The European honey buzzard (Pernis apivorus) as an ally for the control of the invasive yellow-legged hornet (Vespa velutina nigrithorax).

Background: Biological control in integrated pest management (IPM) often overlooked avian predators until the emergence of the ecosystem services approach. Birds are now recognized as key regulators of pest populations in agroforestry landscapes due to their high mobility. The invasive yellow-legged hornet, introduced into Europe in 2004, threatens agriculture, beekeeping and native pollinators.

Assessing the ability of novel ecosystems to support animal wildlife through analysis of diurnal raptor territoriality.

Novel ecosystems have emerged through human intervention and are rapidly expanding around the world. Whether they can support animal wildlife has generated considerable controversy. Here we developed a new approach to evaluate the ability of a novel forest ecosystem, dominated by the exotic tree species Eucalyptus globulus, to support animal wildlife in the medium and long term.

Evaluation of trail-cameras for analyzing the diet of nesting raptors using the Northern Goshawk as a model.

Diet studies present numerous methodological challenges. We evaluated the usefulness of commercially available trail-cameras for analyzing the diet of Northern Goshawks (Accipiter gentilis) as a model for nesting raptors during the period 2007-2011. We compared diet estimates obtained by direct camera monitoring of 80 nests with four indirect analyses of prey remains collected from the nests and surroundings (pellets, bones, feather-and-hair remains, and feather-hair-and-bone remains combined).