László Szabó

Expansion range of the golden jackal in Hungary between 1997 and 2006.

Abstract The golden jackal (Canis aureus), an indigenous predator of Hungary, is listed in the Hungarian Red Data Book as an extinct species because it had disappeared from the country by the beginning of the 20th century. In the 1990s a repatriation process was started in the southern part of Hungary. To monitor the presence of jackals and/or population changes countrywide, a questionnaire survey was mailed to Hungarian game management units (GMUs) between 1997 and 2006. Proof specimens, field observations and hunting bag data were also analysed. During the study period approximately 100 proof specimens were identified. According to official hunting bag data, the number of bags reported has continuously increased for 10 years, with 11 jackals shot in 1997 and a total of 163 specimens shot up to 2006 (linear regression, R2=0.949, p<0.0001), which is in parallel with the four animals reported by GMUs in 1997 and the total of 67 up to 2006 (linear regression, R2=0.983, p<0.0001). Detection of animals and their signs proves the continuous presence and the existence of stable populations of the species. Independent data collection and analysis confirmed that golden jackals have settled in Hungary. The rate of expansion and population growth are typical of invasive species.

Data on the parasitological status of golden jackal (Canis aureus L., 1758) in Hungary

In Hungary, twenty Canis aureus individuals were submitted to parasitological examinations in 2010-2012. Two Coccidia: Cystoisospora canis (15%) and Toxoplasma-type oocysts (5%), one Trematoda: Alaria alata (10%), six Cestoda: Mesocestoides lineatus (20%), Echinococcus granulosus (10%), Dipylidium caninums (5%), Taenia hydatigena (15%), Taenia pisiformis (20%), Taenia crassiceps (40%), and nine Nematoda: Angiostrongylus vasorum (10%), Crenosoma vulpis (30%), Capillaria aerophila (5%), Toxocara canis (20%), Toxascaris leonina (15%), Trichuris vulpis (10%), Ancylostoma caninum (45%), Uncinaria stenocephala (40%), Capillaria plica (45%) have been identified. Angiostronglyus vasorum has been reported from carnivores in Europe, Africa, South America and North America. The helminth A. vasorum or French heartworm is a metastrongylid nematode, widely distributed in Western Europe, that infects the pulmonary arterial tree of dogs, various species of foxes, wolves, Eurasian badgers, coyotes and stoats. To our knowledge, this is the first report of natural A. vasorum infection in golden jackal.

A European concern? genetic structure and expansion of golden jackals (canis aureus) in Europe and the caucasus

In the first continent-wide study of the golden jackal (Canis aureus), we characterised its population genetic structure and attempted to identify the origin of European populations. This provided a unique insight into genetic characteristics of a native carnivore population with rapid large-scale expansion. We analysed 15 microsatellite markers and a 406 base-pair fragment of the mitochondrial control region. Bayesian-based and principal components methods were applied to evaluate whether the geographical grouping of samples corresponded with genetic groups. Our analysis revealed low levels of genetic diversity, reflecting the unique history of the golden jackal among Europe’s native carnivores. The results suggest ongoing gene flow between south-eastern Europe and the Caucasus, with both contributing to the Baltic population, which appeared only recently. The population from the Peloponnese Peninsula in southern Greece forms a common genetic cluster with samples from south-eastern Europe (ΔK approach in STRUCTURE, Principal Components Analysis [PCA]), although the results based on BAPS and the estimated likelihood in STRUCTURE indicate that Peloponnesian jackals may represent a distinct population. Moreover, analyses of population structure also suggest either genetic distinctiveness of the island population from Samos near the coast of Asia Minor (BAPS, most STRUCTURE, PCA), or possibly its connection with the Caucasus population (one analysis in STRUCTURE). We speculate from our results that ancient Mediterranean jackal populations have persisted to the present day, and have merged with jackals colonising from Asia. These data also suggest that new populations of the golden jackal may be founded by long-distance dispersal, and thus should not be treated as an invasive alien species, i.e. an organism that is “non-native to an ecosystem, and which may cause economic or environmental harm or adversely affect human health”. These insights into the genetic structure and ancestry of Baltic jackals have important implications for management and conservation of jackals in Europe. The golden jackal is listed as an Annex V species in the EU Habitats Directive and as such, considering also the results presented here, should be legally protected in all EU member states.

Niche Segregation between Two Medium-Sized Carnivores in a Hilly Area of Hungary

The Eurasian badger (Meles meles) and the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) are the two most widespread medium-sized carnivores in Hungary. We hypothesise that niche segregation between these species may be observed in the selection of burrow sites. Burrowsite selection was investigated by evaluating habitat preferences for three habitat categories (forest covered, open and mixed). Differences between overall habitat selection by the two species within the study areas were not significant, but the area ratios of habitat categories within the immediate surroundings (400 m) of burrows were significantly different. Around the red fox burrows, the ratios of mixed habitats and small-mammal hole densities were significantly higher (p < 0.001 and p = 0.007, respectively) than around those of the Eurasian badger. This led us to conclude that the red fox, due to its diet, may select sites rich in small mammals, which is manifested in the preference and use of mixed habitats.

5000 years of dietary variations of prehistoric farmers in the Great Hungarian Plain

The development of farming was a catalyst for the evolution of the human diet from the varied subsistence practices of hunter-gatherers to the more globalised food economy we depend upon today. Although there has been considerable research into the dietary changes associated with the initial spread of farming, less attention has been given to how dietary choices continued to develop during subsequent millennia. A paleogenomic time transect for 5 millennia of human occupation in the Great Hungarian Plain spanning from the advent of the Neolithic to the Iron Age, showed major genomic turnovers. Here we assess where these genetic turnovers are associated with corresponding dietary shifts, by examining the carbon and nitrogen stable isotope ratios of 52 individuals. Results provide evidence that early Neolithic individuals, which were genetically characterised as Mesolithic hunter-gatherers, relied on wild resources to a greater extent than those whose genomic attributes were of typical Neolithic European farmers. Other Neolithic individuals and those from the Copper Age to Bronze Age periods relied mostly on terrestrial C3 plant resources. We also report a carbon isotopic ratio typical of C4 plants, which may indicate millet consumption in the Late Bronze Age, despite suggestions of the crop’s earlier arrival in Europe during the Neolithic.

Diet composition of the golden jackal and the sympatric red fox in an agricultural area (Hungary)

Abstract. In order to better understand the ecology of the golden jackal (Canis aureus) and interspecific relationships among carnivores, we studied its dietary pattern and the diet of its main competitor, the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) over a three-year period. The study was carried out in an agricultural area in SW Hungary and was based on scat analysis (jackal n = 373, fox n = 268 samples). The jackal primarily consumed small mammals in all seasons (mean biomass consumed: 72 %). The secondary food sources were wild ungulates (in winter and spring; mainly wild boar Sus scrofa, including piglets) and plants (in summer and autumn; mainly wild fruits). The consumption of cervids in winter and in spring was only detected in low proportions. The fox also primarily consumed small mammals (50.3 % of trophic niche breadth, B), but their consumption dropped in summer and autumn. Two-thirds of the summer and autumn diet consisted of plants, while the bird consumption was higher in spring and summer. The diet compositions of both predators were similar. However, compared with jackal, the fox consumed significantly higher proportions of birds. The standardized trophic niche breadth (BA) of these canids was very narrow (0.09), and the food overlapped in high proportions (69.8 %). The study confirmed the partial partitioning of food resources and opportunistic feeding of both canids.