Integrating GPS-Tracked Sentinel Species in the Fight Against Wildlife Poisoning [Dataset]

Abstract

The cryptic nature of wildlife crimes challenges the detection and implementation of effective prevention and prosecution measures. Allocating often limited resources will benefit from increasing detectability through evidence-informed integration of sentinel GPS-tracked species. We illustrate this by analyzing the spatial use of 25 GPS-tracked griffon and 26 reintroduced bearded vultures with anti-poison canine unit patrols and a wildlife poisoning risk map in NW Spain. Vultures’ spatial use greatly correlated with high-risk areas, highlighting their role in detecting poisoning events and guiding preventive anti-poison patrolling, allowing us to approach a zonation scheme to optimize efforts in this regard. We identified poisoning hotspots where sentinel and anti-poison canine units should be reinforced and high-risk areas with low sentinel monitoring where on-ground efforts should be increased. While emphasizing the potential of GPS-tracked vultures as sentinels, our results offer an example of strategic integration to prioritize interventions and enhance their effectiveness against wildlife crimes.