Geffroy, B., Samia, D. S., Bessa, E. and Blumstein, D. T. (2015) How nature-based tourism might increase prey vulnerability to predators. Trends Ecol. Evol. 30: 755–765.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Goulding, M., Barthem, R. and Ferreira, E. (2003) The Smithsonian atlas of the Amazon. 1st edition. Washington DC: Smithsonian Books.Google Scholar
Haskell, P. J., McGowan, A., Westling, A., Méndez-Jiménez, A., Rohner, C. A., Collins, K., Rosero-Caicedo, M., Salmond, J., Monadjem, A., Marshall, A. D. and Pierce, S. J. (2015) Monitoring the effects of tourism on whale shark Rhincodon typus behaviour in Mozambique. Oryx 49: 492–499.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Higham, J. E. S. and Shelton, E. J. (2011) Tourism and wildlife habituation: reduced population fitness or cessation of impact? Tour. Manag. 32: 1290–1298.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Junior, C. S. and Lima, M. (2018) Soy moratorium in Mato Grosso: deforestation undermines the agreement. Land Use Pol. 71: 540–542.Google Scholar
Kaisanlahti-Jokimaki, M., Jokimaki, J., Huhta, E., Ukkola, M., Helle, P. and Ollila, T. (2008) Territory occupancy and breeding success of the Golden Eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) around tourist destinations in northern Finland. Ornis Fenn. 81: 2–12.Google Scholar
Kirkby, C. A., Giudice-Granados, R., Day, B., Turner, K., Velarde-Andrade, L. M., Dueñas-Dueñas, A., Lara-Rivas, J. C. and Yu, D. W. (2010) The market triumph of ecotourism: an economic investigation of the private and social benefits of competing land uses in the Peruvian Amazon. PLoS One 5: e13015.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kirkby, C. A., Giudice, R., Day, B., Turner, K., Soares-Filho, B. S., Oliveira-Rodrigues, H. and Yu, D. W. (2011) Closing the ecotourism-conservation loop in the Peruvian Amazon. Environ. Conserv. 38: 6–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lees, A. C., Zimmer, K. J., Marantz, C. A., Whittaker, A., Davis, B. J. and Whitney, B. M. (2013) Alta Floresta revisited: an updated review of the avifauna of the most intensively surveyed locality in south-central Amazonia. Bull. Br. Ornithol. Club 133: 165–252.Google Scholar
Macdonald, C., Gallagherb, A. J., Barnettd, A., Brunnschweilere, J., Shiffmanf, D. S. and Hammerschlaga, N. (2017) Conservation potential of apex predator tourism. Biol. Conserv. 215: 132–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Macedo, L., Salvador, C. H., Moschen, N. and Monjeau, A. (2018) Atlantic forest mammals cannot find cellphone coverage. Biol. Conserv. 220: 201–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Magnusson, W. E., Grelle, C. E., Marques, M., Rocha, C. F. D., Dias, B., G., O., Vale, M. M., Tomas, W. M., Cerqueira, R., Collevatti, R., Pillar, V. D., Malabarba, L. R., Lins-e-Silva, A. C., Neckel-Oliveira, S., Martinelli, B., Akama, A., Rodrigues, D., Silveira, L. F., Scariot, Aldicir and Pillar, V. (2018) Effects of Brazil´s political crisis on biodiversity conservation. Front. Ecol. Evol. 6: 163.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Margalida, A., Ecolan, S., Boudet, J., Bertran, J., Martinez, J. M. and Heredia, R. (2006) A solar‐powered transmitting video camera for monitoring cliff‐nesting raptors. J. Field Ornithol. 77: 7–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Michalski, F. and Peres, C. A. (2005) Anthropogenic determinants of primate and carnivore local extinctions in a fragmented forest landscape of southern Amazonia. Biol. Conserv. 124: 383–396.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miranda, E. B. P., Menezes, J. F. S., Farias, C. C., Munn, C. and Peres, C. A. (2019) Species distribution modeling reveals strongholds and potential reintroduction areas for the world’s largest eagle. PLoS One 14: e0216323.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Miranda, E. B. P., Peres, C. A., Carvalho-Rocha, V., Miguel, B. V., Lormand, N., Huizinga, N., Munn, C. A., Semedo, T. B. F., Ferreira, T. V., Pinho, J. B., Piacentini, V. Q., Marini, M. Â. and Downs, C. T. (2021) Tropical deforestation induces thresholds of reproductive viability and habitat suitability in Earth’s largest eagles. Sci. Reports 11: 1–17.Google ScholarPubMed
Muñiz-López, R. (2017) Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) mortality in Ecuador. Stud. Neotrop. Fauna Environ. 30: 1–5.Google Scholar
Muñiz-López, R., Limiñana, R., Cortés, G. D. and Urios, V. (2016) Movements of Harpy Eagles Harpia harpyja during their first two years after hatching. Bird Study 59: 509–514.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Muntifering, J. R., Linklater, W. L., Naidoo, R., !Uri‐≠Khob, S., Preez, P. D., Beytell, P., Jacobs, S. and Knight, A. T. (2019) Sustainable close encounters: integrating tourist and animal behaviour to improve rhinoceros viewing protocols. Anim. Conserv. 22: 189–197.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Noronha, J. C., Lima, M. M., Velasquez, C. L., Almeida, E. J., Barros, A. B. and Rodrigues, D. J. (2015) Update das espécies de anuros da Fazenda São Nicolau, Mato Grosso, Brasil. Sci. Electron. Arch. 8: 1525.Google Scholar
Oliveira-Santos, L. G. R., Zucco, C. A. and Agostinelli, C. (2013) Using conditional circular kernel density functions to test hypotheses on animal circadian activity. Anim. Behav. 85: 269: 269–280.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Oliveira, A. T. M., São Bernardo, C. S., Melo, F. R., Santos-Filho, M., Peres, C. A. and Canale, G. R. (2019) Primate and ungulate responses to teak agroforestry in a southern Amazonian landscape. Mamm. Biol. 96: 45–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pagel, J. E. and Thorstrom, R. K. (2007) Accessing nests. Pp. 171–180 in Bird, D. M., ed. Raptor tesearch and management techniques, Blaine: Hancock House Publishers.Google Scholar
Pereira, A. D. M. M. and Salzo, I. (2006) Primeiro registro da nidificação de Harpia harpyja (Falconiformes, Accipitridae) na Serra da Bodoquena (Mato Grosso do Sul, Brasil). Rev. Bras. Ornitol. 14: 157–160.Google Scholar
Pivatto, M. A. C., Sabino, J., Favero, S. and Michels, I. L. (2007) Perfil e viabilidade do turismo de observação de aves no Pantanal Sul e Planalto da Bodoquena (Mato Grosso do Sul) segundo interesse dos visitantes. Rev. Bras. Ornitol. 15: 520–529.Google Scholar
R Core (2020) R: A language and environment for statistical computing. Vienna, Austria: R Fondation for Statistical Computing.Google Scholar
Reynolds, P. C. and Braithwaite, D. (2001) Towards a conceptual framework for wildlife tourism. Tour. Manag. 22: 31–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ribeiro, S. M. C., Soares Filho, B., Costa, W. L., Bachi, L., de Oliveira, A. R., Bilotta, P. and Queiroz, L. (2018) Can multifunctional livelihoods including recreational ecosystem services (RES) and non timber forest products (NTFP) maintain biodiverse forests in the Brazilian Amazon? Ecosyst. Serv. 31: 517–526.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ridout, M. S. and Linkie, M. (2009) Estimating overlap of daily activity patterns from camera trap data. J. Agric. Biol. Environ. Stat. 14: 322–337.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rosenfield, R. N., Grier, J. W. and Fyfe, R. W. (2007) Reducing management and research disturbance. Pp. 351–364 in Bird, D. M., ed. Raptor research and management techniques. Blaine: Hancock House Publishers.Google Scholar
Rotenberg, J., Marlin, J., Pop, L. and Garcia, W. (2012) First record of a Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) nest in Belize. Wilson J. Ornithol. 124: 292–297.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sánchez-Lalinde, C., Silveira, L. F., Vélez-García, F., Cornélio, A. Ca. and Alvarez, M. R. (2011) Records of the Harpy Eagle (Harpia harpyja) in the Serra Bonita reserves complex, Camacan, Bahia, with evidence of breeding. Rev. Bras. Ornitol. 19: 436–438.Google Scholar
Schneider, M. and Peres, C. A. (2015) Environmental costs of government-sponsored agrarian settlements in Brazilian Amazonia. PLoS One 10: e0134016.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
SEMA (2018) Instrução Normativa N° 28, 30 de janeiro de 2018. 28: 17-18.Google Scholar
Seymour, A., Hatherley, G., Contreras, F. J., Aldred, J. and Beeley, F. (2010) Hatching synchrony, green branch collecting, and prey use by nesting Harpy Eagles (Harpia harpyja). Wilson J. Ornithol. 122: 792–795.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siqueira, A., Ricaurte, L. F., Borges, G. A., Nunes, G. M. and Wantzen, K. M. (2018) The role of private rural properties for conserving native vegetation in Brazilian Southern Amazonia. Reg. Environ. Chang. 18: 21–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Srbek-Araujo, A. and Chiarello, A. (2006) Registro recente de harpia, Harpia harpyja (Linnaeus) (Aves, Accipitridae), na Mata Atlântica da Reserva Natural Vale do Rio Doce, Linhares, Espírito Santo e. Rev. Bras. Zool. 23: 1264–1267.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strand, J., Soares-Filho, B., Costa, M. H., Oliveira, U., Ribeiro, S. C., Pires, G. F., Oliveira, A., Rajão, R., May, P., Hoff, R. van der, Siikamäki, J., Motta, R. S. da and Toman, M. (2018) Spatially explicit valuation of the Brazilian Amazon Forest’s Ecosystem Services. Nat. Sustain. 1: 657.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Suscke, P., Verderane, M., de Oliveira, R. S., Delval, I., Fernández-Bolaños, M. and Izar, P. (2017) Predatory threat of Harpy Eagles for yellow-breasted capuchin monkeys in the Atlantic Forest. Primates 58: 141–147.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tortato, F. R., Izzo, T. J., Hoogesteijn, R. and Peres, C. A. (2017) The numbers of the beast: Valuation of jaguar (Panthera onca) tourism and cattle depredation in the Brazilian Pantanal. Glob. Ecol. Conserv. 11: 106–114.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Trinca, C. T. and Ferrari, S. F. (2007) Game populations and hunting pressure on a rural frontier in Southern Brazilian Amazonia. Biol. Geral e Exp. 7: 5–16.Google Scholar
Ubaid, F., Ferreira, L. and Antas, P. (2011) Primeiro registro de Harpia harpyja para o bioma Pantanal, com dados sobre atividade reprodutiva. Rev. Bras. Epidemiol. 19: 88–92.Google Scholar
UNWTO (2015) Towards measuring the economic value of wildlife watching tourism in Africa. Madrid: UN World Tourism Organization.Google Scholar
Urios, V., Muñiz-López, R. and Vidal-Mateo, J. (2017) Juvenile dispersal of Harpy Eagles (Harpia harpyja) in Ecuador. J. Raptor Res. 51: 439–445.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vargas-González, J. de J. and Vargas, F. H. (2011) Nesting density of Harpy Eagles in Darien with population size estimates for Panama. J. Raptor Res. 43: 199–210.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Veloso, H., Rangel Filho, A. and Lima, J. (1991) Classificação da vegetação brasileira adaptada a um sistema universal, Rio de Janeiro: IBGE.Google Scholar
Vianna, G. M., Meekan, M. G., Rogers, A. A., Kragt, M. E., Alin, J. M. and Zimmerhackel, J. S. (2018) Shark-diving tourism as a financing mechanism for shark conservation strategies in Malaysia. Mar. Policy 94: 220–226.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Vidal, M. D. (2018) Turismo interativo com botos (Inia geoffrensis) no baixo Rio Negro, Amazônia Central. Manaus: Universidade Federal do Amazonas.Google Scholar
Vourlitis, G., Filho, N., Hayashi, M., Nogueira, J., Caseiro, F. and Campelo, J. Jr (2002) Seasonal variations in the evapotranspiration of a transitional tropical forest of Mato Grosso, Brazil. Water Resour. 38: 11.Google Scholar
Watson, R. T., McClure, C. J. W., Vargas, F. H. and Jenny, J. P. (2016) Trial restoration of the Harpy Eagle, a large, long-lived, tropical forest raptor, in Panama and Belize. J. Raptor Res. 50: 3–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wright, A. J., Veríssimo, D., Pilfold, K., Parsons, E. C. M., Ventre, K., Cousins, J., Jefferson, R., Koldewey, H., Llewellyn, F. and McKinley, E. (2015) Competitive outreach in the 21st century: Why we need conservation marketing. Ocean Coast. Manag. 115: 41–48.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
ZSEE (2008) Zoneamento Socioeconômico Ecológico do Estado de Mato Grosso. http://www.al.mt.gov.br/V2008/Raiz%20Estrutura/Zoneamento/substitutivo/substitutivo/ZSEE_SUBSTITUTIVO_FINAL.pdf Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Miranda et al. supplementary material

Table S1

Download Miranda et al. supplementary material(File)
File 15.2 KB