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We studied the influence of agricultural villages on space‐use patterns of golden jackals (Canis aureus Linnaeus) in the Mediterranean region of Israel. Villages in our research area attract jackals due to poor sanitation conditions in and around villages. As resources in these villages are abundant and predictable, we expected that space‐use patterns of jackals near those villages, including home‐range characteristics and movement paths, would differ from those of jackals inhabiting more natural areas. Using radio‐locations from 16 individuals (8 near villages and 8 from more natural areas), we found that mean home‐range size of jackals close to villages was 6.6 ± 4.5 km2, smaller than mean home‐range size of jackals in more natural areas (21.2 ± 9.3 km2, P = 0.001). Similarly, core area size of jackals near villages was 1.2 ± 0.92 km2, compared to 3.5 ± 1.6 km2 for individuals inhabiting more natural areas (P = 0.004). The core area/home‐range ratio was greater for jackals near villages than for those occupying more natural areas (0.122 ± 0.045 vs. 0.095 ± 0.037, respectively, P = 0.004). Jackals moved little during the day, with day ranges smaller for jackals near villages than away from them (1.65 ± 0.67 vs. 7.5 ± 5.6 km2, respectively, P = 0.028). However, jackals near villages moved as much at night as did jackals in more natural areas, although movement was in a less directional manner. Changes in distribution and predictability of resources due to anthropogenic activity affect not only the home‐range size of jackals, but also how they utilize and move through space. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.

An important factor in controlling invasive plant infestations is frequently the acceleration of the deterioration of their persistent seed bank, which is often associated with physical dormancy mechanisms. We hypothesized that breaking dormancy by heat would enhance the vulnerability of the nondormant seeds to hydrothermal stresses. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of soil solarization treatments (heating the soil by means of polyethylene mulching) on buried Australian Acacia seeds, with emphasis on Acacia saligna L. The results of three field experiments indicate that soil solarization treatments caused an almost complete eradication of buried seeds of Acacia saligna and two other Australian Acacia species, Acacia murrayana and Acacia sclerosperma. The killing mechanism of solarization was further studied in laboratory experiments. We observed two phases of the heat-induced deterioration of seed persistence: breaking the dormancy of the seeds and exposing the “weakened seeds” to lethal temperatures. From an ecological perspective of conservation, the present study shows for the first time the possible utilization of solar energy, by means of soil solarization, for reducing persistent seed banks of invasive woody plants.

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