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Patterns of Feeding by Householders Affect Activity of Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) during the Hibernation Period

SIMPLE SUMMARY: Urban areas are thought to represent a stronghold habitat for the West European hedgehog population in the UK. However, little is known about hibernation patterns in residential areas and if overwinter activity is influenced by any ”urban-associated” factors. We monitored hedgehog ac...

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Autores principales: Gazzard, Abigail, Baker, Philip J.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: MDPI 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7460126/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32759762
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani10081344
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author Gazzard, Abigail
Baker, Philip J.
author_facet Gazzard, Abigail
Baker, Philip J.
author_sort Gazzard, Abigail
collection PubMed
description SIMPLE SUMMARY: Urban areas are thought to represent a stronghold habitat for the West European hedgehog population in the UK. However, little is known about hibernation patterns in residential areas and if overwinter activity is influenced by any ”urban-associated” factors. We monitored hedgehog activity in gardens during the winter hibernation period of 2017–2018 using weekly presence/absence surveys. Hedgehogs were more likely to be present in gardens where householders had provided food in previous seasons or where food was supplied more regularly in a given season. Such relationships could have positive or negative effects on the survival or condition of hedgehogs across the hibernation period. Consequently, further research is needed to identify the effects of supplementary feeding on hibernation biology to help inform conservation guidelines for householders. ABSTRACT: West European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) are likely to encounter unusual ecological features in urban habitats, such as anthropogenic food sources and artificial refugia. Quantifying how these affect hedgehog behaviour is vital for informing conservation guidelines for householders. We monitored hedgehog presence/absence in gardens in the town of Reading, UK, over the winter of 2017–2018 using a volunteer-based footprint tunnel survey, and collected data on garden characteristics, supplementary feeding (SF) habits, and local environmental conditions. Over a 20-week survey period, hedgehog presence was lowest between January and March. Occupancy analysis indicated that SF significantly affected hedgehog presence/absence before, during, and after hibernation. The number of nesting opportunities available in gardens, average temperatures, and daylength were also supported as important factors at different stages. In particular, our results suggest that SF could act to increase levels of activity during the winter when hedgehogs should be hibernating. Stimulating increased activity at this sensitive time could push hedgehogs into a net energy deficit or, conversely, help some individuals survive which might not otherwise do so. Therefore, further research is necessary to determine whether patterns of feeding by householders have a positive or negative effect on hedgehog populations during the hibernation period.
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spelling pubmed-74601262020-09-02 Patterns of Feeding by Householders Affect Activity of Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) during the Hibernation Period Gazzard, Abigail Baker, Philip J. Animals (Basel) Article SIMPLE SUMMARY: Urban areas are thought to represent a stronghold habitat for the West European hedgehog population in the UK. However, little is known about hibernation patterns in residential areas and if overwinter activity is influenced by any ”urban-associated” factors. We monitored hedgehog activity in gardens during the winter hibernation period of 2017–2018 using weekly presence/absence surveys. Hedgehogs were more likely to be present in gardens where householders had provided food in previous seasons or where food was supplied more regularly in a given season. Such relationships could have positive or negative effects on the survival or condition of hedgehogs across the hibernation period. Consequently, further research is needed to identify the effects of supplementary feeding on hibernation biology to help inform conservation guidelines for householders. ABSTRACT: West European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) are likely to encounter unusual ecological features in urban habitats, such as anthropogenic food sources and artificial refugia. Quantifying how these affect hedgehog behaviour is vital for informing conservation guidelines for householders. We monitored hedgehog presence/absence in gardens in the town of Reading, UK, over the winter of 2017–2018 using a volunteer-based footprint tunnel survey, and collected data on garden characteristics, supplementary feeding (SF) habits, and local environmental conditions. Over a 20-week survey period, hedgehog presence was lowest between January and March. Occupancy analysis indicated that SF significantly affected hedgehog presence/absence before, during, and after hibernation. The number of nesting opportunities available in gardens, average temperatures, and daylength were also supported as important factors at different stages. In particular, our results suggest that SF could act to increase levels of activity during the winter when hedgehogs should be hibernating. Stimulating increased activity at this sensitive time could push hedgehogs into a net energy deficit or, conversely, help some individuals survive which might not otherwise do so. Therefore, further research is necessary to determine whether patterns of feeding by householders have a positive or negative effect on hedgehog populations during the hibernation period. MDPI 2020-08-04 /pmc/articles/PMC7460126/ /pubmed/32759762 http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani10081344 Text en © 2020 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
spellingShingle Article
Gazzard, Abigail
Baker, Philip J.
Patterns of Feeding by Householders Affect Activity of Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) during the Hibernation Period
title Patterns of Feeding by Householders Affect Activity of Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) during the Hibernation Period
title_full Patterns of Feeding by Householders Affect Activity of Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) during the Hibernation Period
title_fullStr Patterns of Feeding by Householders Affect Activity of Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) during the Hibernation Period
title_full_unstemmed Patterns of Feeding by Householders Affect Activity of Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) during the Hibernation Period
title_short Patterns of Feeding by Householders Affect Activity of Hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) during the Hibernation Period
title_sort patterns of feeding by householders affect activity of hedgehogs (erinaceus europaeus) during the hibernation period
topic Article
url https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7460126/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32759762
http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/ani10081344
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