Ecology of European Badger Meles Meles in the Western Capathian Mountains: A Review

Mysłajek, Robert W.; Nowak, Sabina; Rożen, Anna; Kurek, Korneliusz; Figura, Michał; Jędrzejewska, Bogumiła

doi:10.2461/wbp.2016.eb.4

Cited by 9 publications

(7 citation statements)

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“…Besides canids, mustelids were also frequently reported as prey species in the wolf diet. Even though some mustelids scavenge, their main food sources do not overlap with the wolf diet [48,49]. Furthermore, mustelids, which are mostly smalland medium-sized animals, are reported to be one of the most frequent victims in lethal interspecific interactions among mammalian carnivores [2].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumption of Carnivores by Wolves: A Worldwide Analysis of Patterns and Drivers

et al. 2020

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The occurrence of carnivore species in wolf diet has been overlooked and poorly studied despite the potential implications for wolf ecology and wildlife management. We conducted an extensive literature review, focusing on 120 wolf diet studies worldwide to assess global patterns of carnivore consumption by wolves and their ecological and human-related determinants. We used a total of 143 sampling sites with data on the consumption of carnivores by wolves. In total, 35 carnivore species were reported to be consumed by wolves, comprising members of all taxonomic carnivore families represented within the gray wolf range. The carnivores were mostly limited to occasional consumption (<5% of wolf diet) but could account for as much as 25% in some study areas. The most frequently consumed carnivore species were those with reported scavenging behavior, belonging to medium-sized generalist canids. Generalized linear model (GLM) analysis revealed that higher magnitudes of carnivore consumption were related to nonprotected areas as well as lower occurrences of wild ungulates, domestic ungulates, and small mammals in wolf diet, while higher numbers of consumed carnivore species were related to nonprotected areas with low vegetation productivity and lower occurrences of domestic ungulates and small mammals in wolf diet. Our results suggest that carnivore consumption by wolves is driven by altered ecosystems and human-dominated landscapes, where mesopredator densities are often increased and prey densities decreased, which intensify competition and the need for alternative food sources.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumption of Carnivores by Wolves: A Worldwide Analysis of Patterns and Drivers

et al. 2020

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“…Since the early 1980s, for assessing the occurrence and volumetric contribution of earthworms in the diets of mammal carnivores, most reports (e.g. Ciampalini & Lovari 1985, Pigozzi 1991, Fedriani et al 1998, Goszczyński et al 2000, Fischer et al 2005, Mysłajek et al 2016 have made reference to the pioneering study on badger food habits in Scotland by Kruuk & Parish (1981). Briefly, this method entails that each scat is washed through a sieve with a mesh size of 0.5 mm, catching the rinsing water in a beaker.…”

Section: Detection Of Earthworm Chaetae In Mammal Faeces: Methodologimentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection of earthworm chaetae in mammal faeces: methodological implications

2019

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“…However, SARs' areas ranged from 11.2 to 4,404.3 km 2 (mean = 766.7 km 2 ; SE = 722.2 km 2 ) and might present within‐SAR environmental variability, especially inside the mountainous SARs group (i.e., >400 m) where the within‐SAR variation in elevation is high (mean elevation variation = 1,293.6 m, SE = 771.4 m). In mountainous SARs group for example, this might induce differences in abundance within SARs, with higher abundance of badgers in the foothills, as these climatic and environmental areas offer the richest trophic resources, and the highest availability of suitable sett sites due to a finer soil texture (Mysłajek et al, ). Although such local variation in abundance likely occurs within SARs, it should not drastically change the relative position of the SARs along the observed a bj continuum: The within‐SAR abundance variation should be smaller than the between‐SARs abundance variation.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Based on the scientific literature, we predicted that relative badger abundance would be positively correlated with the availability of different potential food resources, such as earthworm abundance (described as the most frequent item in the badger's diet; Kruuk, 1978;Neal & Cheeseman, 1996), which varies widely between spatial units in France (Rutgers et al, 2016). We also expected higher relative badger abundance in woody lowland environments, as this climatic zone offers both the highest level of food resources (Mysłajek et al, 2016) and suitability for sett installation, with favorable mosaic landscapes (Cresswell, Harris, Bunce, & Jefferies, 1989;Kruuk, 1989) including small agricultural fields (i.e., pastures) and forest patches.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Altitude shapes the environmental drivers of large‐scale variation in abundance of a widespread mammal species

Jacquier

Clément

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et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Aim: Habitat quality and heterogeneity directly influence the distribution and abundance of organisms at different spatial scales. Determining the main environmental factors driving the variation in species abundance is crucial to understand the underlying ecological processes, and this is especially important for widely distributed species living in contrasting environments. However, the responses to environmental variation are usually described at relatively small spatial scales. Here, we studied the variation in abundance of a widely distributed mustelid, the European badger (Meles meles), across France. Location:The whole metropolitan France. Methods: We used (a) direct detections of 9,439 dead and living badgers, from 2006 to 2009, to estimate badger relative abundance in 703 small agricultural regions of metropolitan France and (b) a Bayesian modeling approach to identify the main environmental determinants influencing badger abundance. Results: Despite a continuous distribution of badger in France, we found large variation in badger abundance between regions, explained by environmental factors.Among a set of 13 environmental variables, we demonstrated that badger abundance in lowlands (<400 m a.s.l.) was mostly driven by biotic factors such as potential food resources (earthworm abundance and fruit crops) and forest fragmentation.Conversely, in mountainous areas, abiotic factors (i.e., soil texture and climate) drove the variation in badger relative abundance. Main conclusions:These results underline the importance of mapping the abundance of wildlife species based on environmental suitability and highlight the complexity of drivers influencing species abundance at such large spatial scales. Altitude shaped the environmental drivers (biotic vs. abiotic) that most influenced relative abundance of a widespread species. In the case of badger, such abundance maps are crucial to identify critical areas for species management as this mustelid is a main wild vector of bovine tuberculosis in several countries. K E Y W O R D Sclimate, food resources, landscape, large-scale, Mustelidae, soil features

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Ecology of European Badger Meles Meles in the Western Capathian Mountains: A Review

Cited by 9 publications

References 0 publications

Consumption of Carnivores by Wolves: A Worldwide Analysis of Patterns and Drivers

Consumption of Carnivores by Wolves: A Worldwide Analysis of Patterns and Drivers

Detection of earthworm chaetae in mammal faeces: methodological implications

Altitude shapes the environmental drivers of large‐scale variation in abundance of a widespread mammal species

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