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Distribution and nesting density of the Philippine Eagle Pithecophaga jefferyi on Mindanao Island, Philippines: what do we know after 100 years?
Author(s) -
Bueser Glen Lovell L.,
Bueser Kharina G.,
Afan Donald S.,
Salvador Dennis I.,
Grier James W.,
Kennedy Robert S.,
Miranda Hector C.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
ibis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1474-919X
pISSN - 0019-1019
DOI - 10.1046/j.1474-919x.2003.00131.x
Subject(s) - archipelago , geography , range (aeronautics) , habitat , eagle , endangered species , forest cover , ecology , biology , archaeology , materials science , composite material
The Philippine Eagle Pithecophaga jefferyi , first discovered in 1896, is one of the world's most endangered eagles. It has been reported primarily from only four main islands of the Philippine archipelago. We have studied it extensively for the past three decades. Using data from 1991 to 1998 as best representing the current status of the species on the island of Mindanao, we estimated the mean nearest‐neighbour distances between breeding pairs, with remarkably little variation, to be 12.74 km ( n = 13 nests plus six pairs without located nests, se = ±0.86 km, range = 8.3–17.5 km). Forest cover within circular plots based on nearest‐neighbour pairs, in conjunction with estimates of remaining suitable forest habitat (approximately 14 000 km 2 ), yield estimates of the maximum number of breeding pairs on Mindanao ranging from 82 to 233, depending on how the forest cover is factored into the estimates.