Sandro Lovari

A review of wolf predation in southern Europe : does the wolf prefer wild prey to livestock ?

The recent recovery of the wolf in southern Europe has not yet removed the risk of local extinction. Wolf populations are fragmented and often comprise fewer than 500 individuals. In North America, northern and eastern Europe, wolves feed mainly on wild herbivores. In southern Europe, this canid has apparently adapted to feed also on fruit, rubbish, livestock, small and medium-size mammals. The main conservation problem lies with predation on domestic ungulates, which leads to extensive killing of wolves. The reintroduction of wild large herbivores has been advocated as a means of reducing attacks on livestock, but predation on the latter may remain high if domestic ungulates are locally abundant. Our synthesis of 15 studies, published in the last 15 years, on food habits of the wolf in southern Europe, has shown that ungulates have been the main diet component overall. A significant inverse correlation was found between the occurrence (%) of wild and domestic ungulates in the diet. The presence of relatively few wild ungulate species was necessary to reduce predation on livestock. Selection of wild and domestic ungulate prey was influenced mainly by their local abundance, but also by their accessibility. Feeding dependence on rubbish was local and rare. In Italy, the consumption of rubbish/fruit and that of ungulates was significantly negatively correlated. Diet breadth increased as the presence of large prey in the diet decreased. The simultaneous reintroduction of several wild ungulate species is likely to reduce predation on livestock and may prove to be one of the most effective conservation measures.

The Biology and Management of Mountain Ungulates.

Part I: Evolution and systematics. Part II: Ecology and behaviour. Plates. Part III: Management and conservation. Part IV: Management of health and disease.

Habitat richness affects home range size in the red fox Vulpes vulpes

The spatial behaviour of the red fox Vulpes vulpes shows a great flexibility (Voigt and Macdonald, 1984). Home range size varies from 10 to over 5000 ha (Macdonald, 1987; Voigt, 1987). In carnivores, variations in home range size, weighed for body mass (Gittleman and Harvey, 1982), are largely related to differences in habitat productivity, but the intraspecific local variation in home range size can be only partially explained by differences in productivity. Macdonald (1981, 1983) suggested that home range size and configuration were determined in the red fox by the dispersion of food-rich patches. More recently, it has been found that In this paper, evidence for a strong influence of habitat richness on home range size of the red fox is reported.

Systematics, phylogenetic relationships, and dispersal of the chamois (Rupicapra spp.)

Abstract The Rupicaprini originated during the Miocene in Asia and dispersed during the late Miocene-early Pliocene, the Villafranchian, and the middle Pleistocene. Rupicapra and Oreamnos spread respectively to Europe and to North America in the middle Pleistocene. The Villafranchian Procamptoceras may be considered to be the closest known form to Rupicapras ancestor. Rupicapra evolved during the middle and late Pleistocene in west Eurasia. At the beginning of the Wurm glaciation the two closely related species R. pyrenaica and R. rupicapra were in existence. The former was already geographically split into Spanish-Pyrenean and central-southern Apennines groups, while the latter species ranged from the Caucasus to the Alpine Arch. R. pyrenaica shows more conservative features and possibly differentiated directly in western Europe from older representatives of the genus that migrated to western Europe in the middle Pleistocene. The cold-adapted Alpine chamois may have differentiated in eastern Europe and then migrated west-ward because of the advent of dry climates in the east Mediterranean and Pontic regions. The Alpine chamois failed to spread to the warmer southernmost regions of Europe that became a refugium area for R. pyrenaica. This dispersal hypothesis explains the morphologic, biometric, electrophoretic, and behavioral differences among modern chamois populations.

Non-invasive genotyping of the endangered Apennine brown bear: a case study not to let one's hair down

Individual identification was assessed for 30 brown bears (Ursus arctos) from the endangered Apennine population in central Italy, mostly through non-invasive sampling. Shed hairs were used as a source of DNA to obtain single genotype profiling at 12 microsatellite loci. Average expected heterozygosity (0.438) and mean number of alleles per locus (2.2) showed that the level of genetic diversity was one of the lowest recorded for brown bear populations across their European and North American ranges. A large portion of the original genetic variation may have been lost through random genetic drift during the recent period of isolation. The level of genetic variability proved sufficient to identify the bears individually by using nine microsatellite loci. The probability that two animals shared by chance the same multilocus genotype was estimated to be 1 in 100. Despite the recent history of small population size, the average relatedness indicated that the majority of individuals are not first-order relatives. Simulated paternity tests showed that a 12-loci genotype may be necessary to assign paternity with an 80–95% confidence level. Lack of genetic diversity, as well as the maintenance of an adequately effective number, may seriously jeopardise the long-term survival of this population. Furthermore, high mortality rates, poaching and encroachment by human activities represent immediate, urgent concerns. A population increase through enforced protection and habitat restoration is recommended. Presently, restocking with bears from other source populations should be discouraged to avoid genetic extinction. Non-invasive sampling provided reliable population and individual genetic data. Microsatellite genotyping proved a valuable genetic tagging method and a feasible alternative to conventional field counts for the brown bear in central Italy.

The rediscovery of the Italian roe deer: Genetic differentiation and management implications

Abstract Genetic diversity and differentiation were assessed in 12 populations of roe deer, Capreolus capreolus, from Italy, through examination of restriction fragment length polymorphism of two segments in the mitochondrial genome, the D‐loop and NADH dehydrogenase 1, and analysis of 13 microsatellite loci. Both methods yielded concordant results and provided evidence for the existence of two genetically distinct lineages of roe deer in the Italian peninsula. One lineage occurs in populations of the Alpine arc, whilst the other is found in those of central‐southern Italy, where the existence of subspecies C. c. italicus had been previously proposed. This southern lineage could have a more ancient origin or, alternatively, diverged as a consequence of movements of populations southwards during the Late Pleistocene. The unexpected rediscovery of dense populations of C. c. italicus in southern Tuscany marks them as the most suitable source of roe deer for reintroductions into southern Italy, a very large area where presently the Italian roe deer is nearly extinct. A Bayesian approach to microsatellite data allowed a finer resolution of population structure, indicating that some populations in central Italy, as well as in the western Alps, are admixed, and share ancestry partly in non Italian gene pools, suggesting that human manipulation has greatly affected the natural genetic structure of populations. A palaeontological perspective of the former presence of roe deer in Italy and implications for the management and conservation of C. c. italicus are provided.

Hormones, parasites and male mating tactics in Alpine chamois: identifying the mechanisms of life history trade-offs

Alternative mating tactics (AMTs) may show different trade-offs between current reproduction and survival; however, the proximate mechanisms underlying this pattern remain unclear. Among them, the relationship between reproductive effort and parasite resistance mediated by hormonal secretion has received increasing attention. We monitored 19 marked adult male chamois, Rupicapra rupicapra, within the Gran Paradiso National Park (Italy) between the pre- and postrut 2011, to investigate the trade-off between mating effort and parasites associated with AMTs, and the underlying physiological mechanism. Territorial males sharply increased mating effort, faecal androgen and cortisol metabolites, and parasite levels during the rut, whereas nonterritorial ones displayed a similar pattern only for androgen metabolite levels. During the rut, territorial males invested more in rutting activities, while having higher levels of hormone metabolites and greater faecal counts of parasites than nonterritorial males. Before and after the rut, differences between male types (territorial and nonterritorial males) were smaller. Our analysis suggests that a trade-off between mating effort and parasitism exists, and that the proximate mechanism underlying this pattern may be found in the secretion of androgen metabolites. The greater investment in rutting activities, which territorial males make, suggests potentially high mating benefits. However, mating benefits could be counterbalanced by greater risk of injuries, consumption of fat reserves and higher hormone levels, which might favour the suppression of immunological defence and the subsequent decrease in parasite resistance.

The effects of food or cover removal on spacing patterns and habitat use in roe deer (Capreolus capreolus)

The knowledge of the ability of a species to adapt to a human-altered environment is important for developing wildlife management plans and, in turn, for conservation of the species. Radio-tracking was used to examine the effects of partial food or cover removal (owing to agricultural changes) on the spacing patterns and habitat use of adult roe deer Capreolus capreolus in a mixed wood/agricultural Mediterranean area, during spring–summer 1996–97. For both sexes, there were no changes in home-range and core-area sizes, or in inter-fix distances, after food (field ploughing) or cover (crop harvesting) removal. After food removal, both sexes shifted their home ranges and core areas, spending more time in woodland and less time in the ploughed fields. This suggests a change in feeding habits. In addition, similar responses by males and females indicate that their energetic requirements are comparable during the territorial/reproductive period. After removal of cover, males neither shifted their home ranges and core areas nor changed their habitat use, whereas females responded with significant shifts (by c. 90%) of the core area, and a significant decrease in the proportion of daytime spent in the harvested fields. Thus, crop harvesting in this period (May–June) has different effects on the two sexes, with adult females being much less tolerant than males. Differential responses to cover removal were related to the different security requirements of the two sexes around the period of parturition.

Intolerance amongst deer species at feeding : Roe deer are uneasy banqueters

The function of inter-specific interactions in large herbivore assemblies is under debate. We have studied inter-specific interactions between roe and fallow deer on pastures, to assess whether competition between these Cervidae occurs through behavioural interference. Roe were displaced by fallow deer (i.e. the former moved away from the latter at a distance of >50 m) in 83% of cases (N=127). Ninety-four percentage (N=83) of displacement events occurred while roe deer were feeding; in 50% of these cases (N=78), roe stopped grazing and left the feeding ground. Even when fallow deer did not show any sign of direct aggression to roe, these moved away from fallow in 72% of cases (N=127). Vigilance rate was significantly greater in roe than in fallow deer, irrespectively of the presence of the other species. When roe and fallow deer grazed within 50 m from each other, vigilance rate increased significantly in roe, but not in fallow deer. Roe deer, in a group, were significantly more tolerant of the presence of fallow deer (even in group), than when solitary. Fallow deer seemed to be able to exclude roe deer from feeding sites through behavioural intolerance.

Space use, habitat selection and browsing effects of red deer in Sardinia

Sound ecological data are important for the conservation of the endangered Sardinian red deer, but mainly anecdotal information is available. Deer density in Mt. Arcosu WWF Reserve was 25–26 deer/100 ha. We radiotracked 8 hinds and 2 stags. Mean annual home range size was 36.5 ha (hinds) and 65.9 ha (stags). On the rut, adult females increased their home ranges by 25% and subadult females by 80%. At birthing, female home ranges reached a minimum. Small home ranges of our deer were probably related to the mild climate and dense evergreen vegetation, providing food and cover. Hinds always moved more than stags. Site fidelity was shown to areas rich in food and cover, except on the rut. In days with tourists, mean home range size significantly increased and deer selected wooded areas, whereas they preferred open terrain in days without tourists. A stronger response to disturbance occurred during the rut and in winter, when deer were less habituated to tourists. Maximum habitat selection occurred in spring and summer, when open areas were rarely used. A lethal impact on uncommon species, because of overbrowsing, was observed on 1.3% of plants. The overall impact on vegetation was negligible, despite the great deer density.