Caught basking in the winter sun: Preliminary data on winter thermoregulation in the Ethiopian hedgehog, Paraechinus aethiopicus, in Qatar

Baker, Mohammad A. Abu; Reeve, Nigel; Mohedano, Ivan; Conkey, April A. T.; Macdonald, David W.; Yamaguchi, Nobuyuki

doi:10.1016/j.jaridenv.2015.10.002

Cited by 13 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 19 publications

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“…The outputs from our models suggest that the monthly population estimate declined over the study period. Survival appeared to be stable throughout the study, potentially a result of a lack of predators of hedgehogs in Qatar [11] and plentiful food resources provided by the rubbish mound and irrigated farms at the site. The rubbish mound was partially cleared in March 2011 (month six of the study), and a further major cleaning operation started in March 2012, potentially resulting in a reduction of resources.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is a clear need for much more fundamental work on all these and other, as yet unstudied, hedgehog species". Sadly, although there has been some work on ecology, behavior, and physiology of non-European hedgehog species in the past 25 years [3][4][5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13], basic information about their population characteristics is still largely lacking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…More than 25 years ago, in his monograph of hedgehogs, Reeve (1994) [ 1 ] expressed his frustration by stating “There is a frustrating lack of further studies … in non-European hedgehogs … There is a clear need for much more fundamental work on all these and other, as yet unstudied, hedgehog species”. Sadly, although there has been some work on ecology, behavior, and physiology of non-European hedgehog species in the past 25 years [ 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 ], basic information about their population characteristics is still largely lacking.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characteristics and Demography of a Free-Ranging Ethiopian Hedgehog, Paraechinus aethiopicus, Population in Qatar

Pettett

Macdonald

Al-Hajiri

et al. 2020

Animals

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Information on population characteristics of Paraechinusis is valuable for ensuring long term survival of populations, however, studies are currently lacking. Here we investigate the population dynamics of Ethiopian hedgehogs based on a capture-mark-recapture study in Qatar by fitting Jolly-Seber and Cormack-Jolly-Seber models. Over the 19 months of the study, we estimate a mean population of 60 hedgehogs, giving a density of 7 hedgehogs per km2 in our 8.5 km2 search area. The monthly abundance of hedgehogs decreased over the study and although survival was constant over the study period, with a mean monthly rate of 75%, there was a decline in the number of new entrants over time. We also studied these parameters over one year, excluding winter, and found that monthly estimates of juvenile and subadult survival decreased over time. We surmise that survival of juveniles may be a factor in the decrease in abundance and there may be implications for the persistence of this population, with anthropogenic influenced resources playing an important role. We caught between 91.3% and 100% of the estimated population at this site, indicating that our capture methodology was efficient. We conclude that the methodology used here is transferrable to other hedgehog species.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Characteristics and Demography of a Free-Ranging Ethiopian Hedgehog, Paraechinus aethiopicus, Population in Qatar

Pettett

Macdonald

Al-Hajiri

et al. 2020

Animals

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“…Previous studies have commonly used fast curing epoxy for the attachment of devices to hedgehogs (Abu Baker et al, ; Bontadina, ; Braaker, ; Braaker et al, ; Braaker, Obrist, Bontadina, & Moretti, ; Esser, ; Pettett, Johnson, et al, ; Pettett, Moorhouse, et al, ; Reeve, ; Warwick et al, ). However, the hot glue we used was more suitable to fix the back pack on the hedgehog's spines as it was easy, cheap, and fast curing.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This procedure is harmless because spines are made of keratin throughout and do not contain nerves or blood vessels. In contrast to previous studies of hedgehogs (Abu Baker, Reeve, Conkey, Macdonald, & Yamaguchi, ; Abu Baker et al, ; Braaker et al, ; Pettett, Johnson, et al, ; Pettett, Moorhouse, Johnson, & Macdonald, ; Reeve, ; Warwick et al, ), we used hot glue to attach the back plate because a mobile hot glue gun (neo1, Steinel Vertrieb GmbH, Herzebrock‐Clarholz, Germany) can be used very quickly and precisely and is cost effective. Hot glue sets within seconds and is therefore much faster and deliquesces much less than other commonly used and in this project previously tested glues and epoxies.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An easy, flexible solution to attach devices to hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) enables long‐term high‐resolution studies

Barthel

Hofer

Berger

2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Bio‐logging is an essential tool for the investigation of behavior, ecology, and physiology of wildlife. This burgeoning field enables the improvement of population monitoring and conservation efforts, particularly for small, elusive animals where data collection is difficult. Device attachment usually requires species‐specific solutions to ensure that data loggers exert minimal influence on the animal’s behavior and physiology, and ensure high reliability of data capture. External features or peculiar body shapes often make securing devices difficult for long‐term monitoring, as in the case with small spiny mammals. Here, we present a method that enables high‐resolution, long‐term investigations of European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) via GPS and acceleration loggers. We collected data from 17 wild hedgehogs with devices attached between 9 and 42 days. Our results showed that hedgehogs behaved naturally; as individuals curled, moved through dense vegetation, slipped under fences and built regular day nests without any indication of impediment. Our novel method makes it possible to not only attach high‐precision devices for substantially longer than previous efforts, but enables detachment and reattachment of devices to the same individual. This makes it possible to quickly respond to unforeseen events and exchange devices, and overcomes the issue of short battery life common to many lightweight loggers.

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Ecological and Behavioural Aspects of Torpor

Geiser

2021

Fascinating Life Sciences

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Caught basking in the winter sun: Preliminary data on winter thermoregulation in the Ethiopian hedgehog, Paraechinus aethiopicus, in Qatar

Cited by 13 publications

References 19 publications

Characteristics and Demography of a Free-Ranging Ethiopian Hedgehog, Paraechinus aethiopicus, Population in Qatar

Characteristics and Demography of a Free-Ranging Ethiopian Hedgehog, Paraechinus aethiopicus, Population in Qatar

An easy, flexible solution to attach devices to hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) enables long‐term high‐resolution studies

Ecological and Behavioural Aspects of Torpor

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