Spatial Ecology and Diel Activity of European Wildcat (<i>Felis silvestris</i>) in a Protected Lowland Area in Northern Greece

The Balkan populations of the European wildcat are among the least studied. This study reports the first findings on the spatial ecology and activity pattern of the wildcat in Greece and compares them to those of better studied northern populations. We fitted five wildcats (two males, three females)...

Descripción completa

Guardado en:

Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales:	Despina Migli, Christos Astaras, George Boutsis, Anastasia Diakou, Nikolaos-Evangelos Karantanis, Dionisios Youlatos
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	MDPI AG 2021
Materias:	European wildcat telemetry accelerometer home range activity pattern ODBA Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/e6c291250e904e4a8eb83f4f9e3bbd51
Etiquetas:	Agregar Etiqueta Sin Etiquetas, Sea el primero en etiquetar este registro!

id	oai:doaj.org-article:e6c291250e904e4a8eb83f4f9e3bbd51
record_format	dspace
spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:e6c291250e904e4a8eb83f4f9e3bbd512021-11-25T16:13:53ZSpatial Ecology and Diel Activity of European Wildcat (<i>Felis silvestris</i>) in a Protected Lowland Area in Northern Greece10.3390/ani111130302076-2615https://doaj.org/article/e6c291250e904e4a8eb83f4f9e3bbd512021-10-01T00:00:00Zhttps://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/11/11/3030https://doaj.org/toc/2076-2615The Balkan populations of the European wildcat are among the least studied. This study reports the first findings on the spatial ecology and activity pattern of the wildcat in Greece and compares them to those of better studied northern populations. We fitted five wildcats (two males, three females) with collars containing GPS and accelerometer loggers (E-obs 1A) and collected data from fall to early summer. All animals moved within a mosaic of lowland agricultural fields, woodland patches, riparian forests and wetlands near the banks of a lake. The trapping rate was the highest reported for the species. The home range sizes, estimated using Brownian bridge movement models, ranged from 0.94 to 3.08 km<sup>2</sup> for females and from 1.22 to 4.43 km<sup>2</sup> for males. Based on overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA) values estimated from the accelerometer data, the diel activity of male wildcats followed the species’ typical nocturnal pattern with crepuscular peaks. Female activity varied seasonally, at times being cathemeral. We found only weak effects of environmental variables on wildcat activity, and no significant difference in the activity in open versus forested areas. Our findings suggest that human modified landscapes can play a significant role in the conservation of this typically forest-associated species.Despina MigliChristos AstarasGeorge BoutsisAnastasia DiakouNikolaos-Evangelos KarantanisDionisios YoulatosMDPI AGarticleEuropean wildcattelemetryaccelerometerhome rangeactivity patternODBAVeterinary medicineSF600-1100ZoologyQL1-991ENAnimals, Vol 11, Iss 3030, p 3030 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	European wildcat telemetry accelerometer home range activity pattern ODBA Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991
spellingShingle	European wildcat telemetry accelerometer home range activity pattern ODBA Veterinary medicine SF600-1100 Zoology QL1-991 Despina Migli Christos Astaras George Boutsis Anastasia Diakou Nikolaos-Evangelos Karantanis Dionisios Youlatos Spatial Ecology and Diel Activity of European Wildcat (<i>Felis silvestris</i>) in a Protected Lowland Area in Northern Greece
description	The Balkan populations of the European wildcat are among the least studied. This study reports the first findings on the spatial ecology and activity pattern of the wildcat in Greece and compares them to those of better studied northern populations. We fitted five wildcats (two males, three females) with collars containing GPS and accelerometer loggers (E-obs 1A) and collected data from fall to early summer. All animals moved within a mosaic of lowland agricultural fields, woodland patches, riparian forests and wetlands near the banks of a lake. The trapping rate was the highest reported for the species. The home range sizes, estimated using Brownian bridge movement models, ranged from 0.94 to 3.08 km<sup>2</sup> for females and from 1.22 to 4.43 km<sup>2</sup> for males. Based on overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA) values estimated from the accelerometer data, the diel activity of male wildcats followed the species’ typical nocturnal pattern with crepuscular peaks. Female activity varied seasonally, at times being cathemeral. We found only weak effects of environmental variables on wildcat activity, and no significant difference in the activity in open versus forested areas. Our findings suggest that human modified landscapes can play a significant role in the conservation of this typically forest-associated species.
format	article
author	Despina Migli Christos Astaras George Boutsis Anastasia Diakou Nikolaos-Evangelos Karantanis Dionisios Youlatos
author_facet	Despina Migli Christos Astaras George Boutsis Anastasia Diakou Nikolaos-Evangelos Karantanis Dionisios Youlatos
author_sort	Despina Migli
title	Spatial Ecology and Diel Activity of European Wildcat (<i>Felis silvestris</i>) in a Protected Lowland Area in Northern Greece
title_short	Spatial Ecology and Diel Activity of European Wildcat (<i>Felis silvestris</i>) in a Protected Lowland Area in Northern Greece
title_full	Spatial Ecology and Diel Activity of European Wildcat (<i>Felis silvestris</i>) in a Protected Lowland Area in Northern Greece
title_fullStr	Spatial Ecology and Diel Activity of European Wildcat (<i>Felis silvestris</i>) in a Protected Lowland Area in Northern Greece
title_full_unstemmed	Spatial Ecology and Diel Activity of European Wildcat (<i>Felis silvestris</i>) in a Protected Lowland Area in Northern Greece
title_sort	spatial ecology and diel activity of european wildcat (<i>felis silvestris</i>) in a protected lowland area in northern greece
publisher	MDPI AG
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/e6c291250e904e4a8eb83f4f9e3bbd51
work_keys_str_mv	AT despinamigli spatialecologyanddielactivityofeuropeanwildcatifelissilvestrisiinaprotectedlowlandareainnortherngreece AT christosastaras spatialecologyanddielactivityofeuropeanwildcatifelissilvestrisiinaprotectedlowlandareainnortherngreece AT georgeboutsis spatialecologyanddielactivityofeuropeanwildcatifelissilvestrisiinaprotectedlowlandareainnortherngreece AT anastasiadiakou spatialecologyanddielactivityofeuropeanwildcatifelissilvestrisiinaprotectedlowlandareainnortherngreece AT nikolaosevangeloskarantanis spatialecologyanddielactivityofeuropeanwildcatifelissilvestrisiinaprotectedlowlandareainnortherngreece AT dionisiosyoulatos spatialecologyanddielactivityofeuropeanwildcatifelissilvestrisiinaprotectedlowlandareainnortherngreece
_version_	1718413288744681472

Spatial Ecology and Diel Activity of European Wildcat (<i>Felis silvestris</i>) in a Protected Lowland Area in Northern Greece

Ejemplares similares