1,721,235 research outputs found
Memory pays off
No full textLaboratory-quantified spatial memory and subsequent free-ranging movements show how learning about space and establishing familiar areas increase fitness in pheasant
Carving a path across ‘g-local’ challenges: wildlife responses to human disturbance in the European ‘anthroscape’
No full textHumans have occupied or affected with their activities all ecosystems across the planet. Climate change and the current plans to exponentially expand the road network, so increasing the continuum between areas occupied by humans and previously untouched habitats are dramatic threats that require deepening our understanding of how wildlife’s use of habitat and resources is impacted by humans. In Europe, animals move in a highly anthropic context, where habitat fragmentation and limited ecological connectivity combines with other sources of anthropic pressure, such as human pervasive presence and disturbance on the landscape, management practices, and the aforementioned global issues i.e. climate change. Yet, the shift in land use has gone both ways in the last decades, with some productive areas being abandoned first and successively re-occupied by forest, showing an opposite trend to what observed globally. In this talk, I analyse these components on several species (mainly ungulates and large carnivores), using a niche-based interpretation of the human-wildlife relationships, to disentangle some of the challenges and adaptations of European wildlife. I will conclude commenting on possible mitigating actions to limit human impact on the European mammal community in particular- possibly representing a benchmark of solutions in other global context
Migration plasticity in ungulates: facts and consequences in a changing European landscape
Full text linkMigration is an important component of ungulate behavioural tactics, that is tightly linked both to population distribution and to the function ungulates exert in ecosystems, and forest in particular. The fraction of migrants in a partially migratory ungulate population, however, can vary widely across populations. By analysing movement data from the Euroungulates consortium (individual trajectories of roe and red deer from > 10 populations for this study), we analysed the effects of intrinsic factors (sex) and extrinsic conditions (e.g. topography, seasonality, canopy closure, plant productivity/NDVI, snow layer) on seasonal distribution of individuals and parameters describing migration plasticity. Although variation in plant phenology affected migration probability in both species, we found a stronger disconnect between plant productivity and migration for roe deer than for red deer, especially in spring. In a fine-scale analysis at the local scale, we also observed a strong relation between the snow layer (i.e., snow depth) and the winter distribution of roe deer, in presence of supplemental feeding. Our results suggest that climatic and landscape changes may affect future ungulate migrations and seasonal distribution of populations. However, there is urgent need to quantitatively evaluate how this change will feedback on forest productivity, biodiversity, and related ecosystem services
EUROBEAR: Collaborative science for spatial brown bear ecology
Full text linkThe consequences of anthropogenic impacts on ecosystems are driving species adaptation and persistence worldwide. While local studies can help unveil fine-scale processes, robust assessment of broader processes are possible when pooling ecological data from a variety of environmental contexts. This is especially important for wide-ranging species, which are exposed to a large variety of conditions and stressors in space and time. The brown bear, the most extensively distributed ursid, is a prime example: it occupies various ecosystems, including forests, deserts, and tundras, at elevations ranging from sea level to 5000 meters, and within a latitude range of approximately 25° to 70°N. Building on the Euromammals initiative, which has been pioneering collaborative science in spatial animal ecology since 2007, the aim of this project is to establish a network of interested parties and build a long-term, secure sharing platform for researchers and managers to investigate biological, ecological, and management questions for brown bears in Europe. This is achieved by analyzing data across populations and with the field knowledge gained by managers and researchers working with bears in different socio-ecological contexts. The initiative builds on previous EU-wide collaborations, such as Biodiversa+ BearConnect and EU co-funded LIFE+ projects, and cloud-based data management infrastructure at Euromammals. Eurobear relational spatial database ensures the collection, quality control, standardization, and sharing of data necessary to actualize the collaboration, while the Term of Use allows partners to join the network while maintaining full ownership and responsibility for their data
Habitat selection by the red fox (L. 1758) in an Alpine area
No full textHabitat selection and the influence of habitat variables on red fox ranges were assessed in the Gran Paradiso National Park, Western Alps, Italy, all year round. Nine hundred twenty-two scats were mapped as "signs of presence" by monthly surveys of fixed transects in the main habitat types and altitude belts. Forested habitats and lower attitudes (1000-1500 m a.s.l.) were selected, whereas upper altitudes were avoided, during the cold season. This pattern was attributed to the availability of ungulate carrion, widely used as food by foxes, at low altitude, while upper altitudes provided poor resources in the cold season. During the warm season, no clear pattern of habitat selection could be detected. The selection for forested habitats could therefore be explained by the availability of resources other than food, e.g. resting and denning sites. The strong seasonality of an Alpine altitudinal succession, where resource availability varies over short distances, may lead to home ranges containing a variety of habitat types along the altitudinal gradient, providing resources throughout the year. Foxes possibly hold "vertical" home ranges, where certain habitat types became strategic, especially under limiting climatic conditions
Migration plasticity in ungulates: will it translate in resilience to global change?
Full text linkMigration is an important component of ungulate behavioural tactics that is
tightly linked both to population distribution and to the function ungulates exert in
ecosystems. The migration rate of several species has been observed to decrease, and
climate change and anthropic pressure have been indicated as potential driving causes.
The loss of migratory behaviour in ungulates could have paramount consequences on
the ecosystems that encompass their seasonal ranges, on the one side, and affect
population dynamics on the other.This talk has two main goals: first, to re-establish the
link between migratory behaviour and emerging movement patterns, in ungulates; then,
to assess the causes – or determinants- of migration by looking at multi-population
movement datasets of large herbivores in temperate climates, specifically the European
roe deer Capreolus capreolus and red deer Cervus elaphus. The analysis of movement
trajectories through different methods allowed us to identify inconsistencies in the
classification of migratory behaviour at individual level that we attributed to individual
plasticity. We thus acknowledged the emergence of movement patterns other than
residence and stereotyped migration, and expressed them through ‘indexes of
migratoriness’. Finally, we have linked intrinsic factors (sex) and extrinsic conditions
(e.g. topography, seasonality, canopy closure, plant productivity/NDVI) to parameters
describing migration plasticity, i.e. migration propensity, distance and timing. We have
found a strong relation between migration variability and sex-related and
species-related life history traits. Thus, climate and landscape change might affect
migratory behaviour of populations and species through complex responses. This talk
will stimulate the discussion whether new knowledge on ungulate migratory behaviour
should suggest management and conservation actions to favour and maintain migration
in ungulate populations, or if instead should be used to acknowledge the change in
movement patterns as a form of reversible adaptive behaviour, impossible to control
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