Bertorelle, G.

Corlatti, L.

Crestanello, B.

Donini, V.

Hauffe, H. C.

Lioce, F. A.

Mustoni, A.

Partel, P.

Pertoldi, C.

Traba, J.

English

Archivio istituzionale della ricerca - Fondazione Edmund Mach

1Abstract book2928ECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONECOLOGY AND EVOLUTIONtreeline. While recent research suggested that red deer compete with chamois under the interspecific interaction hypothesis, factors driving the spatial overlap of  both species have not been tested. Here, we estimated and compared densities of  chamois and red deer in two study areas in the Bavarian Alps (Karwendel and Chiemgau) which differ in their habitat composition and human land use intensity. We expected densities of  chamois to vary between study areas as a function of  the amount of  typical alpine habitats and predicted densities of  both species to overlap when available alpine habitat is scarce. To test our hypotheses, we conducted a Bayesian spatial capture-recapture analysis (SCR) based on systematic faeces collection and genotyping, accounting for sampling effort and sex. To test for the effect of  habitat composition on densities, we included spatial covariates (e.g., terrain ruggedness, canopy cover, landcover). We then tested for correlations of  the resulting spatial predictions of  local densities. In both areas, chamois densities were primarily driven by topographic ruggedness and ranged from 3 up to 19 individuals per 100ha. Red deer densities varied less between the two study areas (4 - 6 individuals per 100ha). They avoided barren grounds and were more abundant in forested areas. In the area with less typical alpine habitat (Chiemgau), spatial segregation between the two ungulate species was low. In the study area with higher amounts of  alpine habitat (Karwendel), chamois density was negatively correlated with red deer density indicating higher segregation of  the two species. Gaining a better understanding of  the relationship between habitat and ungulate densities is crucial for sustainable management of  ungulate species, especially when multiple stressors due to simultaneous environmental stressors, such as climate change, may interact.Invited talk: Intense directional selective pressure from trophy hunting causes evolution of  smaller horns, despite denialsFesta-Bianchet M.1, Morrissey M.21Université de Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada. 2University of  St. Andrews, UK.Intense, directional selection on horn size through quota-free trophy hunting based on a definition of  minimum curl leads to evolution of  smaller horns in mountain sheep. Recently, papers have questioned the generality of  this result. One paper in Evolutionary Applications claimed that horn size declines in bighorn sheep were rare. A published re-analysis using appropriate statistics reveals that horn size declines are ongoing in nearly all of  Alberta, Canada, but only in about half  the hunting areas considered in the USA, where regulations typically result in lower selective pressure. A modelling paper in the Journal of  Wildlife Management, supported by an Editorial, claimed to show that hunting-induced evolutionary change was unlikely. When that model is parameterized with values of  phenotypic and additive variance estimated for bighorn sheep, it predicts an evolutionary change similar or greater than empirically measured for the pedigreed population at Ram Mountain. Together, recent literature on mountain sheep confirms that evolutionary declines in horn size are to be expected under intense selective hunting. The same literature suggests that these changes can be avoided by more conservative harvest regulations.Diet and trophic niche overlap between wild ungulates and livestock in the Italian AlpsLioce F.A.1,2,3, Crestanello B.1, Pertoldi C.3, Traba J.4,5, Corlatti L.6,7, Partel P.8, Mustoni A.9, Donini V.6, Bertorelle G.2, Hauffe H.C.11Fondazione Edmund Mach, San Michele all’Adige, Italy. 2University of  Ferrara, Ferrara, Italy. 3University of  Aalborg, Denmark. 4Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. 5CIBC, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Spain. 6Stelvio National Park, Italy. 7University of  Freiburg, Germany. 8Paneveggio - Pale di San Martino Natural Park, Italy. 9Adamello-Brenta Natural Park, Italy.Understanding the process underlying interspecific competition is pivotal to investigating the future ability of  animal species to adapt to changing environments. Coexisting species can avoid competition by partitioning resources, but when these are limited a potential for competition can occur, possibly resulting in a decrease of  fitness. In the Italian Alps, red deer numbers have been increasing, which has been hypothesized to impact chamois populations through interspecific competition. In addition, as domestic sheep are moved to Alpine pastures in summer, and chamois share the same habitat with this livestock during this season, there is the potential for multispecific competition.In this study, we used DNA metabarcoding of  the chloroplast trnL intron and the ITS1 and ITS2 internal transcribed spacers to characterize diet and evaluate the niche overlap of  chamois, red deer and domestic sheep. For each species, a total of  520 fresh fecal pellets were collected in three parks in the Italian Alps during two sampling seasons from seven areas characterized by one of  three combinations of  species interaction: i) areas where only chamois graze; ii) areas where chamois coexist with red deer; iii) areas where chamois share pastures with both red deer and sheep. At the taxonomic levels of  family and genus, we detected high similarity in diet between the three species, but we observed diet segregation between chamois and domestic sheep and between chamois and red deer in periods when resource availability was expected to be limited. However, in general, the presence of  potential competitors did not significantly affect the composition of  chamois diet. In addition, hypervolume analysis was carried out to visualize the trophic niche of  chamois, red deer and domestic sheep and to analyze diet overlap both for the total diet and for the preferred diet. In both cases, the three hypervolumes broadly overlapped and strong segregation was not evident. Overlap metrics between hypervolumes were always higher between chamois-red deer than between chamois-domestic sheep, suggesting a more problematic impact of  coexistence between wildlife than between wildlife and livestock. We discuss the results considering ongoing climate change and habitat fragmentation and possible applications to wildlife management.Chamois survival depends on their foodscapeLoison A.1, Garel M.2, Toïgo C.21University Savoie Mont Blanc, France. 2French Office for Biodiversity, France.Studies on habitat–performance relationships that require joint data on fitness and habitat use are still scarce in long-lived species most likely due to the discrepancy between the temporal scales at which spatial and demographic studies are performed. Here we overcame this limitation in females Alpine chamois, by combining databases on (1) habitat structure and food resources, (2) individual GPS monitoring, and (3) long term capture-mark-resighting data collected at different spatial and temporal scales. We show that the proportion of  the most used habitat type in a home range (negatively correlated with individual home range size, in agreement with the habitat-productivity hypothesis. Then, we unveiled that, in addition to a significant year-to-year variation, adult survival rates varied among individual clans (i.e. individuals which home range overlapped) and were positively correlated with habitat quality. We discuss the implication of  these findings, given that it could lead to a spatial structure in demographic patterns at the population level.

Diet and trophic niche overlap between wild ungulates and livestock in the Italian Alps

https://openpub.fmach.it/bitstream/10449/88618/3/2022%20Ungulates%20Hauffe%2029.pdf

Diet and trophic niche overlap between wild ungulates and livestock in the Italian Alps

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Archivio istituzionale della ricerca - Fondazione Edmund Mach