Daily activity rhythm and habitat use of the semi-free European bison herd during the growing season / Denní aktivita a využití prostředí zubrem evropským (Bison bonasus) během vegetační sezóny

Abstract

The European bison (Bison bonasus) became extinct in the wild in the 20th century. Due to successful reintroductions of captive individuals, the free-ranging bison population has been steadily increasing. However, the population consists of small and isolated herds whose survival depends on creating larger and connected populations. Detailed knowledge of movement and habitat use in human-dominated landscape is essential for further successful reintroductions of the European bison. Therefore, we studied daily activity and habitat use of the semi-free European bison herd in the hunting enclosure of Židlov from April to September 2014. The lead cow of the herd was fitted with a GPS collar equipped with GSM module. The average home range size of the herd was 29.5 km2 and the average daily utilisation area was 0.5 km2. Forested habitats were preferred during the day (Rayleigh test: Z = 107.31; p < 0. 0001) whereas idle lands (i.e. former shooting ranges now dominated by a mixture of pioneer tree species, hawthorn and grasslands) during the night (Rayleigh test: Z = 214.451; p < 0. 0001). The bison herd did not show any clear preference for a particular forest type (i.e. coniferous, deciduous, different age classes). Additional knowledge on year-long patterns of movement and habitat use is needed to ensure the success of reintroduction programmes

Distribution and Habitat Selection of Free-Ranging European Bison (Bison bonasus L.) in a Mosaic Landscape—A Lithuanian Case

“…The studies of the European bison show the complex importance of both habitats, open and forests [21,26,27]. In Židlov (Czech Republic) as well as in our study, the bison herd preferred forested habitats [18] during the daytime and more open lands at night. This finding supports an assumption that the European bison tends to be a forest specialist in Central Europe [28].…”

“…Other studies have indicated that European bison prefer open habitats [1,9,26,29]. The night and daytime differences in the selection of forest or agricultural land support the hypothesis that bison habitats are determined by disturbance (human and predators) avoidance rather than habitat preference [18]. Studies have shown the importance of landscape and habitat for large ungulate species [10,30].…”

“…In autumn, the home range increased, probably due to the decreased food supply. In Židlov,Červeny et al [18] found that the bison herd used the smallest territory in June and the largest territory in April. A strong seasonal pattern of bison movement was also found in the free-ranging Białowieża bison population [32].…”

“…and scattered forest fragments. Knowledge of their movement and habitat use in a human-dominated landscape is essential for further successful reintroductions of the European bison [18]. We therefore need to understand the movement patterns and habitat use of species if we wish to effectively predict and limit the impact of environmental changes on populations [19,20].…”

An assessment of the habitat preferences of European bison with airborne laser scanning data in forest ecosystem

“…Wołoszyn-Gałęza et al 11 found that, in winter periods, European bison preferred deciduous and mixed forest areas located at lower altitudes above sea level; however, in the growing season these animals were much more likely to stay in coniferous forest areas with a low canopy cover. Other studies have indicated that European bison have a preference for coniferous stands 12 , 13 . Kuemmerle et al 14 showed that each European bison population’s preferences for particular types of habitats differed significantly.…”