Habitat fragmentation is one of the most important threats to biodiversity in the last decades. Numerous species are forced to adapt to human presence as urbanization keeps increasing. Some studies show the impact of habitat changes in various species; however, there is little knowledge about the effect of habitat disturbance on hedgehogs in the Iberian Peninsula. We radio tracked 31 male hedgehogs: 14 European hedgehogs and 17 Algerian hedgehogs, being 18 individuals indigenous and 13 translocated. We analysed their home ranges, spatial behaviour and habitat use in a suburban area of Valencia City, Spain, where the two species coexist. Our results show that there are phenologic variations of activity levels, which differ between species, being maximum in spring for the European hedgehog and in summer for the Algerian hedgehog. We did not detect a territorial behaviour or interspecific spatial competition. However, we could detect a clear “release effect”, with translocated individuals presenting increased home range sizes and activity levels as they explore the unknown environment. Furthermore, we found that both species showed a clear preference for the pine forest habitat, avoiding all other habitat types, especially those with high human presence. Our results also suggest that the European hedgehog has a more generalist character than the Algerian hedgehog regarding habitat use. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of conserving a connected mosaic of green patches in urbanized environments for the conservation of hedgehog populations.

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Animals in urban environments are confronted with a high degree of habitat fragmentation. Small more natural or undisturbed areas embedded within the urban matrix serve as important refuges for wildlife. Hedgehogs are known to inhabit such areas, however, many unknowns remain when considering the effect of urbanization on certain biological aspects, like nesting behaviour. Thus, we captured and tracked the movement of 72 male hedgehogs of two coexisting species: the Algerian and the European Hedgehog. The study was carried out in two distinct study sites in the municipality of Valencia (eastern Spain). We recorded every nest the individuals visited, a total of 318. We distinguished six macrohabitat types and five subhabitat types. In each case, we analysed the proportions of macro and subhabitats the nests were found in by calculating a resource selection function and fitting GLMs. We also analysed the distances between nests fitting a GLM. Our results indicate that hedgehog nests clearly tend to concentrate in areas with low human disturbance and that nests are preferably build in hedges or under bush-like vegetation. In general we did not find significant differences between species or other groupings we considered. We also found that, in the more urbanized study area, nests were closer together and distributed around scarcely found suitable habitat patches. Our results suggest that hedgehog conservation in urban environments can be improved by a correct management of forest patches, conserving bush-like vegetation and improving the connectivity between suitable patches with ecological corridors.

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