Priorities for Future Research

Although Black-and-chestnut Eagle has a linearly extensive distribution along a narrow elevation range of South America, its total population size is small and population responses to human alterations of its habitat have historically been poorly known. Little information is available on many aspects of its natural history, such as breeding density, longevity, habitat use, and spatial ecology, as well as human-eagle conflicts. Without improving the knowledge of these aspects, any conservation measure applied will be a blind effort. There has been an increasing number of known nests of the species in recent years, particularly in Colombia (n = 10), Ecuador (n = 29), Peru (n = 14), and Argentina (n = 3), but further sustained effort is needed in the monitoring of those nests to gather systematic information in the medium- to long-term to improve our understanding of the species' demography and the factors that may shape it. In several countries such as Venezuela, Bolivia, and Argentina, the number of known nests is small and precludes solid analysis, so intensive nest searches must be done in these countries to better understand the distribution of the species and its conservation status. Given the high rate of human persecution detected in several recent studies (e.g., 51 Restrepo-Cardona J. S., M. A. Echeverry-Galvis, D. L. Maya, F. H. Vargas, O. Tapasco, and L. M. Renjifo (2020) Human-raptor conflict in rural settlements of Colombia. PLoS ONE 15(1):e0227704. Close , 54 Zuluaga, S., F. H. Vargas, S. Kohn, and J. M. Grande (2022). Top-down local management, perceived contribution to people, and actual detriments influence a rampant human‒top predator conflict in the Neotropics. Perspectives in Ecology and Conservation 20(2):91-102 Close ) and the high rates of forest destruction in most of countries where the species occurs, long-term and large-scale research is needed to inform conservation measures and implementation throughout the species' distribution. For instance, research is needed to evaluate the effect of habitat loss and fragmentation on the dispersal of individuals and their capacity to connect isolated populations. Further research is also needed on the human component of the conflict with the eagle to promote meaningful behavioral changes in the rural communities that could eventually lead to a coexistence with the eagle.