Increase of large game species in Mediterranean areas: Is the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) facing a new threat?

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Increase of large game species in Mediterranean areas: Is the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) facing a new threat? / Lozano Mendoza, Jorge; Virgós, Emilo; Cabezas-Díaz, Sara et al.
In: Biological Conservation, Vol. 138, No. 3-4, 01.09.2007, p. 321-329.

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Lozano Mendoza J, Virgós E, Cabezas-Díaz S, Mangas JG. Increase of large game species in Mediterranean areas: Is the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) facing a new threat? Biological Conservation. 2007 Sept 1;138(3-4):321-329. doi: 10.1016/j.biocon.2007.04.027

Bibtex

@article{1f297d3a8e434f4eb1611781c5cfe501,
title = "Increase of large game species in Mediterranean areas: Is the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) facing a new threat?",
abstract = "There are several factors that threaten wildcat (Felis silvestris) populations in Europe, including habitat destruction, direct persecution and genetic introgression from domestic cats. However, in contrast to other predatory species, lack of prey availability has not been evaluated as a risk factor for wildcats. In this study, we analyse the relationship between the abundance of wildcats and the abundance of their preferred prey, the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and the abundance of two large ungulates, the wild boar (Sus scrofa) and red deer (Cervus elaphus). The study was conducted in a typical Mediterranean ecosystem, the Monfrag{\"u}e Natural Park (central Spain). We surveyed 30 (2 × 2 km) sites along a 2 km linear transect within each site, looking for signs indicating the presence of each species. Using this indirect method, we calculated an abundance index for each species based on their frequencies of occurrence. The results showed that the abundances of wild rabbits and ungulates were negatively associated. Moreover, wildcat abundance was positively related to rabbit abundance, but negatively related to ungulate abundances. Thus, the high population densities that ungulates reach in some natural areas, promoted in many cases by the hunting management strategies, appear to jeopardise wildcat populations by reducing rabbit availability. Therefore, as a new key action for the conservation of European wildcat we advocate the change of hunting management strategies in order to control ungulate populations, and therefore facilitate the recovery of wild rabbit populations.",
keywords = "Apparent amensalism, Competition, Game management, Indirect interactions, Rabbit, Ungulates, abundance index, domestic species, felid, habitat fragmentation, habitat loss, hunting, introgression, population density, predation, prey availability, protected area, risk factor, rodent, species occurrence, ungulate, wild population, wildlife management, Caceres [Extremadura], Eurasia, Europe, Extremadura, Monfrague National Park, Southern Europe, Spain, Cervus elaphus, Felis catus, Felis silvestris, Oryctolagus cuniculus, Suidae, Sus scrofa, Ungulata, Biology, Sustainability Science",
author = "{Lozano Mendoza}, Jorge and Emilo Virg{\'o}s and Sara Cabezas-D{\'i}az and Mangas, {Juli{\'a}n G.}",
note = "Cited By :28 Export Date: 27 January 2017 CODEN: BICOB Correspondence Address: Lozano, J.; Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnolog{\'i}a, Depto. Matem{\'a}ticas, F{\'i}sica Aplicada y Ciencias de la Naturaleza, {\'A}rea de Biodiversidad y Conservaci{\'o}n, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulip{\'a}n s/n, E-28933 M{\'o}stoles (Madrid), Spain; email: j.lozano.men@gmail.com References: Ab{\'a}igar, T., R{\'e}gimen alimentario del jabal{\'i} (Sus scrofa, L. 1758) en el sureste Ib{\'e}rico. Do{\~n}ana (1993) Acta Vertebrata, 20, pp. 35-48; Ab{\'a}igar, T., del Barrio, G., Vericad, J.R., Habitat preference of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in a Mediterranean environment. Indirect evaluation by signs (1994) Mammalia, 58, pp. 201-210; Abrams, P.A., Predators that benefit prey and prey that harm predators: unusual effects of interacting foraging adaptations (1992) American Naturalist, 140, pp. 573-600; Abrams, P.A., Matsuda, H., Positive indirect effects between prey species that share predators (1996) Ecology, 77, pp. 610-616; Andelt, W.F., Andelt, J.H., Diet bias in scat deposition rate surveys of coyote density (1984) Wildlife Society Bulletin, 12, pp. 74-77; Bailey, R.E., Putman, R.J., Estimation of fallow deer (Dama dama) populations from faecal accumulation (1981) Journal of Applied Ecology, 18, pp. 697-702; Brassil, Ch.E., Abrams, P.A., The prevalence of asymmetrical indirect effects in two-host-one parasitoid system (2004) Theoretical Population Biology, 66, pp. 71-82; Bratton, S., The effect of the European wild boar (Sus scrofa) on the high-elevation vernal flora in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (1974) Bulletin of Torrey Botanical Club, 101, pp. 198-206; Burnham, K.P., Anderson, D.R., (2002) Model Selection and Multimodel Inference: A Practical Information-Theoretic Approach. 2nd ed., , Springer-Verlag, New York; Camina, A., Comparaci{\'o}n de tres t{\'e}cnicas de censo en una poblaci{\'o}n de ciervo (Cervus elaphus L.) de las monta{\~n}as del Sistema Ib{\'e}rico (1995) Munibe, 47, pp. 137-141; Carranza, J., Aplicaciones de la Etolog{\'i}a al manejo de las poblaciones de ciervo del suroeste de la Peni{dotless{\'}}nsula Ib{\'e}rica: producci{\'o}n y conservaci{\'o}n (1999) Etolog{\'i}a, 7, pp. 5-18; Cavallini, P., Faces count as an index of fox abundance (1994) Acta Theriologica, 39, pp. 417-424; Chaneton, E.J., Bonsall, M.B., Enemy-mediated apparent competition: empirical patterns and the evidence (2000) Oikos, 88, pp. 380-394; Chase, J.M., Are there real differences among aquatic and terrestrial food webs? (2000) Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 15, pp. 408-412; Courchamp, F., Langlais, M., Sugihara, G., Cats protecting birds: modelling the mesopredator release effect (1999) Journal of Animal Ecology, 68, pp. 282-292; Duarte, J., Vargas, J.M., Son selectivos los controles de predadores en los cotos de caza? (2001) Galemys, 13, pp. 1-9; Fern{\'a}ndez, E., de Lope, F., de la Cruz, C., Morphologie cr{\^a}nienne du chat sauvage (Felis silvestris) dans le sud de la Peninsule ib{\'e}rique: importance de l'introgression par le chat domestique (Felis catus) (1992) Mammalia, 56, pp. 255-264; Flowerdew, J.R., Ellwood, S.A., Impacts of woodland deer on small mammal ecology (2001) Forestry, 74, pp. 277-287; Focardi, S., Capizzi, D., Monetti, D., Competition for acorns among wild boar (Sus scrofa) and small mammals in a Mediterranean woodland (2000) Journal of Zoology, London, 250, pp. 329-334; Gaston, K.J., How large is a species' geographic range? (1991) Oikos, 61, pp. 434-438; Herrera, J., Acorn predation and seedling production in a low-density population of cork oak (Quercus suber L.) (1995) Forest Ecology and Management, 76, pp. 197-201; Holt, R.D., Predation, apparent competition and the structure of prey communities (1977) Theoretical Population Biology, 12, pp. 197-229; Holt, R.D., Lawton, J.H., The ecological consequences of shared natural enemies (1994) Annual Review Ecology and Systematics, 25, pp. 495-520; Howe, T., Singer, F.J., Ackerman, B.B., Forage relationships of European wild boar invading northern hardwood forest (1981) Journal of Wildlife Management, 45, pp. 748-754; Hubbard, A.L., McOrist, S., Jones, T.W., Boid, R., Scott, R., Easterbee, N., Is survival of European wildcats Felis silvestris in Britain threatened by interbreeding with domestic cats? (1992) Biological Conservation, 61, pp. 203-208; Langley, P.J.W., Yalden, D.W., The decline of the rare carnivores in Great Britain during the nineteenth century (1977) Mammal Review, 7, pp. 95-116; Lecis, R., Pierpaoli, M., Bir{\`o}, Z.S., Szemethy, L., Ragni, B., Vercillo, F., Randi, E., Bayesian analyses of admixture in wild and domestic cats (Felis silvestris) using linked microsatellite loci (2006) Molecular Ecology, 15, pp. 119-131; Lozano, J., Virg{\'o}s, E., Malo, A.F., Huertas, D.L., Casanovas, J.G., Importance of scrub-pastureland mosaics on wild-living cats occurrence in a Mediterranean area: implications for the conservation of the wildcat (Felis silvestris) (2003) Biodiversity and Conservation, 12, pp. 921-935; Lozano, J., Mole{\'o}n, M., Virg{\'o}s, E., Biogeographical patterns in the diet of the wildcat, Felis silvestris Schreber, in Eurasia: factors affecting the trophic diversity (2006) Journal of Biogeography, 33, pp. 1076-1085; Malo, A.F., Lozano, J., Huertas, D.L., Virg{\'o}s, E., A change of diet from rodents to rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Is the wildcat (Felis silvestris) a specialist predator? (2004) Journal of Zoology, London, 263, pp. 401-407; Massei, G., Genov, P.V., The environmental impact of wild boar (2004) Galemys, 16, pp. 135-145; McOrist, S., Kitchener, A.C., Current Threats to the European Wildcat, Felis silvestris, in Scotland (1994) Ambio, 23, pp. 243-245; McOrist, S., Boid, R., Jones, T.W., Hubbard, A.L., Easterbee, N., Jarret, O., Some viral and protozoal diseases of the European wildcat Felis silvestris (1991) Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 27, pp. 693-696; Medin, D.E., Anderson, A.E., Modeling the dynamics of a Colorado Mule deer population (1979) Wildlife Monographs, 68, pp. 1-77; Menge, B.A., Indirect effects in marine rocky intertidal interactions webs: patterns and importance (1995) Ecological Monographs, 65, pp. 21-74; Palma, L., Beja, P., Rodrigues, M., The use of sighting data to analyse Iberian lynx habitat and distribution (1999) Journal of Applied Ecology, 36, pp. 812-824; Palomares, F., Comparison of 3 methods to estimate rabbit abundance in a Mediterranean environment (2001) Wildlife Society Bulletin, 29, pp. 578-585; Palomares, F., Gaona, P., Ferreras, P., Delibes, M., Positive effects on game species of top predators by controlling smaller predator populations: an example with lynx, mongooses, and rabbits (1994) Conservation Biology, 9, pp. 295-305; Parent, G.H., La migration r{\'e}cente, a caract{\`e}re invasionnel, du chat sauvage, Felis silvestris silvestris Schreber, en Lorraine belge (1975) Mammalia, 39, pp. 251-288; Pierpaoli, M., Bir{\`o}, Z.S., Herrmann, M., Hupe, K., Fernandes, M., Ragni, B., Szemethy, L., Randi, E., Genetic distinction of wildcat (Felis silvestris) populations in Europe, and hybridization with domestic cats in Hungary (2003) Molecular Ecology, 12, pp. 2585-2598; Putman, R.J., Edwards, P.J., Mann, J.C.E., How, R.C., Hill, S.D., Vegetational and faunal changes in an area of heavily grazed woodland following relief of grazing (1989) Biological Conservation, 47, pp. 13-32; Rodr{\'i}guez, A., Delibes, M., Patterns and causes of non-natural mortality in the Iberian lynx during a 40 year period of range contraction (2004) Biological Conservation, 118, pp. 151-161; S{\'a}ez-Royuela, C., Teller{\'i}a, J.L., The increased population of the Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) in Europe (1986) Mammal Review, 16, pp. 97-101; Schley, L., Roper, T.J., Diet of wild boar Sus scrofa in Western Europe, with particular reference to consumption of agricultural crops (2003) Mammal Review, 33, pp. 43-56; Singer, F.J., Swank, W.T., Clebsch, E.E.C., Effects of wild pig rooting in a deciduous forest (1984) Journal of Wildlife Management, 48, pp. 464-473; Smit, R., Bokdam, J., den Ouden, J., Olff, H., Schot-Opschoor, H., Schrijvers, M., Effects of introduction and exclusion of large herbivores on small rodent communities (2001) Plant Ecology, 155, pp. 119-127; Soul{\'e}, M.E., Bolger, D.T., Alberts, A.C., Wright, J., Sorice, M., Hill, S., Reconstructed dynamics of rapid extinctions of chaparral-requiring birds in urban habitat islands (1988) Conservation Biology, 2, pp. 75-92; Steen, H., Mysterund, A., Austrheim, G., Sheep grazing and rodent populations: evidence of negative interactions from a landscape scale experiment (2005) Oecologia, 143, pp. 357-364; Strauss, S.Y., Indirect effects in community ecology: their definition, study and importance (1991) Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 6, pp. 206-210; Underwood, A.J., (1996) Experiments in Ecology, , Cambridge University Press, Cambridge; Virg{\'o}s, E., Factors affecting wild boar (Sus scrofa) occurrence in highly fragmented Mediterranean landscapes (2002) Canadian Journal of Zoology, 80, pp. 430-435; Virg{\'o}s, E., Teller{\'i}a, J.L., Habitat selection of roe deer in Spain: constraints in the distribution of a species (1998) Canadian Journal of Zoology, 76, pp. 1294-1299; Virg{\'o}s, E., Travaini, A., Relationship between Small-game Hunting and Carnivore Diversity in Central Spain (2005) Biodiversity and Conservation, 14, pp. 3475-3486; Virg{\'o}s, E., Recio, M.R., Cort{\'e}s, Y., Stone Marten (Martes foina) use of different landscape types in the mountains of central Spain (2000) Zeitschrift f{\"u}r S{\"a}ugetierkunde, 65, pp. 375-379; Virg{\'o}s, E., Cabezas-D{\'i}az, S., Malo, A.F., Lozano, J., Huertas, D.L., Factors shaping European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) abundance in continuous and fragmented populations in central Spain (2003) Acta Theriologica, 48, pp. 113-122; White, G.C., Eberhardt, L.E., Statistical analysis of deer and elk pellet-group data (1980) Journal of Wildlife Management, 44, pp. 121-131; Yamaguchi, N., Kitchener, A.C., Driscoll, C.A., Ward, J.M., Macdonald, D.W., Craniological differentiation amongst wild-living cats in Britain and southern Africa: natural variation or the effects of hybridisation? (2004) Animal Conservation, 7, pp. 339-351; Zar, J.H., (1984) Biostatistical Analysis. 2nd ed., , Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs",
year = "2007",
month = sep,
day = "1",
doi = "10.1016/j.biocon.2007.04.027",
language = "English",
volume = "138",
pages = "321--329",
journal = "Biological Conservation",
issn = "0006-3207",
publisher = "Elsevier B.V.",
number = "3-4",

}

RIS

TY - JOUR

T1 - Increase of large game species in Mediterranean areas: Is the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) facing a new threat?

AU - Lozano Mendoza, Jorge

AU - Virgós, Emilo

AU - Cabezas-Díaz, Sara

AU - Mangas, Julián G.

N1 - Cited By :28 Export Date: 27 January 2017 CODEN: BICOB Correspondence Address: Lozano, J.; Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Depto. Matemáticas, Física Aplicada y Ciencias de la Naturaleza, Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, C/Tulipán s/n, E-28933 Móstoles (Madrid), Spain; email: j.lozano.men@gmail.com References: Abáigar, T., Régimen alimentario del jabalí (Sus scrofa, L. 1758) en el sureste Ibérico. Doñana (1993) Acta Vertebrata, 20, pp. 35-48; Abáigar, T., del Barrio, G., Vericad, J.R., Habitat preference of wild boar (Sus scrofa) in a Mediterranean environment. Indirect evaluation by signs (1994) Mammalia, 58, pp. 201-210; Abrams, P.A., Predators that benefit prey and prey that harm predators: unusual effects of interacting foraging adaptations (1992) American Naturalist, 140, pp. 573-600; Abrams, P.A., Matsuda, H., Positive indirect effects between prey species that share predators (1996) Ecology, 77, pp. 610-616; Andelt, W.F., Andelt, J.H., Diet bias in scat deposition rate surveys of coyote density (1984) Wildlife Society Bulletin, 12, pp. 74-77; Bailey, R.E., Putman, R.J., Estimation of fallow deer (Dama dama) populations from faecal accumulation (1981) Journal of Applied Ecology, 18, pp. 697-702; Brassil, Ch.E., Abrams, P.A., The prevalence of asymmetrical indirect effects in two-host-one parasitoid system (2004) Theoretical Population Biology, 66, pp. 71-82; Bratton, S., The effect of the European wild boar (Sus scrofa) on the high-elevation vernal flora in Great Smoky Mountains National Park (1974) Bulletin of Torrey Botanical Club, 101, pp. 198-206; Burnham, K.P., Anderson, D.R., (2002) Model Selection and Multimodel Inference: A Practical Information-Theoretic Approach. 2nd ed., , Springer-Verlag, New York; Camina, A., Comparación de tres técnicas de censo en una población de ciervo (Cervus elaphus L.) de las montañas del Sistema Ibérico (1995) Munibe, 47, pp. 137-141; Carranza, J., Aplicaciones de la Etología al manejo de las poblaciones de ciervo del suroeste de la Peni{dotless}́nsula Ibérica: producción y conservación (1999) Etología, 7, pp. 5-18; Cavallini, P., Faces count as an index of fox abundance (1994) Acta Theriologica, 39, pp. 417-424; Chaneton, E.J., Bonsall, M.B., Enemy-mediated apparent competition: empirical patterns and the evidence (2000) Oikos, 88, pp. 380-394; Chase, J.M., Are there real differences among aquatic and terrestrial food webs? (2000) Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 15, pp. 408-412; Courchamp, F., Langlais, M., Sugihara, G., Cats protecting birds: modelling the mesopredator release effect (1999) Journal of Animal Ecology, 68, pp. 282-292; Duarte, J., Vargas, J.M., Son selectivos los controles de predadores en los cotos de caza? (2001) Galemys, 13, pp. 1-9; Fernández, E., de Lope, F., de la Cruz, C., Morphologie crânienne du chat sauvage (Felis silvestris) dans le sud de la Peninsule ibérique: importance de l'introgression par le chat domestique (Felis catus) (1992) Mammalia, 56, pp. 255-264; Flowerdew, J.R., Ellwood, S.A., Impacts of woodland deer on small mammal ecology (2001) Forestry, 74, pp. 277-287; Focardi, S., Capizzi, D., Monetti, D., Competition for acorns among wild boar (Sus scrofa) and small mammals in a Mediterranean woodland (2000) Journal of Zoology, London, 250, pp. 329-334; Gaston, K.J., How large is a species' geographic range? (1991) Oikos, 61, pp. 434-438; Herrera, J., Acorn predation and seedling production in a low-density population of cork oak (Quercus suber L.) (1995) Forest Ecology and Management, 76, pp. 197-201; Holt, R.D., Predation, apparent competition and the structure of prey communities (1977) Theoretical Population Biology, 12, pp. 197-229; Holt, R.D., Lawton, J.H., The ecological consequences of shared natural enemies (1994) Annual Review Ecology and Systematics, 25, pp. 495-520; Howe, T., Singer, F.J., Ackerman, B.B., Forage relationships of European wild boar invading northern hardwood forest (1981) Journal of Wildlife Management, 45, pp. 748-754; Hubbard, A.L., McOrist, S., Jones, T.W., Boid, R., Scott, R., Easterbee, N., Is survival of European wildcats Felis silvestris in Britain threatened by interbreeding with domestic cats? (1992) Biological Conservation, 61, pp. 203-208; Langley, P.J.W., Yalden, D.W., The decline of the rare carnivores in Great Britain during the nineteenth century (1977) Mammal Review, 7, pp. 95-116; Lecis, R., Pierpaoli, M., Birò, Z.S., Szemethy, L., Ragni, B., Vercillo, F., Randi, E., Bayesian analyses of admixture in wild and domestic cats (Felis silvestris) using linked microsatellite loci (2006) Molecular Ecology, 15, pp. 119-131; Lozano, J., Virgós, E., Malo, A.F., Huertas, D.L., Casanovas, J.G., Importance of scrub-pastureland mosaics on wild-living cats occurrence in a Mediterranean area: implications for the conservation of the wildcat (Felis silvestris) (2003) Biodiversity and Conservation, 12, pp. 921-935; Lozano, J., Moleón, M., Virgós, E., Biogeographical patterns in the diet of the wildcat, Felis silvestris Schreber, in Eurasia: factors affecting the trophic diversity (2006) Journal of Biogeography, 33, pp. 1076-1085; Malo, A.F., Lozano, J., Huertas, D.L., Virgós, E., A change of diet from rodents to rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Is the wildcat (Felis silvestris) a specialist predator? (2004) Journal of Zoology, London, 263, pp. 401-407; Massei, G., Genov, P.V., The environmental impact of wild boar (2004) Galemys, 16, pp. 135-145; McOrist, S., Kitchener, A.C., Current Threats to the European Wildcat, Felis silvestris, in Scotland (1994) Ambio, 23, pp. 243-245; McOrist, S., Boid, R., Jones, T.W., Hubbard, A.L., Easterbee, N., Jarret, O., Some viral and protozoal diseases of the European wildcat Felis silvestris (1991) Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 27, pp. 693-696; Medin, D.E., Anderson, A.E., Modeling the dynamics of a Colorado Mule deer population (1979) Wildlife Monographs, 68, pp. 1-77; Menge, B.A., Indirect effects in marine rocky intertidal interactions webs: patterns and importance (1995) Ecological Monographs, 65, pp. 21-74; Palma, L., Beja, P., Rodrigues, M., The use of sighting data to analyse Iberian lynx habitat and distribution (1999) Journal of Applied Ecology, 36, pp. 812-824; Palomares, F., Comparison of 3 methods to estimate rabbit abundance in a Mediterranean environment (2001) Wildlife Society Bulletin, 29, pp. 578-585; Palomares, F., Gaona, P., Ferreras, P., Delibes, M., Positive effects on game species of top predators by controlling smaller predator populations: an example with lynx, mongooses, and rabbits (1994) Conservation Biology, 9, pp. 295-305; Parent, G.H., La migration récente, a caractère invasionnel, du chat sauvage, Felis silvestris silvestris Schreber, en Lorraine belge (1975) Mammalia, 39, pp. 251-288; Pierpaoli, M., Birò, Z.S., Herrmann, M., Hupe, K., Fernandes, M., Ragni, B., Szemethy, L., Randi, E., Genetic distinction of wildcat (Felis silvestris) populations in Europe, and hybridization with domestic cats in Hungary (2003) Molecular Ecology, 12, pp. 2585-2598; Putman, R.J., Edwards, P.J., Mann, J.C.E., How, R.C., Hill, S.D., Vegetational and faunal changes in an area of heavily grazed woodland following relief of grazing (1989) Biological Conservation, 47, pp. 13-32; Rodríguez, A., Delibes, M., Patterns and causes of non-natural mortality in the Iberian lynx during a 40 year period of range contraction (2004) Biological Conservation, 118, pp. 151-161; Sáez-Royuela, C., Tellería, J.L., The increased population of the Wild Boar (Sus scrofa) in Europe (1986) Mammal Review, 16, pp. 97-101; Schley, L., Roper, T.J., Diet of wild boar Sus scrofa in Western Europe, with particular reference to consumption of agricultural crops (2003) Mammal Review, 33, pp. 43-56; Singer, F.J., Swank, W.T., Clebsch, E.E.C., Effects of wild pig rooting in a deciduous forest (1984) Journal of Wildlife Management, 48, pp. 464-473; Smit, R., Bokdam, J., den Ouden, J., Olff, H., Schot-Opschoor, H., Schrijvers, M., Effects of introduction and exclusion of large herbivores on small rodent communities (2001) Plant Ecology, 155, pp. 119-127; Soulé, M.E., Bolger, D.T., Alberts, A.C., Wright, J., Sorice, M., Hill, S., Reconstructed dynamics of rapid extinctions of chaparral-requiring birds in urban habitat islands (1988) Conservation Biology, 2, pp. 75-92; Steen, H., Mysterund, A., Austrheim, G., Sheep grazing and rodent populations: evidence of negative interactions from a landscape scale experiment (2005) Oecologia, 143, pp. 357-364; Strauss, S.Y., Indirect effects in community ecology: their definition, study and importance (1991) Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 6, pp. 206-210; Underwood, A.J., (1996) Experiments in Ecology, , Cambridge University Press, Cambridge; Virgós, E., Factors affecting wild boar (Sus scrofa) occurrence in highly fragmented Mediterranean landscapes (2002) Canadian Journal of Zoology, 80, pp. 430-435; Virgós, E., Tellería, J.L., Habitat selection of roe deer in Spain: constraints in the distribution of a species (1998) Canadian Journal of Zoology, 76, pp. 1294-1299; Virgós, E., Travaini, A., Relationship between Small-game Hunting and Carnivore Diversity in Central Spain (2005) Biodiversity and Conservation, 14, pp. 3475-3486; Virgós, E., Recio, M.R., Cortés, Y., Stone Marten (Martes foina) use of different landscape types in the mountains of central Spain (2000) Zeitschrift für Säugetierkunde, 65, pp. 375-379; Virgós, E., Cabezas-Díaz, S., Malo, A.F., Lozano, J., Huertas, D.L., Factors shaping European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) abundance in continuous and fragmented populations in central Spain (2003) Acta Theriologica, 48, pp. 113-122; White, G.C., Eberhardt, L.E., Statistical analysis of deer and elk pellet-group data (1980) Journal of Wildlife Management, 44, pp. 121-131; Yamaguchi, N., Kitchener, A.C., Driscoll, C.A., Ward, J.M., Macdonald, D.W., Craniological differentiation amongst wild-living cats in Britain and southern Africa: natural variation or the effects of hybridisation? (2004) Animal Conservation, 7, pp. 339-351; Zar, J.H., (1984) Biostatistical Analysis. 2nd ed., , Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs

PY - 2007/9/1

Y1 - 2007/9/1

N2 - There are several factors that threaten wildcat (Felis silvestris) populations in Europe, including habitat destruction, direct persecution and genetic introgression from domestic cats. However, in contrast to other predatory species, lack of prey availability has not been evaluated as a risk factor for wildcats. In this study, we analyse the relationship between the abundance of wildcats and the abundance of their preferred prey, the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and the abundance of two large ungulates, the wild boar (Sus scrofa) and red deer (Cervus elaphus). The study was conducted in a typical Mediterranean ecosystem, the Monfragüe Natural Park (central Spain). We surveyed 30 (2 × 2 km) sites along a 2 km linear transect within each site, looking for signs indicating the presence of each species. Using this indirect method, we calculated an abundance index for each species based on their frequencies of occurrence. The results showed that the abundances of wild rabbits and ungulates were negatively associated. Moreover, wildcat abundance was positively related to rabbit abundance, but negatively related to ungulate abundances. Thus, the high population densities that ungulates reach in some natural areas, promoted in many cases by the hunting management strategies, appear to jeopardise wildcat populations by reducing rabbit availability. Therefore, as a new key action for the conservation of European wildcat we advocate the change of hunting management strategies in order to control ungulate populations, and therefore facilitate the recovery of wild rabbit populations.

AB - There are several factors that threaten wildcat (Felis silvestris) populations in Europe, including habitat destruction, direct persecution and genetic introgression from domestic cats. However, in contrast to other predatory species, lack of prey availability has not been evaluated as a risk factor for wildcats. In this study, we analyse the relationship between the abundance of wildcats and the abundance of their preferred prey, the wild rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and the abundance of two large ungulates, the wild boar (Sus scrofa) and red deer (Cervus elaphus). The study was conducted in a typical Mediterranean ecosystem, the Monfragüe Natural Park (central Spain). We surveyed 30 (2 × 2 km) sites along a 2 km linear transect within each site, looking for signs indicating the presence of each species. Using this indirect method, we calculated an abundance index for each species based on their frequencies of occurrence. The results showed that the abundances of wild rabbits and ungulates were negatively associated. Moreover, wildcat abundance was positively related to rabbit abundance, but negatively related to ungulate abundances. Thus, the high population densities that ungulates reach in some natural areas, promoted in many cases by the hunting management strategies, appear to jeopardise wildcat populations by reducing rabbit availability. Therefore, as a new key action for the conservation of European wildcat we advocate the change of hunting management strategies in order to control ungulate populations, and therefore facilitate the recovery of wild rabbit populations.

KW - Apparent amensalism

KW - Competition

KW - Game management

KW - Indirect interactions

KW - Rabbit

KW - Ungulates

KW - abundance index

KW - domestic species

KW - felid

KW - habitat fragmentation

KW - habitat loss

KW - hunting

KW - introgression

KW - population density

KW - predation

KW - prey availability

KW - protected area

KW - risk factor

KW - rodent

KW - species occurrence

KW - ungulate

KW - wild population

KW - wildlife management

KW - Caceres [Extremadura]

KW - Eurasia

KW - Europe

KW - Extremadura

KW - Monfrague National Park

KW - Southern Europe

KW - Spain

KW - Cervus elaphus

KW - Felis catus

KW - Felis silvestris

KW - Oryctolagus cuniculus

KW - Suidae

KW - Sus scrofa

KW - Ungulata

KW - Biology

KW - Sustainability Science

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=34547556590&partnerID=8YFLogxK

UR - https://www.mendeley.com/catalogue/124f1fca-b77b-3c8a-81c9-75b505ec9c06/

U2 - 10.1016/j.biocon.2007.04.027

DO - 10.1016/j.biocon.2007.04.027

M3 - Journal articles

VL - 138

SP - 321

EP - 329

JO - Biological Conservation

JF - Biological Conservation

SN - 0006-3207

IS - 3-4

ER -