Migli Despina, Astaras Christos, Boutsis George, Diakou Anastasia, Karantanis Nikolaos-Evangelos, Youlatos Dionisios
School of Biology, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece.
Forest Research Institute, Hellenic Agricultural Organization "DEMETER", 57006 Vasilika, Greece.
Animals (Basel). 2021 Oct 21;11(11):3030. doi: 10.3390/ani11113030.
The Balkan populations of the European wildcat are among the least studied. This study reports the first findings on the spatial ecology and activity pattern of the wildcat in Greece and compares them to those of better studied northern populations. We fitted five wildcats (two males, three females) with collars containing GPS and accelerometer loggers (E-obs 1A) and collected data from fall to early summer. All animals moved within a mosaic of lowland agricultural fields, woodland patches, riparian forests and wetlands near the banks of a lake. The trapping rate was the highest reported for the species. The home range sizes, estimated using Brownian bridge movement models, ranged from 0.94 to 3.08 km for females and from 1.22 to 4.43 km for males. Based on overall dynamic body acceleration (ODBA) values estimated from the accelerometer data, the diel activity of male wildcats followed the species' typical nocturnal pattern with crepuscular peaks. Female activity varied seasonally, at times being cathemeral. We found only weak effects of environmental variables on wildcat activity, and no significant difference in the activity in open versus forested areas. Our findings suggest that human modified landscapes can play a significant role in the conservation of this typically forest-associated species.
欧洲野猫在巴尔干半岛的种群是研究最少的种群之一。本研究报告了希腊野猫空间生态学和活动模式的首批研究结果，并将其与研究更充分的北方种群的结果进行比较。我们给五只野猫（两只雄性，三只雌性）佩戴了装有全球定位系统（GPS）和加速度计记录仪（E-obs 1A）的项圈，并从秋季到初夏收集数据。所有动物都在一片由低地农田、林地斑块、河岸森林和湖边湿地组成的镶嵌区域内活动。该物种的诱捕率是有记录以来最高的。使用布朗桥运动模型估计，雌性野猫的家域面积在0.94至3.08平方公里之间，雄性在1.22至4.43平方公里之间。根据加速度计数据估算的总体动态身体加速度（ODBA）值，雄性野猫的昼夜活动遵循该物种典型的夜间模式，有晨昏活动高峰。雌性的活动随季节变化，有时是全天活动。我们发现环境变量对野猫活动的影响微弱，且在开阔区域和森林区域的活动没有显著差异。我们的研究结果表明，人类改造的景观在保护这种通常与森林相关的物种方面可以发挥重要作用。
