Department of Biology, University of Turku, Yliopistonmäki, Vesilinnantie 5, Turku, FI-20014, Finland.
Natural Resources Institute Finland, Helsinki, FI-00790, Finland.
Sci Rep. 2024 Oct 31;14(1):26190. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-77777-w.
Monitoring both native and invasive species is crucial for understanding their ecological impacts. However, obtaining reliable data can be challenging, especially for elusive species like mesopredators. This study utilized snow-track surveys in Finland (1989-2022) to examine population trends of the invasive raccoon dog and the native red fox. While raccoon dogs are known to reduce activity during cold weather, we demonstrated that accounting for temperature and snowfall allows for effective population trend estimation using snow-track data. Track accumulation decreased in cold and snowy weather more clearly for raccoon dogs than for red foxes. We also found that the track accumulation of the raccoon dog had significantly increased, while those of the red fox population had declined, particularly in southern parts of the country. Notably, raccoon dog snow-track numbers increased in northern regions, suggesting a potential for further range expansion under a warming climate. These findings reveal a concerning shift in Finland's mesopredators abundance due to the invasive species' success and the decline of the native species. Thus, the invasive raccoon dog is likely to have an increasing role in those northern ecosystems where it interacts with the native fauna.
监测本地物种和入侵物种对于了解它们的生态影响至关重要。然而，获得可靠的数据可能具有挑战性，特别是对于像中型捕食者这样难以捉摸的物种。本研究利用芬兰的雪迹调查（1989-2022 年）来研究入侵的浣熊犬和本地的红狐的种群趋势。虽然众所周知，浣熊犬在寒冷的天气中会减少活动，但我们证明，考虑到温度和降雪量，可以使用雪迹数据有效地估计种群趋势。在寒冷和多雪的天气中，浣熊犬的雪迹积累明显减少，而红狐的雪迹积累则减少得更为明显。我们还发现，浣熊犬的雪迹积累显著增加，而红狐的种群数量则下降，尤其是在该国的南部地区。值得注意的是，浣熊犬在北部地区的雪迹数量有所增加，这表明在气候变暖的情况下，它们的分布范围可能会进一步扩大。这些发现揭示了由于入侵物种的成功和本地物种的减少，芬兰中型捕食者数量的令人担忧的变化。因此，在与本地动物群相互作用的那些北部生态系统中，入侵的浣熊犬可能会发挥越来越大的作用。
