Marco Apollonio

Correlates of copulatory success in a fallow deer lek

SummaryWe studied the behavior and copulatory success of fallow deer (Cervus dama) males at a lek. We recorded 471 copulations in 3 years. Most males did not copulate. The top three males accounted for between 60 and 90% of copulations each year. Lek attendance time was the major determinant of male copulatory success, but territory location also affected the number of copulations achieved. Copulatory success was correlated with the number of females in a males territory and possibly with dominance status, but not with fighting success or fighting rate. All males that defended lek territories were 5 years of age or older. Copulatory success may improve with age. Body condition appears to be an important determinant of male copulatory success, because only males in superior condition could defend a lek territory for up to 2 weeks. Males do not feed while defending lek territories. Foraging ability during the year probably determines condition at the onset of the rut. Females appear to choose mates at least partially on the basis of location, preferring males located near traditional routes. Females may ultimately select mates in the best body condition.

Ancient vs. recent processes as factors shaping the genetic variation of the European wild boar: are the effects of the last glaciation still detectable?

The European wild boar is an important game species, subjected to local extinctions and translocations in the past, and currently enormously and worryingly expanding in some areas where management is urgently required. Understanding the relative roles of ancient and recent events in shaping the genetic structure of this species is therefore not only an interesting scientific issue, but it represents also the basis for addressing future management strategies. In addition, several pig breeds descend from the European wild boar, but the geographical location of the domestication area(s) and the possible introgression of pig genomes into wild populations are still open questions. Here, we analysed the genetic variation in different wild boar populations in Europe. Ten polymorphic microsatellites were typed in 252 wild boars and the mtDNA control region was sequenced in a subset of 145 individuals. Some samples from different pig breeds were also analysed. Our results, which were obtained considering also 612 published mtDNA sequences, suggest that (i) most populations are similarly differentiated, but the major discontinuity is found along the Alps; (ii) except for the Italian populations, European wild boars show the signature of a postglacial demographic expansion; (iii) Italian populations seem to preserve a high proportion of preglaciation diversity; (iv) the demographic decline which occurred in some areas in the last few centuries did not produce a noticeable reduction of genetic variation; (v) signs of human‐mediated gene flow among populations are weak, although in some regions the effects of translocations are detectable and a low degree of pig introgression can be identified; (vi) the hypothesis of an independent domestication centre in Italy is not supported by our data, which in turn confirm that Central European wild boar might have represented an important source for domestic breeds. We can therefore conclude that recent human activities had a limited effect on the wild boar genetic structure. It follows that areas with high variation and differentiation represent natural reservoirs of genetic diversity to be protected avoiding translocations. In this context controlling some populations by hunting is not expected to affect significantly genetic variation in this species.

A comparative analysis of wolf (Canis lupus) diet in three different Italian ecosystems

Summary To verify food habit flexibility of wolf populations under different ecological conditions, scats collected year round were analysed in three study areas and diet composition of resident packs was compared. The three study areas, representing Alpine (SV), Apennine (PM) and Mediterranean (CV) ecosystems, are rich in wild ungulates, which differ in number of species and relative abundance; livestock is also present. Wild ungulates were the main source of food, accounting for 89.4%–95.1% of the diet. Livestock, instead, scarsely reached 8% of annual mean percent volume in any one area, and only in the Alps did they play a major role in autumn. Other food items constituted less than 5% of annual mean percent volume. Variations in the proportions of use of wild ungulate categories were observed among the study areas, although some patterns of intraspecific selection emerged in each area. Finally, differences both in the relationships between utilisation and availability of preys, and in trophic niche breadth were discussed in relation to environmental features and colonization patterns.

Predation by wolves ( Canis lupus ) on roe deer ( Capreolus capreolus ) in north-eastern Apennine, Italy

Predation by wolves Canis lupus on roe deer Capreolus capreolus was studied by scat analysis in five areas of the Province of Arezzo, north-eastern Tuscany, Italy. In the intensive study area (ISA) roe deer represented 19.1% of mean per cent volume (MPV) while in the other areas its use ranged between 10.9% and 53.4% of MPV A low degree of variation was found in both annual and seasonal use of roe deer, although seasonal differences were more marked in those areas where roe deer use was lower. In ISA, roe deer was negatively selected among species: the Ivlevs electivity index ranged between – 0.41 and – 0.89. Analysing intra-specific selection, in ISA < 1-year-old individuals were preferred by wolves, mainly during the fawns’ first months of life. This trend was confirmed in the other areas, where fawns represented more than 50% of the relative number of roe deer prey. In ISA, the use of roe deer (as MPV) was not correlated with its density or with that of the main prey, wild boar, and in almost all the other areas no relation between use and density of roe deer was founded. However, in the one area where both roe deer density and use were the highest, these two variables seemed to exhibit a comparable trend. The use of roe deer was negatively correlated with the percentage of forest cover among all the study areas.

Predation by wolves (Canis lupus) on wild and domestic ungulates of the western Alps, Italy

Wolf–ungulate interactions were studied in a mountainous region of the western Alps (Italy) from December 1999 to November 2002. Analysis of 848 scats of wolves Canis lupus showed that their most important prey was wild ungulates (87.2%). Cervids were the preferred prey (74.2%) and constituted predominant food items both in winter (84.2%) and summer (54.3%). Wolves preyed most intensively upon young ungulates. Presence of domestic ungulates on high-altitude pastures during summer (May–October) influenced wolf diet (summer 19.0%, winter 0.3%), but, despite the major density of domestic livestock, wolves still preferred wild ungulates. A strong trophic relationship between wolves and red deer Cervus elaphus emerged from the present study. During three winters, 177 ungulate carcasses were recorded. Excluding hunting, the most important cause of death in red deer was predation by wolves (51.5%), followed by disease and starvation (36.4%) and traffic accidents (12.1%). The majority of red deer killed were hinds (58.8%) and calves (29.4%); stag kills represented only 11.8%. For roe deer Capreolus capreolus , starvation and diseases were the lowest factor (11.5%), slightly higher than wolf predation (10.8%), while traffic accidents were the main cause of mortality (77.7%). Chamois Rupicapra rupicapra seemed to be less important than red deer and roe deer in the diet of wolves. The high susceptibility of red deer to wolf predation could be a result of the strong overlap of habitat and altitude use with the wolf, and to their more conspicuous herding.

On the phylogeographic origin of the Corsican red deer (Cervus elaphus corsicanus): evidence from microsatellites and mitochondrial DNA

Summary Five south-European red deer populations from Spain, mainland Italy (Val di Susa and Tarvis), Sardinia and Bulgaria were analysed with regard to microsatellite loci and the mtDNA control region to cast light on the phylogeographic origin of the Corsican red deer which is restricted to Corsica and Sardinia. Whilst according to mtDNA haplotypes Sardinian red deer showed the closest affinity to the Spanish population, microsatellite analyses yielded completely different results in that Sardinia and Spain exhibited the greatest genetic distance whereas Tarvis was the population most closely related to Sardinia. These results are discussed including evidence as to the oldest fossil red deer remains on Sardinia. The latter could play a pivotal role regarding the decision between introduction of red deer on Corsica and Sardinia through humans in Holocene or natural settlement in Upper Pleistocene times.

Red deer (Cervus elaphus) spatial use in the Italian Alps: home range patterns, seasonal migrations, and effects of snow and winter feeding

The spatial behaviour of 20 red deer was analyzed for the first time in the Italian Alps using radio-telemetry, from 1995 to 1997 in the Tarvisio forest, and from 1995 to 1999 in the Susa valley. Two distinct strategies of spatial behaviour were displayed in both study areas, i.e., migratory and stationary. Migratory red deer showed significantly larger annual home ranges, as each year they reached distant summer areas located at higher altitudes. Stationary red deer, instead, remained in the same areas throughout the year, with the exception of summer movement to neighbouring areas at higher altitude. As a consequence of these movements towards and from summer areas, spring and autumn migratory home ranges were significantly larger, while stationary home ranges recorded during spring, summer, and autumn were comparable in size. In winter home range sizes were limited in all monitored deer whenever snow cover reduced their mobility. Migratory red deer movements proved to be markedly affected by snowfall, with their monthly altitudes inversely correlated with snow presence on the ground. Stationary deer vertical movements proved less affected by presence of snow, as they reached lower altitude during summer. During winter, migratory red deer showed a greater use of the Tarvisio supplementary feeding stations, the only study site where this practice was in use. Migratory individuals probably adopted an opportunistic strategy, using the Alpine meadows at higher altitudes during the summer and the feeding stations during the winter, even if the use of feeding stations may be the end result of a poorer knowledge of trophic availability inside the winter areas. During the winter all the monitored deer used the same areas; food supply should be avoided in order not to promote high deer concentration and to reduce the risk of heavy forest browsing.

The systematics of the wild boar (Sus scrofa L.) in Italy

Abstract This work concerns the systematics of Italian wild boars from the viewpoint of morphological, historical and paleontological data. Craniometric measurements from specimens belonging to the historically recognized subspecies were compared with similar data on West Germany populations (Sus scrafa scrofa). Univariate statistical analysis shows a significant difference between the studied populations whereas, adjusting the values with respect to the size effect, the differences tend to disappear. This adjustment virtually eliminates the morphometric distances among the populations. Although differences among the Sardinian and the continental populations seem to be mainly attributable to a size factor, their magnitude and the origin of the population support S. s. meridionalis as a distinct subspecies. S. s. majori does not have these peculiarities and is similar in size to the Iberian wild boar S. s. castilianus, distributed at the end of the European Sus scrofa range; therefore it is probably the la...

Seasonal variations of spatial behaviour in female Alpine ibex (Capra ibex ibex) in relation to climatic conditions and age

The spatial behaviour of female Alpine ibex Capra ibex ibex L. 1758, was analysed in Gran Paradiso National Park (Italy). Data were collected on 14 radiocollared females from September 2000 to August 2002, using radio-tracking and direct observations. Seasonal spatial behaviour was influenced by environmental conditions, in particular climatic factors. In the presence of thick snow cover, females significantly reduced winter home range sizes. Snow cover limited ibex mobility and reduced localization altitudes. Annual home range and winter home range sizes were inversely related to age. Temperature modified the use of space by females during summer. During the hottest summer females moved over larger ranges at higher altitudes. Annual home range sizes (mean 186.2 ha ± 71.7 in 2000 and 182.2 ha ± 70.0 in 2001) and seasonal home range sizes were significantly smaller than those of reintroduced populations, moreover they were smaller that those of males calculated in a close study area in Gran Paradiso National Park.

Secondary sexual characters signal fighting ability and determine social rank in Alpine ibex ( Capra ibex )

Social dominance is a fundamental aspect of male evolutionary ecology in polygynous mammals because it determines access to estrous females. As it is rarely possible to monitor marked individuals of known morphology, little is known about the determinants of male dominance. We studied the social structure of Alpine ibex males in Gran Paradiso National Park, Italy in 2003, 2006, and 2007. Dominance interactions produced a linear social hierarchy. In ibex males, body mass and horn length are key traits in male-male combat, and both increase with age. We explored the links between age, body mass, horn length, and social rank. Ibex males showed much age-independent phenotypic heterogeneity and rapidly growing males reached high rank at a younger age than slow-growing males. Because there is no trade-off between horn growth and longevity, fast-growing males may face weak potential costs of rapid growth and high fitness benefit of achieving high rank. Violent interactions were more likely to occur between males similar in both mass and horn length, independently of age. We suggest that only high-quality individuals can afford a strategy of rapid growth for both secondary sexual characters, and likely reap substantial fitness benefits.