Adapt or perish: how the Iberian lynx reintroduction affects fox abundance and behaviour

Hystrix, the Italian Journal of Mammalogy

article

Pedro Sarmento¹  Victor Bandeira²  Pedro Gomes²  Carlos Carrapato¹  Catarina Eira²  Carlos Fonseca² 

[1] Instituto da Conservação da Natureza e das Florestas. Centro Polivalente de Divulgação da Casa do Lanternim.;Departamento de Biologia and CESAM, Universidade de Aveiro, Campus Universitário de Santiago.

关键词: reintroduction;    camera trapping;    occupancy models;    intraguild competition;   

DOI  :  10.4404/hystrix-00372-2020

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: Associazione Teriologica Italiana

【 摘 要 】

The Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) reintroduction in the Guadiana valley (Portugal) began in 2015. By 2019 more than 100 lynxes were in the wild, dispersed over 300 km2 . The arrival of a new top predator (the lynx had been extinct from this region for decades) may have affected red fox populations (Vulpes vulpes) as a result of intraguild competition. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of the lynx reintroduction on the spatial, temporal and spatial-temporal dimensions of local fox abundance and behaviour. Camera trapping results revealed a clear decrease in fox abundance. Also, co-occurrence occupancy models indicated a higher probability of fox occupancy in areas where lynxes were absent, as well as a greater fox detectability in places where lynxes were absent, rather than in places where lynxes were present. In the temporal dimension, there were no significant effects on fox behaviour. However, the spatial-temporal dimension revealed a competitive exclusion since foxes avoided areas that had recently been used by lynxes.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC