The world's domestic cats carry patterns of sequence variation in their genome that reflect a history of domestication and breed development. A genetic assessment of 979 domestic cats and their wild progenitors-Felis silvestris silvestris (European wildcat), F. s. lybica (Near Eastern wildcat), F. s. ornata (central Asian wildcat), F. s. cafra (southern African wildcat), and F. s. bieti (Chinese desert cat)-indicated that each wild group represents a distinctive subspecies of Felis silvestris. Further analysis revealed that cats were domesticated in the Near East, probably coincident with agricultural village development in the Fertile Crescent. Domestic cats derive from at least five founders from across this region, whose descendants were transported across the world by human assistance.

We developed a conceptual framework for classifying habitat quality that requires the construction of separate habitat models for each key demographic feature; the framework can be applied when the factors that determine different demographic processes differ substantially. For example, survival of large carnivores is mainly determined by human‐induced mortality, whereas nutritional condition determines reproductive rate. Hence, a two‐dimensional habitat model built for reproduction and survival yields five hypothetical habitat categories: matrix, with no reproduction and/or very high mortality; sink, with low reproduction and high mortality; refuge, with low reproduction and low mortality; attractive sink, with high reproduction and high mortality; and source, with high reproduction and low mortality. We applied this framework to two endangered brown bear (   Ursus arctos ) populations in the Cantabrian Mountains, Spain. Our aim was to generate working hypotheses about the quality and spatial arrangement of bear habitat to analyze the present conditions of the different population nuclei and to facilitate identification of core areas of high conservation value, conflictive areas, or areas with unoccupied potential habitat. We used a geographic information system and two spatial long‐term data sets on presence and reproduction and performed logistic regressions for building a two‐dimensional model. The analysis reveals that both populations exist under different suboptimal conditions: the eastern population mainly occupies areas of suboptimal natural habitat and relatively low human impact, whereas the western population is located mainly in areas with high human impact but otherwise good natural quality. To test hypotheses about demographic features of the obtained habitat categories, we classified data on historic extinction in northern Spain ( fourteenth to nineteenth centuries ) with the two‐dimensional model. Extinction probabilities within each habitat category confirmed the hypotheses: most extinctions occurred in matrix habitat, and the fewest occurred in source habitat.

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was performed to extract the main gradients of diet composition. Pearson's correlation and T-tests were used to assess the relation between diet characteristics (composition, diversity, taxonomic richness) and geographic and climatic variables. Results:A clear latitudinal gradient in trophic diversity and diet composition is observed. Otter diet is more diverse and features more prey classes in southern localities, while the species is more piscivorous towards the north, where it predates upon a higher number of fish families. This pattern is contrasting when temperate and Mediterranean localities of Europe are compared. Mediterranean otters behave as more generalist predators than temperate ones, relying less on fish, and more on crayfish, aquatic invertebrates and reptiles.Main conclusions: Geographical differences in otters feeding ecology in Europe seem to be related with the two contrasted climatic conditions affecting prey populations. The otter can act as a highly specialised piscivorous predator in temperate freshwater ecosystems, which do not suffer a dry season and are 3 comparatively more stable than Mediterranean ones. However, the unpredictable prey availability in Mediterranean areas, affected by strong spatial and temporal water shortages, would favour a diversification of otter diet. 4

Habitat sinks can attract dispersing animals if high mortality or breeding failure are difficult to detect (e.g., when due to human hunting or pollution). Using a simple deterministic model, we explore the dynamics of such source-sink systems considering three scenarios: an avoided sink, no habitat preference, and an attractive sink. In the second two scenarios, there is a threshold proportion of sink habitat above which the whole population decreases to extinction, but this extinction threshold varies with habitat preference and the relative qualities of the two habitat types. Hence, it would be necessary to know the habitat preferences of any species in a source-sink system to interpret data on population increases and declines. In the attractive sink scenario, small changes in the proportion of sink habitat may have disproportionate effects on the population persistence. Also, small changes in growth rates at the source and the sink severely affect the threshold and the time of extinction. For some combinations of demographic parameters and proportion of habitat sink, the decline affects the source first; thus, during some time, it will be hidden to population monitoring at the sink, where numbers can even increase. The extinction threshold is also very sensitive to the initial population sizes relative to carrying capacity. Attractive sinks represent a novel aspect of source-sink dynamics with important conservation and management implications.

Prey usually adjust anti-predator behavior to subtle variations in perceived risk. However, it is not clear whether adult large carnivores that are virtually free of natural predation adjust their behavior to subtle variations in human-derived risk, even when living in human-dominated landscapes. As a model, we studied resting-site selection by a large carnivore, the brown bear (Ursus arctos), under different spatial and temporal levels of human activity. We quantified horizontal and canopy cover at 440 bear beds and 439 random sites at different distances from human settlements, seasons, and times of the day. We hypothesized that beds would be more concealed than random sites and that beds would be more concealed in relation to human-derived risk. Although human densities in Scandinavia are the lowest within bear ranges in Western Europe, we found an effect of human activity; bears chose beds with higher horizontal and canopy cover during the day (0700-1900 hours), especially when resting closer to human settlements, than at night (2200-0600 hours). In summer/fall (the berry season), with more intensive and dispersed human activity, including hunting, bears rested further from human settlements during the day than in spring (pre-berry season). Additionally, day beds in the summer/fall were the most concealed. Large carnivores often avoid humans at a landscape scale, but total avoidance in human-dominated areas is not possible. Apparently, bears adjust their behavior to avoid human encounters, which resembles the way prey avoid their predators. Bears responded to fine-scale variations in human-derived risk, both on a seasonal and a daily basis.

Previous studies carried out in the DonÄ ana National Park reported that red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) were killed by Iberian lynxes (Lynx pardinus), whereas similar-sized Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) were not. Therefore, we predicted that fox would avoid lynx predation risk by niche segregation whereas we did not expect such a segregation between badger and lynx. As an approach for evaluating our predictions, we compared their diet, activity patterns, and habitat use in an area of DonÄ ana where the three carnivores are sympatric. Lynxes preyed almost uniquely on European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus), and though badgers and foxes were omnivorous, rabbits also were a major prey, resulting in high overlaps throughout the year. However, badgers preyed largely on small rabbits, whereas lynxes and foxes preyed mainly on medium-sized rabbits. There were also interspeci®c di erences in activity patterns. Maximum levels of activity among lynxes were during sunrise and dusk (49±67%). Foxes were most active during dusk and night (34±67%), and badgers were mainly nocturnal (53±87%). Though there were seasonal di erences in the amount of activity of each species, speci®c activity patterns changed little throughout the year. There was a strong di erence in annual habitat use by the three species (P < 0.0001). Lynxes used mainly the Mediterranean scrubland during both the active (P MAX ) and the resting (P MIN ) periods. During P MIN , foxes used the Mediterranean scrubland intensively (40% of locations on average), but during P MAX , they used the pastureland much more intensively despite this habitat being poorer in their main prey (rabbits). As a consequence, foxes and lynxes exhibited segregation in their habitat use during the active period. Badgers also used the Mediterranean scrubland intensively, especially during P MIN . There were no seasonal di erences in habitat use for lynx and fox, but there was for badgers (P < 0.015). Within the study area, the three species selected habitat suggesting they were sensitive to factors such as vegetation and prey abundance. However, in general, carnivore habitat use did not correlate with rabbit abundance. We propose that foxes avoided lynxes by using, during activity, habitats not frequented by lynxes, and that a low predation risk associated with the distinctive foraging mode of badgers may facilitate its coexistence with other carnivores.

The Mediterranean Basin is a global hotspot of biodiversity. Hotspots are said to be experiencing a major loss of habitat, but an added risk could be the decline of some species having a special role in ecological relationships of the system. We reviewed the role of European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) as a keystone species in the Iberian Peninsula portion of the Mediterranean hotspot. Rabbits conspicuously alter plant species composition and vegetation structure through grazing and seed dispersal, which creates open areas and preserves plant species diversity. Moreover, rabbit latrines have a demonstrable effect on soil fertility and plant growth and provide new feeding resources for many invertebrate species. Rabbit burrows provide nest sites and shelter for vertebrates and invertebrates. In addition, rabbits serve as prey for a number of predators, including the critically endangered Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) and Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti). Thus, the Mediterranean ecosystem of the Iberian Peninsula should be termed "the rabbit's ecosystem." To our knowledge, this is the first empirical support for existence of a multifunctional keystone species in a global hotspot of biodiversity. Rabbit populations have declined drastically on the Iberian Peninsula, with potential cascading effects and serious ecological and economic consequences. From this perspective, rabbit recovery is one of the biggest challenges for conservation of the Mediterranean Basin hotspot.

The spatial organization of the endangered Iberian lynx, Lynx pardinus (Temminck, 1827), was studied in Dofiana National Park, south-western Spain, between 1983 and1992. Thirty-six individuals (19 males and 17 females), including 24 adults (13 males and 1 1 females) were radio-tracked, providing 13,950 locations during 17,l I 1 radio-tracking days. Iberian lynxes were essentially solitary (95.9% of simultaneous locations apart) and interactions were restricted to rearing activities by females. Adult associations were uncommon. Seasonal (four months) home ranges were larger for adult resident males (10.3 r+_ 1.9 km2; n = 5 ) than for females (8.7 2 2.4km2; n = 5). Lynxes used a central portion of the home range intensively ('core area', 50% Harmonic Mean) with similar size for males (3.7 2 0.7 km2) and females (3.2 2 0.8 km2), representing, on average, a 37.6 ? 1.5% and 36.6 t 4.5% of male and female home ranges, respectively. lntrasexual home-range overlap was usually low between same-sex neighbourn (15.1 2 6.6% males and 22.1 ? 3.3% for females), but some instances of high overlap (>25%), both among males and females, were recorded, corresponding to spatial interactions between neighbours which usually ended with the displacement of one of the contenders. Core areas were mainly exclusive except during these spatial interactions. Actual fights resulting from these interactions seem more frequent than previously reported for other medium-sized solitary felids, likely promoted by high competition for optimum territories due to saturation of the population. The Iberian lynx spatial organization in Dofiana works as a land tenure system, as described for other solitary felids. Although the mating system tends to monogamy, with male home range overlapping mainly that of one female, individual variations to polygyny were also found.