Changes from Cliff- to Tree-Nesting in Raptors: A Response to Lower Human Persecution?

Human persecution of top predators has been historically very intense worldwide. In many countries, top predators have been or are still persecuted because they are considered competitors for resources, especially within subsistence economies (Bildstein 2008, Madden et al. 2019). As a result, many large mammalian predators have adapted their behavior to avoid humans; becoming nocturnal is an extreme example (Gaynor et al. 2018). In southern Europe, centuries- or millennia-old and intense historical persecution of large predators can be traced from the time of the Roman Empire to the present (Jennison 1937). However, the level of persecution has decreased substantially during the last few decades. This shift has been mainly driven by diverse socio-economic changes and the associated new human attitudes toward wildlife (Martínez-Abraín et al. 2008, 2009, Mayhew et al. 2016, Martínez-Abraín and Oro 2018) in combination with...