Environmental drivers of raccoon (Procyon lotor L.) occurrences in Austria - established versus newly invaded regions

Abstract

As we are faced with the imminent spread of the raccoon (Procyon lotor L.), a successful and highly adaptable invader in Europe, it is necessary to identify the drivers of its distribution and focal areas of its future management. Being an omnivorous species, raccoons can exert considerable influence on prey species of various taxa. Species distribution models for this invasive species can be useful tools for its management. Using a presence-only model (MaxEnt) based on environmental variables selected by raccoon experts, the presence of raccoons in Austria was predicted. Core areas of raccoon colonization are mainly located in and around cities and river valleys. Identified ecological drivers of raccoon distribution comprise climate and land-cover variables, with temperature parameters (e.g. the number of hot days, mean January temperature), the proportion of coniferous forests, settlements and elevation mainly influencing the model output. The importance of habitat parameters changes with the stage of invasion. In Austria's established regions, the probability of raccoon presence was best predicted by variables chosen by an expert of the raccoon's native range, while the predictors chosen by an expert in its introduced range better reflected the situation in recently invaded regions. The significance of climate and land cover in understanding the probability of raccoon presence was shown.

Perspective matters : individual and species movement in spatial context

“…The predictions successfully identified the worldwide occurrence records of the raccoon, including native (i.e. North America) and invaded regions (Europe), used in this study and demonstrated high probability values of areas predicted by previous studies such as Italy, Austria and Germany (Fischer et al 2015, Mori et al 2015, Farashi & Naderi 2017, Duscher et al 2018). In addition, our realised distribution model illuminated the current distribution of this species, which is in line with the previous research carried out by Farashi et.…”

Climatic niche comparison of raccoons Procyon lotor and raccoon dogs Nyctereutes procyonoides in their native and non‐native ranges

“…As a next step, models should incorporate land‐use variables on a European scale in order to further differentiate and localise suitable and potentially overlapping habitats for both species (for land‐use models applied to Procyon lotor; see Fischer et al 2016, Germany; Duscher et al 2018, Austria). Variables related to the influence of humans, such as population density or urbanisation, might also be considered (Srivastava et al 2019).…”

“…As their diets and habitat use are very plastic, the only factor that might be limiting both species is climate. Climatically favourable areas have been predicted on a regional scale in Italy (Mori et al 2015) and on a global scale (Louppe et al 2019) for Procyon lotor , as well as for both species in Austria (Duscher & Nopp‐Mayr 2017, Duscher et al 2018), using various modelling approaches. We compare the native‐range niches of both species in North America and East Asia with their non‐native‐range niches in Europe, based on eight bioclimatic variables.…”

When management meets science: adaptive analysis for the optimization of the eradication of the Northern raccoon (Procyon lotor)

“…Dijak and Thompson 2000;Chamberlain et al 2007) and introduced range (e.g. Farashi and Naderi 2017;Duscher et al 2018;Fiderer et al 2019). However, neither the size of the water source nor the distance from it affected the occupancy of the raccoon in Italy.…”

“…The Northern raccoon (Procyon lotor) is a species included in the Union list because of its invasiveness and the threat it represents to native species and human activities and health. The raccoon is an opportunistic mesocarnivore native to North and Central America that, despite its preference for riparian forests (Heske and Ahlers 2016;Duscher et al 2018;Fiderer et al 2019), can adapt to new environments exploiting a wide variety of habitat and food resources (Prange et al 2004). Raccoons are omnivorous and eat a wide range of plants (seeds, nuts, fruits) and animals like insects, small mammals, amphibians, crabs, fish and birds or bird eggs (Zeveloff 2002; Bartoszewicz et al 2008;García et al 2012).…”