In ecosystems birds of prey are at the top levels of the food webs, therefore are sensitive to anthropogenic induced environmental changes. Birds of prey because of their long-life span and faithfulness to the nesting sites are suitable as model organisms to study responses to environmental changes, population dynamics and different ecological mechanisms. Despite long lasting research of birds of prey ecology, still are insufficient knowledge on ecology, behaviour and their changes during maturation of young individuals before adulthood. Large birds of prey usually don’t start breed before they achieve reproductive maturity after four to five year of the age. Immature birds of prey often die because of natural and anthropogenic reasons as they are not experienced to find the food, to avoid dangerous anthropogenic activity or elements. Individuals are also inexperienced in dispersal, migration and wintering behaviour, finding suitable stopovers to rests and feed, crossing geographical barriers. Therefore, understanding immature individuals behaviour during different phases of annual cycles and changes of behaviour during maturation is crucial to understand demography, population trends and conservation of rare and endangered species.
The key aims of this PhD topic are related to the behaviour such as migration, dispersal patterns, survival and factors influencing it, space and habitat use, and these changes during maturation before attaining adulthood in birds of prey (Accipitriformes). For the analyses will be used data collected by two complementary methods, i.e., telemetry and colour ringing.