Habitat use by European wildcats (Felis silvestris) in central Spain: what is the relative importance of forest variables?
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In: Animal Biodiversity and Conservation, Vol. 33, No. 2, 2010, p. 143-150.
Research output: Journal contributions › Journal articles › Research › peer-review
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TY - JOUR
T1 - Habitat use by European wildcats (Felis silvestris) in central Spain
T2 - what is the relative importance of forest variables?
AU - Lozano, Jorge
PY - 2010
Y1 - 2010
N2 - Habitat preferences of wildcats are controversial. Although they are usually considered a forest species, alternative environments such as scrubland can be preferred. In this study we compared five habitat types in relation to wildcat occurrence. Sampling was carried out between 2001 and 2002 on a series of transects in search of wildcat scats to calculate an abundance index. Structural variables of landscape and rabbit abundance were also estimated and summarised as orthogonal factors using a principal component analysis (PCA). A priori contrasts showed that wildcats tended to be more abundant in areas with Mediterranean mountain vegetation, although agricultural steppes also provided suitable habitat. The forest variables were not included in the general linear model (GLM) obtained, indicating that wildcats are mainly associated with scrubland mosaics with rabbits in this region.
AB - Habitat preferences of wildcats are controversial. Although they are usually considered a forest species, alternative environments such as scrubland can be preferred. In this study we compared five habitat types in relation to wildcat occurrence. Sampling was carried out between 2001 and 2002 on a series of transects in search of wildcat scats to calculate an abundance index. Structural variables of landscape and rabbit abundance were also estimated and summarised as orthogonal factors using a principal component analysis (PCA). A priori contrasts showed that wildcats tended to be more abundant in areas with Mediterranean mountain vegetation, although agricultural steppes also provided suitable habitat. The forest variables were not included in the general linear model (GLM) obtained, indicating that wildcats are mainly associated with scrubland mosaics with rabbits in this region.
KW - Abundance
KW - Agricultural steppe
KW - Forest
KW - Habitat
KW - Scrubland
KW - Wildcat
KW - Sustainability Science
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84868125984&partnerID=8YFLogxK
M3 - Journal articles
AN - SCOPUS:84868125984
VL - 33
SP - 143
EP - 150
JO - Animal Biodiversity and Conservation
JF - Animal Biodiversity and Conservation
SN - 1578-665X
IS - 2
ER -