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1 December 2005 Selection of Breeding Cliffs by Griffon Vultures Gyps fulvus in Crete (Greece)
Stavros M. Xirouchakis, Moysis Mylonas
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Abstract

A multivariate analysis was carried out in order to investigate the most influential habitat variables and related features in the selection of breeding cliffs by the Griffon Vulture in Crete. The species was found nesting in mid-altitude areas, close to stock-raising units, on high limestone cliffs, which were also well protected against the prevailing winds of the island. A principal components analysis, which explained 53% of the total variance of the variables examined, differentiated Griffon Vulture colonies in relation to their isolation from other colonies, accessibility to humans and proximity to food resources. In addition, a stepwise discriminant function analysis between breeding and random cliffs included the height of the cliff, its substratum, the altitude, and the distance to the stock breeding unit in a model that successfully classified 97.1% of the nesting and 88.2% of the random cliffs. In comparison to continental regions the Griffon Vulture colonies in Crete were located on higher cliffs but at a lower altitude. This fact should be attributed to the species nesting on steep coastal cliffs close to the livestock's wintering areas.

Stavros M. Xirouchakis and Moysis Mylonas "Selection of Breeding Cliffs by Griffon Vultures Gyps fulvus in Crete (Greece)," Acta Ornithologica 40(2), 155-161, (1 December 2005). https://doi.org/10.3161/068.040.0211
Received: 1 April 2005; Accepted: 1 September 2005; Published: 1 December 2005
KEYWORDS
breeding
Crete
Griffon Vulture
Gyps fulvus
nest sites
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