Somogy megye emlős faunája (Mammalia) = The mammal fauna of Somogy county (Mammalia)

In Somogy county 68 mammal species representing 80% of the Hungarian fauna have been recorded among the 85 species found in Hungary. 8 of them are Insectivora, 18 Chiroptera, 2 Lagomorpha, 22 Rodentia, 14 Carnivora and 4 Artiodactyla. Due to the environmental conditions of the county, are expected to disappear in the future. There arc some species (mainly Chiroptera) which are not present on our list because the research of them is incomplete. The aim of this review is to present the mammal fauna of Somogy county, based on present research to show the insufficiencies as well

Predation of common wall lizards: experiences from a study using scentless plasticine lizards

The potential influence of predators on lacertid lizards has been studied by using models made of plasticine which shows the attack marks of predators and as such allows their identification and estimation of predation pressure. The general aim was to study predation on plasticine models of lizards and to improve methods, since the results depend on the number of plasticine models used, their spatial pattern and the duration of experiments. We estimated the density of the common wall lizard Podarcis muralis population on stone walls of a vineyard in the city of Pécs (Hungary) in August 2015 in order to imitate the real density in our experiment with plasticine models. The density of common wall lizards was 8.2 ind. /100 m2 and accordingly we placed 25 scentless plasticine lizards on the stone walls on the first transect with 10 m distance between them, which imitates the real pattern. In the second transect 25 lizard models were placed more sparsely, the distance between them being 20 m. During four weeks the predation rate was 24% in densely spaced plasticine lizards and 40% in sparsely spaced plasticine lizards, but the difference was not significant. The daily survival rate of densely spaced lizards was 0.99 (=99.1%) and that of sparsely spaced lizard models was 0.98 (=98.25%), but this difference was not significant either. On the basis of marks left on plasticine lizards, mammal predators (e.g. beech marten) dominated, while the impact of bird predators was smaller than expected. Predators attacked the head of plasticine lizards more frequently than their trunk, tail or limbs, but a significant preference of body parts was not detected. From our experience it is important to study the distribution and density of real animals, to imitate their real pattern, instead of an arbitrarily designed experiment with models. The typical scent of plasticine also could influence the results, which can be avoided by using scentless plasticine models coated with liquid rubber. We suggest the calculation of daily survival rates in order to produce results that allow the comparison of different studies

Factors affecting the prey preferences of jackals (Canidae)

Prey selection by carnivores can be affected by top-down and bottom-up factors. For example, large carnivores may facilitate food resources for mesocarnivores by providing carcasses to scavenge, however mesocarnivores may hunt large prey themselves, and their diets might be affected by prey size and behaviour. We reviewed jackal diet studies and determined how the presence of large carnivores and various bottom-up factors affected jackal prey selection. We found 20 studies of black-backed jackals (Canis mesomelas) from 43 different times or places, and 13 studies of Eurasian golden jackals (Canis aureus) from 23 different times or places reporting on 3900 and 2440 dietary records (i.e. scats or stomach contents), respectively. Black-backed jackals significantly preferred small ( 120 kg) hider species and follower species of any body size. They had a preferred and accessible prey weight range of 14-26 kg, and a predator to ideal prey mass ratio of 1:3.1. Eurasian golden jackal significantly prefer to prey on brown hare (Lepus europaeus; 4 kg), yielding a predator to preferred prey mass ratio of 1:0.6, and a preferred and accessible prey weight range of 0 – 4 kg and 0 – 15 kg, respectively. Prey preferences of jackals differed significantly in the presence of apex predators, but it was not entirely due to carrion availability of larger prey species. Our results show that jackal diets are affected by both top-down and bottom-up factors, because apex predators as well as prey size and birthing behaviour affected prey preferences of jackals. A better understanding of the factors affecting jackal prey preferences, as presented here, could lead to greater acceptance of mesocarnivores and reduced human-wildlife conflict

A European Concern? Genetic Structure and Expansion of Golden Jackals (Canis aureus) in Europe and the Caucasus

In the first continent-wide study of the golden jackal (Canis aureus), we characterised its population genetic structure and attempted to identify the origin of European populations. This provided a unique insight into genetic characteristics of a native carnivore population with rapid large-scale expansion. We analysed 15 microsatellite markers and a 406 basepair fragment of the mitochondrial control region. Bayesian-based and principal components methods were applied to evaluate whether the geographical grouping of samples corresponded with genetic groups. Our analysis revealed low levels of genetic diversity, reflecting the unique history of the golden jackal among Europe’s native carnivores. The results suggest ongoing gene flow between south-eastern Europe and the Caucasus, with both contributing to the Baltic population, which appeared only recently. The population from the Peloponnese Peninsula in southern Greece forms a common genetic cluster with samples from south-eastern Europe (ΔK approach in STRUCTURE, Principal Components Analysis [PCA]), although the results based on BAPS and the estimated likelihood in STRUCTURE indicate that Peloponnesian jackals may represent a distinct population. Moreover, analyses of population structure also suggest either genetic distinctiveness of the island population from Samos near the coast of Asia Minor (BAPS, most STRUCTURE, PCA), or possibly its connection with the Caucasus population (one analysis in STRUCTURE). We speculate from our results that ancient Mediterranean jackal populations have persisted to the present day, and have merged with jackals colonising from Asia. These data also suggest that new populations of the golden jackal may be founded by long-distance dispersal, and thus should not be treated as an invasive alien species, i.e. an organism that is “non-native to an ecosystem, and which may cause economic or environmental harm or adversely affect human health”. These insights into the genetic structure and ancestry of Baltic jackals have important implications for management and conservation of jackals in Europe. The golden jackal is listed as an Annex V species in the EU Habitats Directive and as such, considering also the results presented here, should be legally protected in all EU member states

Importance of small fishes and invasive crayfish in otter Lutra lutra diet in an English chalk stream

The diet composition of the European otter Lutra lutra was assessed using spraint analysis in the Hampshire Avon, a lowland chalk stream in Southern England, over an 18 month period. Small cyprinid fishes were the main prey item taken in all seasons, with bullhead Cottus gobio and stone loach Barbatula barbatula also important; there were relatively few larger fishes of interest to fisheries found. There were significant seasonal differences in diet composition by season, with signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus only being prominent prey items in warmer months and amphibians in winter, revealing that non-fish resources were seasonally important dietary components. Reconstructed body lengths of prey revealed the only species present in diet >350 mm was pike Esox lucius. These dietary data thus provide important information for informing conservation conflicts between otters and fishery interest

Genetic Structure and Expansion of Golden Jackals (Canis aureus) in Europe and the Caucasus

We analyzed 65 samples of golden jackals (Canis aureus) collected in south-eastern and central Europe, the Caucasus, and from Estonia (north-eastern Europe). Microsatellite markers and partial sequences of the mitochondrial control region were used to characterize the genetic structure of jackals in the sampled regions. The main aim of the study was to identify possible source populations of the golden jackals in north-eastern Europe