Characteristics and Demography of a Free-Ranging Ethiopian Hedgehog, Paraechinus aethiopicus, Population in Qatar

Abstract

Information on population characteristics of Paraechinusis is valuable for ensuring long term survival of populations, however, studies are currently lacking. Here we investigate the population dynamics of Ethiopian hedgehogs based on a capture-mark-recapture study in Qatar by fitting Jolly-Seber and Cormack-Jolly-Seber models. Over the 19 months of the study, we estimate a mean population of 60 hedgehogs, giving a density of 7 hedgehogs per km2 in our 8.5 km2 search area. The monthly abundance of hedgehogs decreased over the study and although survival was constant over the study period, with a mean monthly rate of 75%, there was a decline in the number of new entrants over time. We also studied these parameters over one year, excluding winter, and found that monthly estimates of juvenile and subadult survival decreased over time. We surmise that survival of juveniles may be a factor in the decrease in abundance and there may be implications for the persistence of this population, with anthropogenic influenced resources playing an important role. We caught between 91.3% and 100% of the estimated population at this site, indicating that our capture methodology was efficient. We conclude that the methodology used here is transferrable to other hedgehog species.

Sex differences in the winter activity of desert hedgehogs (Paraechinus aethiopicus) in a resource-rich habitat in Qatar

“…2017 and Pettett et al . 2018 and 2020 51 , 52 , 61 ) between April 2010 and April 2012 during a monthly survey over four consecutive days. Body mass was measured to the nearest five grams.…”

Applied Hedgehog Conservation Research

“…Hedgehogs are typically absent from highly urbanised environments such as town centres and cities with small, highly fragmented areas of greenspace [ 7 , 9 ], but the benefits of an urban lifestyle can be seen in northern Scandinavian countries, where hedgehogs are principally found in association with human settlements [ 10 ], provided that an appropriate number of small forest patches in urban areas ensure suitable hibernation habitats for hedgehogs [ 11 ]. Similarly, in Qatar, a population of Ethiopian hedgehogs ( Paraechinus aethiopicus ) benefit from visiting irrigated farms and a rubbish mound [ 12 ]. However, in a contrasting example, the formerly thriving urban hedgehog population in Zurich (Switzerland) has declined in the last 25 years in both distribution (down 17.6%) and abundance (down 40.6%), and further investigations are required to establish the reasons for this [ 4 ].…”

“…from visiting irrigated farms and a rubbish mound [12]. However, in a contrasting example, the formerly thriving urban hedgehog population in Zurich (Switzerland) has declined in the last 25 years in both distribution (down 17.6%) and abundance (down 40.6%), and further investigations are required to establish the reasons for this [4].…”