Abstract. On the breeding Peregrines Falco peregrinus brookei in some regions of Armenia. Karen Aghababyan 1, Siranush Tumanyan 2

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1 Peregrine Falcon Populations status and perspectives in the 21 st Century J. Sielicki & T. Mizera (editors) European Peregrine Falcon Working Group, Society for the Protection of Wild Animals Falcon Turul, Warsaw 2008, Pages On the breeding Peregrines Falco peregrinus brookei in some regions of Armenia Karen Aghababyan 1, Siranush Tumanyan 2 1 Acopian Center for the Environment, American University of Armenia 40 Baghramian 0019 Yerevan, Armenia karen@aua.am, 2 Yerevan State University 1 A.Manukyan 0025 Yerevan, Armenia siranush_tumanian@yahoo.com Abstract There is a lack of data regarding the distribution, abundance and potential threats to Peregrine Falcons in Armenia. Our surveys, conducted from 2000 to 2008 in three sites show that the Peregrines breed at a distance of 4.14 to km away from each other, with mean ±SD equals to 8.44±3.15 km (n = 10). In Armenia Peregrines breed on cliffs, which vary in height of nest measured from the bottom from 30 to 100 m, mean±sd is 63±25.5 (n = 9). They place their nests in grottos or covered ledges on any face of the cliff, except south. During the breeding season Peregrines are aggressive towards Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos, but are rather tolerant to other big raptor species. The density of breeding pairs varies from 1.04 to 7.5 pairs per 100 km 2 with mean ±SD = 4.39±2.90 pairs per 100 km 2. The density data were extrapolated for the overall suitable habitat within the study area. The suitable habitats were identified, taking into account distances between the nests, the locations of observed Peregrines, potential nest sites near observed birds and competition with Golden Eagles. The numbers of observed pairs in three study sites with areas 4601 km 2, 5051 km 2, and 1762 km 2 are 12, 9 and 10 pairs respectively, while the sites have potential habitat to host 18, 26, and 12 pairs respectively. We have identified two potential threats for the Peregrine: (1) falconry in Arabian countries, which creates a potential market and (2) environmental contamination by waste water sedimentary reservoirs

2 of copper and molybdenum mines, and pesticides used by local inhabitants for private orchards and by the Armenian Forest Agency for forest management. Key words: Armenia, Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus brookei, distribution, density, threats, nest characteristics Introduction Limited published data exists on the occurrence of the Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus brookei in Armenia. These data largely refer to sporadic records in and out of breeding season (Lyaister & Sosnin 1942; Dahl 1954). The species has been listed in the National Red Data Book of Armenia as disappearing (Airumyan & Movsesyan 1987), although hardly any new data existed up to that time. Few additional records and the discovery of an apparently active nest are listed in Adamian & Klem (1999). Subsequently some observations of the species in the extreme south of the country were conducted by Aghababyan (1999, 2006). Country-wide studies of Peregrines in Armenia have not occurred and explain the lack of basic information about this protected species - its distribution, abundance, population size and threats in the country. Materials and Methods Study area Armenia as a part of the southern Caucasus Mountains forms a biogeographical bridge between Europe and Asia. Its current area is about 29,740 km 2 (not including Nagorny Karabagh) and its elevation varies from m a.s.l., and more than 90% of the country is above 1000 m a.s.l. It is a mountainous country where the mountains create a variety of landscape zones at different elevations, e.g. semidesert, mountain steppe, deciduous forest, subalpine meadows, etc. Armenia s landscape was formed in large part by volcanic activity and therefore most of the country includes a variety of cliffs, rocks, and deep gorges (Dahl 1954). For the purposes of our study we have divided Armenia into three areas (Fig. 1). The northern area includes the Debet river gorge, Aragats mountain and Aparan plateau. The central area includes the Oorts, Vardenis and Vayots Dzor mountain ridges, while the southern includes the southern part of the Syunik region and is formed by the Zangezoor and Meghri mountain ridges. The Mehgri district, where most of the breeding observations were conducted is in the southernmost part of the Southern area. For this study we estimate the density of breeding pairs of Peregrine, as well as the amount of available apparently suitable habitat for a potential breeding population. 256

3 Figure 1. Study area. Methods The data was collected during the period between as part of the framework of special studies and general survey trips. We have collected and analyzed data for 10 Peregrine nests and analyzed observations of birds at an additional 33 sites (V. Ananian, pers. comm.). We recorded GPS coordinates, elevation a.s.l., slope and aspect, and the height above the ground for the nests. The observations of Peregrines were divided into two major groups: (1) records of the birds near the nest site and (2) records of the birds in a territory, where a nest was not known. The observed birds were grouped into three categories of priority (high, medium, low) depending on their behavior: a) high where bird behaviors such as aerial display, territorial activity, and/ or feeding of juveniles indicated breeding (Galushin et al. 1989); b) medium adult birds and several juveniles were observed together; and c) low 257

4 solitary, immature birds. Our data were incorporated into a Microsoft Excel Worksheet and analyzed using SPSS 11.0 for Windows and GIS Arc Map 9.2, ESRI, Redlands in order to determine the abundance of Peregrine Falcons within the study area. Since the most detailed results regarding nest distribution were obtained in the Meghri region of Armenia we have analyzed them first, and then extrapolated the data for the rest of study area. The density (D) of Peregrine was calculated as the number of pairs (nests) per 100 km 2 based on the nearest neighbour distances between nests (hereinafter NND) and using the following formula: D= 100 π(nnd/2) (1) 2 (Buckland et al. 2001; Southwood & Henderson 2000). The density was then extrapolated for the rest of the appropriate habitat within the study area. The suitable habitat was selected by using the following parameters: (1) availability of high cliffs (height of over 50 m); (2) the distance of habitat from other pairs i.e 8-13 km; (3) the absence of Golden Eagle s nest within 2 km. To estimate the density of Peregrines within the study area we had to know whether or not it is possible to use our observations as a density estimator. To determine this we have calculated the distances between the sites where birds have been observed (DO). The DOs were compared with the distances between known nests using a two-sample t test, since the variables distribution (Fig. 2) was close to normal (Daniel 1991). (a) 258

5 Karen Aghababyan et al. On the breeding Peregrines Falco peregrinus brookei... (b) (c) Figure 2. Habitat of the Peregrine Falcon in the Meghri district of Armenia: (a) Agarak, (b) Burtinkar and (c) Lehvaz Mountains Distribution and Abundance The results show that there are six pairs of Peregrines in the Meghri district of Armenia, and the NND varied between 4.14 and km, with mean ±SD equals to 8.44±3.15 km (n = 10). The distances are divided into three groups (see graph on the Fig. 3): 4-5 km (n = 2), 7-9 km (n = 5), and km (n = Peregrine Falcon Populations - status and perspectives in the 21st Century, 259

6 3). The density in the Meghri district calculated by formula 1 varies from 1.04 to 7.5 pairs per 100 km 2 with mean ±SD = 4.39±2.90 pairs per 100 km 2. The variability of Peregrine nest density was shown in previous studies (Cramp, Simmons 1980) and apparently occurs in Armenia as well, even within such a small region as the Meghri district. Figure 3. Histogram: distribution of distances between nests The DO calculations resulted in 17 distances, which vary form 3.34 to km, and the mean±sd equals to 9.49±3.90 km (n = 17). The comparison of the NND and the DO shows that there is no significant difference between means (t = 0.889, P = 0.3, df = 24). The calculation of the density (D) by placing DO as NND into the formula 1 indicates that density of Peregrines varies from 0.12 to 5.25 pairs per 100 km 2 (see Fig. 4). 260

7 Figure 4. Distribution and density of breeding pairs of Peregrine. Our data and the work of other researchers indicate that Armenian Peregrine Falcons breed only on cliffs, generally choosing one of the highest cliffs in the area and placing the nest relatively high: from 30 to 100 m from the bottom, mean±sd is 63±25.5 (n = 9). They put the nests in rather deep niches and small grottos but sometimes on covered ledges. In our case 7 nests were placed in niches/grottos and only 2 on the covered ledges. The 261

8 nests observed in our study were situated on the cliffs facing the following directions: North 1 nests; North-East 2 nests; North-West 3 nests, and West 3 nests, which shows that they probably avoid the South facing cliffs. Our observation on the breeding behavior of Peregrines, shows that they are tolerant to vulture species, including the Griffon Gyps fulvus, Egyptian Neophron percnopterus, and Bearded Vultures Gypaetus barbatus, and can breed even in the Griffon s colony (2 nests of the total observed were put on the same cliff with Griffons colony). They are also somewhat tolerant to several other raptor species, such as Short-toed Eagles Circaetus gallicus and Common Buzzards Buteo buteo. However, they are absolutely aggressive towards Golden Eagles and respond to their appearance at a distance of up to km. Their response distance increases with the growth of the nestlings. During our observations in the period of incubation, we saw Peregrines react to Golden Eagles that were flying within a range of 500 m of the nest, while in the period of fledgling (especially in first days, when fledglings do not fly well), they reacted to eagles flying within a distance of 1km and moved them out to at least 1.5 km. The characteristics of nest density, nest placement and the breeding behavior of Peregrines were used to estimate potential habitat for the breeding population of Peregrines within the study area. Extrapolation of the density for the rest of the suitable habitat within the study area is provided with the results in the table 1. Table 1. Distribution and number of Peregrine Falcons in some regions of Armenia Study area Size of area [km 2 ] Number of pairs (observed) Number of pairs (estimated) Northern Central Southern The current estimation of density is preliminary, since it based on a relatively small sample size (number of the nests and observations), does not include such factors as the food source and nesting competition with other cliff nesting raptor species, e.g. Long-legged Buzzard Buteo rufinus, Lanner Falco biarmicus, etc. and needs further corrections with the field investigations in the area where the suitable habitats are predicted. 262

9 Karen Aghababyan et al. On the breeding Peregrines Falco peregrinus brookei... Figure 5. Adult Peregrine Falcon near the nest in Meghri district of Armenia Threats One of the main potential threats to the Peregrine in Armenia concerns the direct persecution which has appeared with the opening of the borders of the former Soviet Union, when Middle East countries started trade relations with Armenia. Falconry, which is popular in Arabian countries, requests a number of falcons annually too. Although Peregrines are not as popular as Peregrine Falcon Populations - status and perspectives in the 21st Century, 263

10 the Sakers and Gyrfalcons, they also have been requested from Armenia. The irregular questioning of local bird enthusiasts, hunters and taxidermists show that there are cases of removal of Peregrines from the nature. The indirect indication of the growth of commercial interest among the local people is the raised awareness of the Peregrine s official name in Russian and Armenian (in both languages it has the same name and sounds like Supsan ). Though the popular name (which sounds like Tsivtsiv ) was widely known by local hunters and dove-keepers, before 1997 only few local hunters were familiar with the official Armenian name of the bird, while now many of the local inhabitants (regardless of their specialty) know it. Another major threat comes with poisoning, which has at least three sources: (i) sedimentary reservoirs of the copper, molybdenum and gold mines, which are used for cleaning of the waste water; (ii) use of pesticides for agriculture; (iii) forest management in frames of pest control. Traditionally, during the Soviet period the forests were processed with the pesticides in order to control pests. After the breakup of the Soviet Union, Armenia got into an economy crisis and was living under such conditions for over ten years ( ). During this period the Armenian Ministry of Nature Protection stopped the spray of pesticides over the forests. During the same period the use of pesticides by people for the private gardens and orchards also decreased, since local villagers were not able to purchase new ones. In the same period the mines decreased their activities, including the poisoning of the environment by the sedimentary reservoirs. Accordingly, the observations during late 1990s and early 2000s indicate some increase in the population of Peregrines in the Meghri district of Armenia (Aghababyan 1999, 2006; Adamian & Klem 1999). The increase might be the result of the release of the influence of toxic elements and/or the result of a decrease in the concentration of those toxic elements in the environment. However, rather recently the economy of Armenia has started to grow and the situation is changing: the mines were purchased by foreign companies and work has restarted on a larger scale; local villagers have a market to sell the fruits and vegetables and are able to purchase pesticides; and finally the Armenian Forest Agency started spraying pesticides over the forests, two such actions occurred in 2007 and Arivo or Cypermethrin is a synthetic pyrethroid insecticide used by the forestry in 2007 and considered as non-toxic for birds. However is not soluble in water and has a strong tendency to adsorb to soil particles. It is therefore unlikely to cause groundwater contamination (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 1989). Like the other less persistent pesticides, which are currently in use, Arivo may however have neurotoxic effects upon birds in the field. Sometimes, their effects may outlast the persistence of their residues, and the ecotoxicity and persistence of some may be affected by interactions 264

11 with other environmental chemicals (Walker 2003). The preliminary survey conducted in 2008 shows that in the Meghri region there are two pairs and one single bird surviving out of six pairs that were living there. The results of breeding success are even worse: in 2008 only one pair was productive out of the five that were known to be productive in Although it is difficult to conclude by the data for one year, the decline of the adult birds and breeding success might be result of poisoning by one or several factors mentioned above, which is a subject of further study. Acknowledgements We would like to gratefully thank The Peregrine Fund and Hawk Mountain Sanctuary Association for the financial support of the study of Peregrine Falcons in the Meghri district in 2008; to Vasil Ananian, who provided his unpublished observations, the photograph and commented on the early draft of the paper; Dr. Tom G. Lyman and Meike P. Schaefer for consultation in GIS analysis and Dr. Jennifer Lyman and Dr. Lexo Gavashelishvili for consultation in the statistical analysis and text edition. References Adamyan M., Klem D. Jr Handbook of the Birds of Armenia. American University of Armenia Press, Oakland, California. Airumyan K., Movsesyan S Red Data Book of Armenian SSR. Press of Ayastan, Yerevan. (in Russian) Aghababyan K To the ecology of Peregrine (Falco peregrinus brookei, Sharpe) in the Meghri district of Armenia. Vestnik MANEB, N5(17), pp , S.-P., (in Russian) Aghababyan K Observations on breeding Peregrine Falcons (Falco peregrinus) in the Meghri District of Armenia. Falco. The Newsletter of the Middle East Falcon Research Group. Issue 28, August Buckland S.T., Anderson D.R., Burnham K.P., Laake J.L., Borchers D.L., Thomas L Introduction to Distance Sampling. Estimating Abundance of Biological Populations. Oxford University Press, UK. Cramp S., Simmons K.E.L (Eds.) The Birds of the Western Palearctic, vol. II. Oxford University Press, UK. Dahl S.K The Fauna of Armenian SSR. V. 1: Vertebrates. Press of Academy of Science of Armenian SSR. Yerevan. (in Russian) Daniel W Biostatistics: a foundation for analysis in the health sciences. Fifth edition, John Wiley & Sons Inc. New York. Galushin V.M., Krever V.G., Priklonskii S.G Methods of survey and 265

12 conservation of the birds of prey and owls. Moscow. (in Russian) Lyaister A.F., Sosnin G.V Materials on the ornithofauna of Armenian SSR. ARMFAN. Yerevan. (in Russian) Southwood R., Henderson P.A Ecological Methods. Published by Blackwell Publishing, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Jan. 3, Pesticide Fact Sheet Number 199: Cypermethrin. US EPA, Office of Pesticide Programs, Registration Div., Washington, DC. Walker C.H Neurotoxic Pesticides and Behavioural Effects Upon Birds. Ecotoxicology, Volume 12, Numbers 1-4, February 2003, pp