Despite the essential role that vertebrate scavengers play in ecosystems, most studies have been conducted in Europe and North America, and there is a lack of information on vertebrate scavengers in vast regions of the world. Our aim was to describe the functioning and composition of the unknown vertebrate scavenger assemblage in the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, and determine how carcass size and habitat type affect species composition and carrion use. We monitored carcasses with camera traps and we also conducted observation points to survey the raptor community and identify the proportion of raptor species making use of the carcasses. We recorded eight vertebrate scavenger species (five birds and three mammals) by camera trap and seven raptors at observation points. Over half of the raptor species recorded at the observation points were also found feeding on carrion. The two most threatened species were only recorded in the mountain habitat. Furthermore, scavenger abundance and consumption rates were higher at large carcasses. This study highlights the importance of scavenging by raptors and other vertebrate scavengers for carrion elimination in ecosystems with extreme climatic conditions.

尽管脊椎动物清道夫在生态系统中起着至关重要的作用，但大多数研究已在欧洲和北美进行，并且在世界广大地区都缺乏有关脊椎动物清道夫的信息。我们的目的是描述蒙古戈壁沙漠中未知的脊椎动物清道夫组合的功能和组成，并确定car体大小和生境类型如何影响物种组成和腐肉的使用。我们使用相机诱捕器监视了屠体，并且还进行了观察点以调查猛禽群落并确定利用屠体的猛禽种类的比例。我们通过相机陷阱和观察点的七个猛禽记录了八种脊椎动物的清道夫物种（五只鸟和三种哺乳动物）。在观察点记录的猛禽种类中，也有超过一半被发现以腐肉为食。这两个受威胁最大的物种仅记录在山区栖息地中。此外，大型car体的清除剂丰度和消耗率更高。这项研究强调了在极端气候条件下，猛禽和其他脊椎动物清除剂清除对于消除生态系统中的腐肉的重要性。