Knowledge Resource Center for Ecological Environment in Arid Area
DOI | 10.1007/s13364-016-0269-x |
Landscape influence on the feeding habits of European badger (Meles meles) in arid Spain | |
Requena-Mullor, J. M.1; Lopez, E.1,2; Castro, A. J.1,4; Virgos, E.5; Castro, H.1,3 | |
通讯作者 | Requena-Mullor, J. M. |
来源期刊 | MAMMAL RESEARCH
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ISSN | 2199-2401 |
EISSN | 2199-241X |
出版年 | 2016 |
卷号 | 61期号:3页码:197-207 |
英文摘要 | This study evaluates the influence of landscape on the feeding habits of the European badger (Meles meles) in the southern Iberian Peninsula and discusses some potential implications that the scenarios of climate change and land use and land cover changes proposed for this region could have on the diet of badgers. We particularly explore whether different vegetation types and land uses affect its feeding habits across three arid landscapes: maquia, xeric shrubland, and forestry. Although badger diet in Mediterranean environments has been described as frugivorous, in which the key food resources are wild or cultivated fruit (e.g., olives or figs), this species’ diet may vary in response to landscape composition, with individuals locally consuming different key items in an arid Mediterranean context. Based on the analysis of 252 scats collected monthly from June 2011 to May 2012, we found that diet significantly varied among the landscapes studied: Insects, carob, and small mammals were the key items in the maquia, figs, and oranges in the xeric shrubland, and earthworms and insects in the forestry. This shows that in an arid context, badgers adapt their diet to particular landscape conditions. Thus, our results support the important role of human activities, specifically the fruit orchards, in shaping badger diet and highlight the contrasting dietary differences of badgers, i.e., from an animal-based diet to one dominated by cultivated fruits when this type of crops are relevant in the landscape. In these circumstances and based on the proven effect of precipitation and land management practices on the food items identified here, we suggest that crop abandonment and less precipitation could reduce the availability of the badger’s key food resources, locally affecting its fitness and including local extinction where the habitats are extremely arid or crop abandonment is dominant. |
英文关键词 | Meles mele Diet Frugivory Iberian Peninsula Drylands Land use Land cover |
类型 | Article |
语种 | 英语 |
国家 | Spain ; USA |
收录类别 | SCI-E |
WOS记录号 | WOS:000377940400004 |
WOS关键词 | MEDITERRANEAN COASTAL AREA ; FOOD-HABITS ; EURASIAN BADGERS ; CLIMATE-CHANGE ; SPECIALIZATION ; ENVIRONMENTS ; BIODIVERSITY ; POPULATION ; HYPOTHESIS ; SELECTION |
WOS类目 | Zoology |
WOS研究方向 | Zoology |
资源类型 | 期刊论文 |
条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.177/qdio/handle/2XILL650/194993 |
作者单位 | 1.Univ Almeria, Andalusian Ctr Assessment & Monitoring Global Cha, Almeria 04120, Spain; 2.Univ Almeria, Dept Educ, Didact Expt Sci Area, Almeria 04120, Spain; 3.Univ Almeria, Dept Biol & Geol, Almeria 04120, Spain; 4.Idaho State Univ, Dept Biol Sci, Gale Life Sci Bldg,Rm 207,921 S 8th Ave, Pocatello, ID 83209 USA; 5.Univ Rey Juan Carlos, Coll Expt Sci & Technol, Biodivers & Conservat Area, Dept 1,Off 216,C Tulipan S-N, E-28933 Madrid, Spain |
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | Requena-Mullor, J. M.,Lopez, E.,Castro, A. J.,et al. Landscape influence on the feeding habits of European badger (Meles meles) in arid Spain[J],2016,61(3):197-207. |
APA | Requena-Mullor, J. M.,Lopez, E.,Castro, A. J.,Virgos, E.,&Castro, H..(2016).Landscape influence on the feeding habits of European badger (Meles meles) in arid Spain.MAMMAL RESEARCH,61(3),197-207. |
MLA | Requena-Mullor, J. M.,et al."Landscape influence on the feeding habits of European badger (Meles meles) in arid Spain".MAMMAL RESEARCH 61.3(2016):197-207. |
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