An account of badger diet in an arid steppe region of Mongolia

Murdoch, James D.; Buyandelger, Suuri

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2010.04.009

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 9 publications

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“…Only in England, badger mainly preys on earthworms [11]. While in most of other localities, insects, mammals and fruits are the main food categories in the badger diet [14,[23][24][25]. The geographical distribution of badger prey may be partly explained by differences in the availability of food resources [35].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In arid areas at low latitude, insects and reptiles are more abundant whereas earthworms are richer in humid areas at high latitudes. Thus, earthworms were eaten by badgers more frequently in humid and high latitude areas [14,21,26] whereas insects and reptiles were predated on in arid areas at low atitudes [25,28,29]. Other carnivore species also display lanalogic flexibility and the characteristic of switching of main food items across their spatial distribution.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For instance, fruits (mainly olives, pears and figs) are principal food for badgers in the cork oak woodland in Portugal [27]. Badger mainly consumes insects in arid area of Mongolia [25]. Lagomorphs, insects and fruit are main food items in Doñana National Park in Spain [28].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Localities across Eurasia from which data was obtained from publications [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]. We used the relative frequency of occurrence to access the diet of badgers.…”

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

“…Here, we take the badgers across the Eurasia as a single species. The feeding ecology of badger has been the subject of numerous studies at many localities throuth out its distribution range, such as in England [11], Italy [12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], Hungary [21], Ireland [22], Poland [23], Japan [24], Mongolia [25], Scotland [26], Spain [27][28][29] and Swiss [30]. Some researchers argued that badger is an earthworm specialist predator [26,31]; while other studies indicated that the badger is a generalist predator that uses resources according to its availability [19,27,29].…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biogeographical patterns of the diet of Palearctic badger: Is badger an earthworm specialist predator?

Luo

et al. 2013

Chin. Sci. Bull.

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Badgers were hypothesized as an earthworm specialist predator. We reviewed spatial patterns and food habits of the Eurasian badger (Meles spp.) in relation to geographical variables like latitude, elevation, aspects, and environmental variables, such as temperature, snow cover depth, precipitation, primary productivity, and human influence. The relative frequencies of occurrence of food items in the diets of badgers in 19 studies across 22 localities worldwide were included in the analysis plus the data from our study on the badger diet on the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to extract the main components of dietary composition. Multiple regression analysis was applied to reveal the relationship between trophic diversity and the main PCA factors and biogeographical variables. We found a clear latitudinal gradient in the dietary composition of badgers, which was characterized by a greater consumption of insects and reptile in southern area and a higher intake of earthworm in northern regions. Nevertheless, badgers are not an earthworm specialist predator. Furthermore, trophic diversity of badger diets was significantly positively correlated with latitude and human activity. Abundance and availability of foods appear to determine badger foraging tactics. Badgers are adept in exploiting local resources and our results confirm that badgers are generalist predators with opportunistic foraging behavior across their entire distribution range. . Wildcats eat more rabbits in lower latitude but more rodents in higher latitude [2]. Pine martens (Martes martes) consume more mammals and birds in northern regions but more vegetable matter in southern regions [3]. Red fox preys on more lagomorphs and invertebrates in southern areas but eats more small mammals and fruits in northern areas. Additionally, red fox eats more lagomorphs in lower elevation but more small mammals in higher elevation [4]. Environmental variables also play important roles in the feeding ecology of animals. For example, temperature has an obvious effect on food diversity for martens [3] and precipitation affects the prey abundance of little brown bat (Myotis lucifugus) [5]. For brown bears (Ursus arctos), their consumption of vertebrates increases as the duration of snow cover and snow depth increases, and as temperature, precipitation and primary productivity increase, their consumption of invertebrates increases accordingly [6]. Studies on the relationships between feeding habits and biogeographical variables for endangered carnivore species provide useful information on how to better protect these animals, which also help us understand the carnivore ecology and their life history strategies [7].

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Figurementioning

confidence: 99%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

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Biogeographical patterns of the diet of Palearctic badger: Is badger an earthworm specialist predator?

Luo

et al. 2013

Chin. Sci. Bull.

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Use of dental restorative temporization material for attaching radiotransmitters to hedgehogs

Reading¹,

Kenny²,

Murdoch

et al. 2016

Wildl. Soc. Bull.

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Use of glues and acrylics to attach radiotransmitters to small mammals may pose a threat to the animals and researchers by generating heat and adhering to skin. We tested the feasibility of attaching radiotransmitters on 2 hedgehog species (Daurian [Mesechinus dauuricus] and long-eared [Hemiechinus auritus]) in Mongolia using a restorative dental composite material (Protemp TM 3 Garant TM Temporization Material). The composite is less toxic than glues and acrylics typically used to attach transmitters to hedgehogs, generates almost no heat during catalyzation, and does not bind to skin. Human dentistry uses this material for temporary restoration of crowns and bridges. We applied 73 transmitters to 34 Daurian and 26 long-eared hedgehogs using this material from 2005 to 2014 without signs of adverse effects. This safe, easy to use, and relatively inexpensive composite did not degrade despite being deployed for several months to >4 years in highly variable environmental conditions. Hedgehogs periodically shed their quills and we discovered some transmitters in sheds from study animals. We believe this dental acrylic provides a safer and effective alternative to common epoxies for attaching transmitters to hedgehogs. Ó 2016 The Wildlife Society.

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Temporal overlap among small- and medium-sized mammals in a grassland and a forest–alpine meadow of Central Asia

et al. 2021

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An account of badger diet in an arid steppe region of Mongolia

Cited by 12 publications

References 9 publications

Biogeographical patterns of the diet of Palearctic badger: Is badger an earthworm specialist predator?

Biogeographical patterns of the diet of Palearctic badger: Is badger an earthworm specialist predator?

Use of dental restorative temporization material for attaching radiotransmitters to hedgehogs

Temporal overlap among small- and medium-sized mammals in a grassland and a forest–alpine meadow of Central Asia

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