Does a non-invasive method – latrine surveys – reveal habitat preferences of raccoon dogs and badgers?

Kauhala, Kaarina; Salonen, Liina

doi:10.1016/j.mambio.2012.02.007

Cited by 12 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…Moreover, raccoon dogs markedly avoid settlements, whilst red foxes frequently use urban areas. The same findings have emerged in previous studies (Doncaster and MacDonalds 1991;Adkins and Stott 1998;Marks and Bloomfield 2006;Drygala et al 2008a;Kauhala and Salonen 2012).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Spatial use and interaction of the invasive raccoon dog and the native red fox in Central Europe: competition or coexistence?

Drygala

Zoller

2013

Eur J Wildl Res

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The main objective was to discover extent of interference and/or exploitative competition between the native red fox (Vulpes vulpes) and the introduced, invasive raccoon dog (Nyctereues proconoides) in the intensively used, agricultural landscape of northeast Germany (Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania) using very high frequency (VHF) radio telemetry. We recorded location data for 12 foxes and 16 raccoon dogs between July 2004 and December 2006. Species had similar average home range sizes estimated in each season (K95). Home ranges of adjacent raccoon dogs and foxes overlapped from 0.5 to 74.5 % with a mean of 26.4 %. We found a significantly different home range overlap index between the species showing that raccoon dog ranges shifted between seasons to a greater extent than red fox ranges. The raccoon dog differed significantly from the red fox in its use of habitat types, preferring dense vegetation cover and avoiding open areas. The red fox displayed less preference for or avoidance of specific habitat types. Moreover, an almost neutral inter-specific interaction index ranging from −0.12 to 0.12 indicates that raccoon dogs and red foxes ignored each other. It is concluded that widespread and available resources and differences in spatial use patterns prevent competition between red foxes and raccoon dogs in the agricultural landscape of northeast Germany.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 90%

Spatial use and interaction of the invasive raccoon dog and the native red fox in Central Europe: competition or coexistence?

Drygala

Zoller

2013

Eur J Wildl Res

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“…Dogs have often been used to find and identify scats from animals in North and South America 27,44–46 , Asia 29 and Australia 47,48 . However, in Europe, as far as we know, only two studies have been carried out 33,37 . We also point out that dogs do not necessarily need to be brought into the field but samples, i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Dogs are used to locate live or dead animals, their dens, nests or lairs, and their signs and scats 27–29 . They can detect and discriminate between scats from different fox species ( Vulpes macrotis, V. vulpes and V. cinereoargentatus ) 30,31 and bear species ( Ursus arctos and U. americanus ) 32 , and badger ( Meles meles ) scats from raccoon dog ( Nyctereutes procyonoides ) scats 33 . Dogs have also shown great potential in locating invasive species like Australian brushtail possums ( Trichosurus vulpecula ) in New Zealand 34 , brown treesnakes ( Boiga irregularis ) in Guam 35 , and Burmese python ( Pyton bivittatus ) in the USA 27 .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Scent-sniffing dogs can discriminate between native Eurasian and invasive North American beavers

Rosell

Cross

Johnsen

et al. 2019

Sci Rep

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The invasion of a species can cause population reduction or extinction of a similar native species due to replacement competition. There is a potential risk that the native Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber) may eventually be competitively excluded by the invasive North American beaver (C. canadensis) from areas where they overlap in Eurasia. Yet currently available methods of census and population estimates are costly and time-consuming. In a laboratory environment, we investigated the potential of using dogs (Canis lupus familiaris) as a conservation tool to determine whether the Eurasian or the North American beaver is present in a specific beaver colony. We hypothesized that dogs can discriminate between the two beaver species, via the odorant signal of castoreum from males and females, in two floor platform experiments. We show that dogs detect scent differences between the two species, both from dead beaver samples and from scent marks collected in the field. Our results suggest that dogs can be used as an “animal biosensor” to discriminate olfactory signals of beaver species, however more tests are needed. Next step should be to test if dogs discern between beaver species in the field under a range of weather conditions and habitat types and use beaver samples collected from areas where the two species share the same habitat. So far, our results show that dogs can be used as a promising tool in the future to promote conservation of the native beaver species and eradication of the invasive one. We therefore conclude that dogs may be an efficient non-invasive tool to help conservationist to manage invasive species in Europe, and advocate for European wildlife agencies to invest in this new tool.

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“…One feasible explanation could be the shyness of the species. While in Japan they wander close to human settlements, in Europe they tend to avoid them (Kauhala 1995, Drygala et al 2008, Kauhala and Salonen 2012). Moreover, raccoon dog inhabits middle elevations in the Czech Republic and is quite rare below 200 m a.s.l, i.e.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Carnivore distribution across habitats in a central-European landscape: a camera trap study

Pyšková¹,

Kauzál²,

Storch³

et al. 2018

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Quantitative data on local variation in patterns of occurrence of common carnivore species, such as the red fox, European badger, or martens in central Europe are largely missing. We conducted a study focusing on carnivore ecology and distribution in a cultural landscape with the use of modern technology. We placed 73 automated infra-red camera traps into four different habitats differing in water availability and canopy cover (mixed forest, wetland, shrubby grassland and floodplain forest) in the Polabí region near Prague, Czech Republic. Each habitat was represented by three or four spatially isolated sites within which the camera traps were distributed. During the year of the study, we recorded nine carnivore species, including the non-native golden jackal. Habitats with the highest numbers of records pooled across all species were wetland (1279) and shrubby grassland (1014); fewer records were made in mixed (876) and floodplain forest (734). Habitat had a significant effect on the number of records of badger and marten, and a marginally significant effect on fox. In terms of seasonal dynamics, there were significant differences in the distribution of records among seasons in fox, marginally significant in least weasel, and the occurrence among seasons did not differ for badger and marten. In the summer, fox and marten were more active than expected by chance during the day, while the pattern was opposite in winter when they were more active during the night. Our findings on habitat preferences and circadian and seasonal activity provided the first quantitative data on patterns whose existence was assumed on the basis of conventional wisdom. Our study demonstrates the potential of a long-term monitoring approach based on infra-red camera traps. Generally, the rather frequent occurrence of recorded species indicates that most carnivore species are thriving in current central-European landscapes characterized by human-driven disturbances and urbanization.

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Does a non-invasive method – latrine surveys – reveal habitat preferences of raccoon dogs and badgers?

Cited by 12 publications

References 31 publications

Spatial use and interaction of the invasive raccoon dog and the native red fox in Central Europe: competition or coexistence?

Spatial use and interaction of the invasive raccoon dog and the native red fox in Central Europe: competition or coexistence?

Scent-sniffing dogs can discriminate between native Eurasian and invasive North American beavers

Carnivore distribution across habitats in a central-European landscape: a camera trap study

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