The Upper Pleistocene-Holocene raptorial bird guild from Eivissa Island (Pityusic Archipelago, Western Mediterranean Sea)

Predators are an essential component of past and present ecosystems and trophic networks. In addition, their role as bone bio-accumulators may at least partly determine the richness of fossil sites. Prior to human arrival, terrestrial mammals were absent from the Pityusic Archipelago (Eivissa and Formentera islands, Western Mediterranean Sea), a feature that represents an ecological singularity in the Mediterranean islands. The diurnal and nocturnal predatory bird guild from the Upper Pleistocene and Holocene of the Eivissa Island is approached here through the study of Accipitridae, Falconidae and Strigidae from Es Pouàs, an extraordinarily rich fossil site that provided more than two thousand bones of birds belonging to these three families. The importance of each species as bio-accumulator and a comparison with current fauna are outlined. © 2013 Elsevier Masson SAS.This paper is a contribution to DGICYT Research Project CGL2012-38087: “Cambios holocénicos en la biodiversidad animal de las islas de la Macaronesia y de las Baleares”, financed by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and CompetitivityPeer Reviewe