Judge Johanna, Wilson Gavin J, Macarthur Roy, Delahay Richard J, McDonald Robbie A
National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Woodchester Park, Stonehouse GL10 3UJ, UK.
Food and Environment Research Agency, Sand Hutton, York YO41 1LZ, UK.
Sci Rep. 2014 Jan 23;4:3809. doi: 10.1038/srep03809.
In the United Kingdom, European badgers Meles meles are a protected species and an important wildlife reservoir of bovine tuberculosis. We conducted a survey of badger dens (main setts) in 1614 1 km squares across England and Wales, between November 2011 and March 2013. Using main setts as a proxy for badger social groups, the estimated mean density of badger social groups in England and Wales was 0.485 km(-2) (95% confidence interval 0.449-0.521) and the estimated abundance of social groups was 71,600 (66,400-76,900). In the 25 years since the first survey in 1985-88, the annual rate of increase in the estimated number of badger social groups was 2.6% (2.2-2.9%), equating to an 88% (70-105%) increase across England and Wales. In England, we estimate there has been an increase of 103% (83-123%) in badger social groups, while in Wales there has been little change (-25 to +49%).
在英国，欧洲獾（Meles meles）是受保护物种，也是牛结核病的重要野生动物宿主。2011年11月至2013年3月期间，我们对英格兰和威尔士1614个1平方千米方格内的獾穴（主要洞穴）进行了调查。以主要洞穴作为獾社会群体的代表，英格兰和威尔士獾社会群体的估计平均密度为0.485平方千米-2（95%置信区间0.449 - 0.521），社会群体的估计数量为71,600（66,400 - 76,900）。自1985 - 1988年首次调查以来的25年里，獾社会群体估计数量的年增长率为2.6%（2.2 - 2.9%），相当于英格兰和威尔士的数量增长了88%（70 - 105%）。在英格兰，我们估计獾社会群体数量增长了103%（83 - 123%），而在威尔士变化不大（-25%至+49%）。
