Mapping trends of large and medium size carnivores of conservation interest in Romania

Cazacu, Constantin; Adamescu, Mihai; Ionescu, O.; Ionescu, Georgeta; Jurj, Ramon; Popa, Marius; Cazacu, Roxana; Cotovelea, A.

doi:10.15287/afr.2014.170

Cited by 13 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…The species is the most common carnivore in Romania, and its distribution covers the territory of the entire country [29]. We found ticks on foxes collected in an altitudinal range from 91 to 1789 m a.s.l.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…There is no large-scale study published for Romania on ticks of foxes, with the only paper on the subject being a list of records [28]. The red fox is the most common wild carnivore in the country, occurring in all terrestrial habitats [29]. Here we present the results of a study targeting the fox-tick relationship in the landscape of the north-western and central part of Romania (Transylvania), an area which presents a high diversity of landscape features (mostly covered by the Carpathians, but incorporating parts of the Pannonian Plain, with altitudes ranging from 90 to 2000 m above sea level, a.s.l.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Mesocarnivores and macroparasites: altitude and land use predict the ticks occurring on red foxes (Vulpes vulpes)

et al. 2017

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BackgroundThe red fox Vulpes vulpes is the most common mesocarnivore in Europe and with a wide geographical distribution and a high density in most terrestrial habitats of the continent. It is fast urbanising species, which can harbor high numbers of different tick species, depending on the region. Here we present the results of a large-scale study, trying to disentangle the intricate relationship between environmental factors and the species composition of ectoparasites in red foxes. The samples were collected in Transylvania (Romania), a region with a diverse geography and high biodiversity. The dead foxes (collected primarily through the National Surveillance Rabies Program) were examined carefully for the presence of ticks.ResultsTicks (n = 4578) were found on 158 foxes (out of 293 examined; 53.9%). Four species were identified: Dermacentor marginatus, Ixodes canisuga, I. hexagonus and I. ricinus. The most common tick species was I. hexagonus (mean prevalence 37.5%, mean intensity 32.2), followed by I. ricinus (15.0%; 4.86), I. canisuga (4.8%; 7.71) and D. marginatus (3.7%; 3.45). Co-occurrence of two or more tick species on the same host was relatively common (12.6%), the most common co-occurrence being I. hexagonus - I. ricinus. For D. marginatus and I. canisuga the highest prevalence was recorded in lowlands, for I. hexagonus in hilly areas, while for I. ricinus in mountains.ConclusionsAltitude influenced the intensity of parasitism, with highest intensity observed for all Ixodes species in hilly areas. Dermacentor marginatus occurred only in lowlands, I. canisuga in lowlands and hilly areas while the other two species occurred in all of the regions studied. Foxes from lower altitudes had the most tick species associated, with most incidences of co-parasitism also recorded here. Land use affected tick-species composition, with the presence of D. marginatus strongly associated with the extension of arable areas and lack of forests. The presence of I. hexagonus was determined only by the extent of arable lands. As foxes are frontrunners of wildlife urbanization process, with a continuous increase of their numbers in urban areas, the knowledge of their ticks’ ecology (and the pathogens vectored by these) is of utmost importance.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mesocarnivores and macroparasites: altitude and land use predict the ticks occurring on red foxes (Vulpes vulpes)

et al. 2017

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“…For decades, large carnivore management in Romania has been dominated by regulated hunting aimed at maintaining stable populations (Adamescu et al . ). Although there are conservation concerns for all three species at the European Union level, yearly hunting targets are set for them in Romania.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…In particular, the forested landscapes of Romanian Carpathians are among the few places in Europe where the impacts on biodiversity have been historically low (Patru-Stupariu et al 2013), have a relatively low human population density, and harbour the largest populations of large carnivores in Europe, excluding European Russia (brown bear Ursus arctos, wolf Canis lupus and Eurasian lynx, Lynx lynx) (Salvatori et al 2002;Rozylowicz et al 2011). For decades, large carnivore management in Romania has been dominated by regulated hunting aimed at maintaining stable populations (Adamescu et al 2014). Although there are conservation concerns for all three species at the European Union level, yearly hunting targets are set for them in Romania.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Assessing biological realism of wildlife population estimates in data‐poor systems

Popescu

Artelle

Pop

et al. 2016

Journal of Applied Ecology

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Summary Large carnivore management is often contentious, particularly in jurisdictions where hunting and conservation efforts collide. Regulated hunting is a common management tool, yet relevant decisions are commonly taken in the absence of reliable population data and are driven by factors other than biological considerations. We used European large carnivore (brown bear Ursus arctos, wolf Canis lupus and Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx) management to evaluate the biological plausibility of reported population estimates used in hunting decisions. We used Romania as a test case as this region is not only data‐poor, but the public and private game managers are beneficiaries of revenue from hunting activities. We assessed the following: (i) how population growth rates calculated from reported abundances between 2005 and 2012 compared to published growth rates empirically derived from European and North American populations; (ii) whether biological unrealism compounded through time by testing whether reported estimates fell within the bounds of biologically plausible trajectories; and (iii) the relationship between the occurrence of biologically unrealistic estimates and financial incentives (amount of hunting). For U. arctos, which generates high revenue, estimated annual population growth rates were frequently greater than maximum published growth rates (up to 1·5 for reported versus 1·136 in the literature). Reported estimates were greater than maximum simulated populations in 32% of cases, and the difference was positively correlated with hunting (rs = 0·576). Population growth rates for C. lupus overshot the maximum published growth rate (1·35) less frequently, reported estimates were within the bounds of biologically plausible estimates (91% of cases), and there was a weak correlation between hunting and biologically unrealistic estimates (rs = 0·182). L. lynx population growth rates derived from reported estimates were lower than minimum simulated populations (60% of cases), and there was a weak correlation between hunting and biologically unrealistic estimates (rs = 0·164). Synthesis and applications. Our study suggests that comparing population estimates used by management agencies to demographic data obtained through rigorous peer‐reviewed studies is a useful approach for evaluating the biological plausibility of wildlife data in data‐poor systems, especially when management decisions might be influenced by non‐scientific incentives.

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“…Romania's brown bear population inhabits the Carpathian mountains and surrounding high hills, which are characterised by low human density, but with intensive use of natural resources (e.g., timber and non-timber forest products) and livestock grazing. The highest brown bear densities, of up to 11 individuals/100 km 2 occur in Eastern Carpathians (Cazacu et al 2014, Popescu et al 2017. However, no studies to date have documented the movement ecology of Romanian brown bears at individual and population levels, leading to suboptimal management strategies .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Movement ecology of brown bears (Ursus arctos) in the Romanian Eastern Carpathians

Pop¹,

Bereczky²,

Chiriac³

et al. 2018

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Brown bear movement patterns are driven by their opportunistic feeding behaviour, with their complex life history and seasonality playing an important role in habitat selection. Within a large unfragmented forest habitats persisting over decades in the Romanian Carpathians and a prohibitive hunting management during 40 years of communist centralised game management, information about brown bear movements and spatial ecology is lacking. Using data obtained from 13 brown bears fitted with GPS telemetry collars, we estimated home ranges and core activity areas and we investigated the daily, seasonal and altitudinal movements of brown bears in the Eastern Romanian Carpathians and surrounding high hills. The median MCP95% home ranges of brown bears was 629.92 km 2 and the median size of core activity areas (estimated as 50% kernel density) was 36.37 km 2 , with no significant differences between males and females. The mean daily distance travelled, measured as daily displacement length, was 1818 m and an analysis of seasonal movements indicated significant differences between seasons (greatest movements during the Hyperphagia season). The GPS-collared brown bears travelled between a minimum altitude measured at ~234 m and a maximum at ~1634 m. Analysing the spatial overlap between the estimated home range and the game management units (GMU) limits, we obtained a median number of 8 GMUs overlapping totally or partially with estimated home range polygons. Our study, using GPS telemetry, highlights the RESEARCH ARTICLE Launched to accelerate biodiversity conservation A peer-reviewed open-access journalIoan Mihai Pop et al. / Nature Conservation 26: 15-31 (2018) 16 complex spatial ecology of the brown bear in the Romanian Carpathians, with larger home range size than those estimated in other European brown bear populations and with daily movements that vary by season and within a large altitude range. Our study supports the implementation of brown bear monitoring at a regional scale, rather than focusing on county level GMUs as the monitoring unit.

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Mapping trends of large and medium size carnivores of conservation interest in Romania

Cited by 13 publications

References 16 publications

Mesocarnivores and macroparasites: altitude and land use predict the ticks occurring on red foxes (Vulpes vulpes)

Mesocarnivores and macroparasites: altitude and land use predict the ticks occurring on red foxes (Vulpes vulpes)

Assessing biological realism of wildlife population estimates in data‐poor systems

Movement ecology of brown bears (Ursus arctos) in the Romanian Eastern Carpathians

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