A systematic review of research on the Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus and the Lanner Falcon F. biarmicus globally, and specifically in South Africa

Abstract

Raptors are widely distributed globally and are under threat because of human activities. Our systematic review examined the global literature on the Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus and the Lanner Falcon F. biarmicus to highlight trends in research and to identify aspects that can be prioritised for future studies. Our literature search identified 1 284 publications from 1864 to 31 December 2024. There were many more publications on Peregrine Falcons (92.5%, n = 1188) than on Lanner Falcons (7.5%, n = 96). The literature on Peregrine Falcons was sourced from Africa, Asia, Australia, Eurasia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. In contrast, for Lanner Falcons the literature was sourced from Africa, Asia, Europe and North America. Research methods for studying Lanner Falcons primarily included observations/descriptive studies, biological and genetic sampling, and modelling for data collection. For Peregrine Falcons observations/descriptive studies, as well as biological and genetic sampling, were the most frequently employed methods for data collection. The leading research on Lanner Falcons has focused on breeding, health and environmental stressors, as well as habitat. The least covered research topics were genetics and taxonomy, interspecific interactions, intraspecific interactions, and movement. The primary research topics for Peregrine Falcons included breeding, conservation, health, environmental stressors, and population ecology and demography. The least covered research topics were abundance, genetics and taxonomy, interspecific interactions, intraspecific interactions, and movement. Publications were heavily biased towards the northern hemisphere populations. More research is recommended to cover geographical regions of their distribution that remain understudied, particularly for Lanners, whose range is larger in Africa.