THE SPANISH IMPERIAL EAGLE AQUILA-ADALBERTI C L BREHM 1861 IN DONANA-NATIONAL-PARK (SOUTH WEST SPAIN) - A STUDY OF POPULATION-DYNAMICS

An estimation is made of the population dynamics of the Spanish imperial eagle Aquila adalberti C. L. Brehm 1861 in the Doñana National Park (SW Spain). With the aid of 1807 sightings in the wild in which the plumage of individuals was classified as immature, subadult and adult, and reproduction data compiled since 1973, an estimate was made of annual adult mortality (4·7-7·3%), preadult mortality (80·3-87·2%) and expected adult lifespan (21-22 years). These figures are compared with those obtained by other methods, such as band recoveries, total recorded mortality and observed mate replacement. Cainism was not important in the population studied. © 1990.