TY - JOUR
T1 - Dune Hares
T2 - Population Indices, Home Range Size, and Habitat Selection of the European Hare on a Danish Island
AU - Kleist, Majbrit Högberg
AU - Mortensen, Rasmus Mohr
AU - Bregnballe, Thomas
AU - Mayer, Martin
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 The Author(s). Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2024/10
Y1 - 2024/10
N2 - Population indices, such as transect counts of animals, can provide important information concerning population changes over time. Moreover, data concerning the home range size and habitat selection of individuals can provide valuable insight into spatial requirements of animals and how they can adapt to variable environments. Here, we describe the population development of European hares (Lepus europaeus) and investigated home range sizes and habitat selection of six radio-tagged individuals on the small (80 ha) Danish Wadden Sea island Langli. The average minimum hare population density from 1983 to 1997 was 64 ± 36 (mean ± SD) hares/km2, with hare numbers varying among years and seasons. The average home range size was 23.3 (CI: 18.9–28.7) ha, which is comparable to agricultural areas of high structural diversity. Moreover, hare habitat selection was generally bimodal, with hares moving over larger areas and selecting marsh habitat for foraging during nighttime, and dune and grassland habitat for resting during daytime, especially during winter. Combined, our results indicate that hare abundance and space use in the dunal landscape of Langli Island were similar to agricultural areas of comparatively high habitat quality. Thus, dunal marsh landscapes offer high-quality habitat for hares and might be of importance as population strongholds at a time when hare populations are declining in many agricultural areas across Europe.
AB - Population indices, such as transect counts of animals, can provide important information concerning population changes over time. Moreover, data concerning the home range size and habitat selection of individuals can provide valuable insight into spatial requirements of animals and how they can adapt to variable environments. Here, we describe the population development of European hares (Lepus europaeus) and investigated home range sizes and habitat selection of six radio-tagged individuals on the small (80 ha) Danish Wadden Sea island Langli. The average minimum hare population density from 1983 to 1997 was 64 ± 36 (mean ± SD) hares/km2, with hare numbers varying among years and seasons. The average home range size was 23.3 (CI: 18.9–28.7) ha, which is comparable to agricultural areas of high structural diversity. Moreover, hare habitat selection was generally bimodal, with hares moving over larger areas and selecting marsh habitat for foraging during nighttime, and dune and grassland habitat for resting during daytime, especially during winter. Combined, our results indicate that hare abundance and space use in the dunal landscape of Langli Island were similar to agricultural areas of comparatively high habitat quality. Thus, dunal marsh landscapes offer high-quality habitat for hares and might be of importance as population strongholds at a time when hare populations are declining in many agricultural areas across Europe.
KW - Langli island
KW - Lepus europaeus
KW - mammal
KW - spatial ecology
KW - Wadden Sea
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85206242797&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/ece3.70415
DO - 10.1002/ece3.70415
M3 - Journal article
AN - SCOPUS:85206242797
SN - 2045-7758
VL - 14
JO - Ecology and Evolution
JF - Ecology and Evolution
IS - 10
M1 - e70415
ER -