Although vultures are viewed as ugly outcasts, their dirty work keeps ecosystems healthy. A new study has revealed that diseases could spread throughout nature without the help of these scavengers. Ecology and Evolution published a study that explains the impact of declining vulture population on environmental health. The vulture population has been declining in Europe, Asia and Africa. Now, there are concerns about the vultures of America, as they could trigger a health crisis for humans.
The Vultures are vital in their role as they consume carrion or dead animal carcasses. They can eat rotting bones and meat because their stomach acid is highly acidic, just a little above pH 0 (the extreme acidic end of the pH scale). It is even stronger than battery acids, allowing vultures the ability to digest meat and eliminate harmful microorganisms. By eliminating carrion, vultures help recycle nutrients and prevent contaminants from accumulating in the soil and water. Other scavengers, such as wolves or bears, can also help in this process. However vultures are the real champions when it comes to carrion.
What Happens If Vultures Go Extinct? This new study, warns about the consequences of the “New World” decline in vultures across the Americas. The study
reveals the irreplaceable and unique role of vultures as the ‘clean-up crew’ of nature. This was stated by Julia Grootaers a behavioral ecologist at the University of Exeter in Cornwall. The importance of vultures in an ecosystem is evident when they are removed. They have been unappreciated and even persecuted. Researchers in Costa Rica conducted fieldwork with domestic pigs to gauge the importance of vultures within ecosystems. Researchers placed the pig carcasses in a 500-metre (approx. The researchers placed pig carcasses within 500 m. (approx. The carcasses of half the animals were left out for scavengers to find, while the remaining half was placed in cages with nets that prevented larger animals, such as vultures, from eating the corpses. Researchers also installed cameras for recording animal activity, and insect traps in order to track flies or dung beetles.
They watched Black Vultures and King Vultures visit 15 out of 16 locations over the 10 month period. Pumas, ocelots and caimans were the only scavengers that they saw. Researchers measured decomposition rates at sites and found that vultures could reach carcasses that lost an average weight of 9.5kg. (nearly 21 lbs.) Each day, the carcasses in cages lost an average of 4.8 kg (nearly 21 lbs.) The carcasses kept in cages, on the other hand, lost just an average of 4.8kg. (around 10 lbs.) each day. The number of flies in the caged areas nearly doubled. Decomposition is much slower when vultures cannot consume the carcasses. The job falls mainly to microbes and insects. Decomposition takes longer without vultures, which allows more flies and larvae to mature. This abundance of flies can then spread disease like E. coli, Salmonella, E. coli, botulism and anthrax.
Indian Vulture Crisis (1996)
Damages that could result from local vulture extermination can be extensive, and affect not just animals but also humans. India’s own vulture crisis has occurred. In the 1990s, the country nearly saw vultures go extinct because they had accidentally consumed a medication called diclofenac that was once used to treat pain and inflammation in cattle. This drug, however, is now banned in India. The drug was passed to vultures when they ate cattle. This led to kidney failure.
Millions began to die, leaving the cattle to rot. The spread of pathogens, as well as the increase in rats carrying disease and feral dog populations was the result. In the end, nearly half a millon people from 2000-2005 died of complications linked to vulture near-extinction. The ecosystems in those areas are still scarred by the effects of the near-extinction. While the vulture populations have stabilized, they remain.
According to the study, vulture conservation and research are needed to protect ecosystems from diseases. This is especially true since vultures have become more vulnerable in America. The elusive Asian unicorn is extinct