Habitat selection guiding agri‐environment schemes for a farmland specialist, the brown hare

Petrovan, Silviu O.; Ward, Alastair I.; Wheeler, Philip M.

doi:10.1111/acv.12002

Cited by 63 publications

(37 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…The home range sizes reported for the 10 hares tracked in the small Miscanthus field are, at an average of 10.54 ha across all four seasons, the smallest annual home ranges reported for this species in Europe and significantly smaller than the average for hares in the wider region (25.6 ha; Petrovan et al 2013). The fact that such a mobile species, requiring landscape-scale habitat diversity (Vaughan et al 2003;Smith et al 2004) and which typically uses several fields over the course of the year, can maintain such apparent high density and small home ranges in the vicinity of the small Miscanthus block is strongly indicative that this crop can, in the right Number of fixes was included as a factor in all models but was not significant in any.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

“…A minimum of 18 and maximum of 50 fixes were recorded per animal (median = 43). Previous radio-tracking of a larger number of hares at the site had demonstrated this was sufficient to adequately assess home ranges (Petrovan et al 2013). A median of 18 fixes (range 7-25) was recorded in active periods, and a median of 24 fixes (range 9-32) was recorded in inactive periods (Table S1).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…In common with standard practice, 95% isopleths were defined as 'total' ranges and 50% isopleths as 'core' ranges (Smith et al 2004;Petrovan et al 2013). Effects of sex, activity period and survey block on habitat use were assessed using repeated measures linear mixed models with individual hare as a random factor.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…All procedures were carried out in accordance with the University of Hull Ethical Committee protocols and standards for non-licenced animal species. Radio-tracking was performed on foot using a Yagi antenna using homing-in as a technique in order to obtain high precision fixes (Petrovan et al 2013). Fixes were collected with a minimum 3-h interval to obtain independence (Harris et al 1990) and collected with one to four fixes per week during both day (inactive period) and night (active period) and during all four seasons.…”

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While the exact causes of the brown hare decline in Europe are complex, agricultural intensification manifested through the lack of suitable resting areas, decreased food availability, increased energy expenditure and the general increase of farmland homogeneity appears to be the primary driver (Vaughan et al 2003;Smith et al 2005). Hares need to access a range of fields for feeding depending on the season and crop types and use small areas of structurally tall vegetation such as blocks of woodland and field margins for daytime resting (Petrovan et al 2013). Given the higher abundance of some farmland birds, invertebrates and small mammals in Miscanthus crops in comparison to adjacent farmland (Clapham 2011), this crop could offer increased heterogeneity and areas of refuge for hares, replacing lost habitat diversity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bioenergy crops and farmland biodiversity: benefits and limitations are scale-dependant for a declining mammal, the brown hare

et al. 2017

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Biomass energy crops are prompting major landuse changes in agricultural and marginal land in an effort to reduce dependency on fossil fuels. Miscanthus × giganteus, a perennial giant grass, is one of the main such crops in Europe but few studies exist of its interaction with farmland wildlife, particularly mammals. Understanding ecological impacts of bioenergy planting schemes is vital for mitigating potential negative effects on already declining farmland biodiversity and for maximising any benefits from these low-management, structurally diverse crops. We assessed in a mixed farming area in the UK the impact of Miscanthus crops on the brown hare (Lepus europaeus), a widespread but declining farmland species of conservation concern. We intensively radio-tracked hares in Miscanthus blocks of contrasting size and analysed hare diet for evidence of the consumption of Miscanthus. Home ranges differed starkly averaging 10.5 versus 49.6 ha in the small and the large Miscanthus blocks, respectively. Despite entirely avoiding the crop as food, hares appeared able to exist and even thrive in areas planted with Miscanthus though their populations may be significantly limited by reduced food availability and increased energy use where dense Miscanthus is planted over a wide area. As a component of a mixed farming landscape, Miscanthus may provide biodiversity benefits by increasing spatial heterogeneity and refuge areas for declining farmland species like brown hares but any effect is likely to be strongly scale-dependant.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 76%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Data Collectionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Bioenergy crops and farmland biodiversity: benefits and limitations are scale-dependant for a declining mammal, the brown hare

et al. 2017

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Food quality and quantity are more important in explaining foraging of an intermediate‐sized mammalian herbivore than predation risk or competition

Weterings

Moonen

Prins

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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During times of high activity by predators and competitors, herbivores may be forced to forage in patches of low‐quality food. However, the relative importance in determining where and what herbivores forage still remains unclear, especially for small‐ and intermediate‐sized herbivores. Our objective was to test the relative importance of predator and competitor activity, and forage quality and quantity on the proportion of time spent in a vegetation type and the proportion of time spent foraging by the intermediate‐sized herbivore European hare (Lepus europaeus). We studied red fox (Vulpes vulpes) as a predator species and European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) as a competitor. We investigated the time spent at a location and foraging time of hare using GPS with accelerometers. Forage quality and quantity were analyzed based on hand‐plucked samples of a selection of the locally most important plant species in the diet of hare. Predator activity and competitor activity were investigated using a network of camera traps. Hares spent a higher proportion of time in vegetation types that contained a higher percentage of fibers (i.e., NDF). Besides, hares spent a higher proportion of time in vegetation types that contained relatively low food quantity and quality of forage (i.e., high percentage of fibers) during days that foxes (Vulpes vulpes) were more active. Also during days that rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) were more active, hares spent a higher proportion of time foraging in vegetation types that contained a relatively low quality of forage. Although predation risk affected space use and foraging behavior, and competition affected foraging behavior, our study shows that food quality and quantity more strongly affected space use and foraging behavior than predation risk or competition. It seems that we need to reconsider the relative importance of the landscape of food in a world of fear and competition.

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Habitat selection by the European hare in arable landscapes: The importance of small‐scale habitat structure for conservation

Mayer

Ullmann

Sunde

et al. 2018

Ecology and Evolution

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Agricultural land‐use practices have intensified over the last decades, leading to population declines of various farmland species, including the European hare (Lepus europaeus). In many European countries, arable fields dominate agricultural landscapes. Compared to pastures, arable land is highly variable, resulting in a large spatial variation of food and cover for wildlife over the course of the year, which potentially affects habitat selection by hares. Here, we investigated within‐home‐range habitat selection by hares in arable areas in Denmark and Germany to identify habitat requirements for their conservation. We hypothesized that hare habitat selection would depend on local habitat structure, that is, vegetation height, but also on agricultural field size, vegetation type, and proximity to field edges. Active hares generally selected for short vegetation (1–25 cm) and avoided higher vegetation and bare ground, especially when fields were comparatively larger. Vegetation >50 cm potentially restricts hares from entering parts of their home range and does not provide good forage, the latter also being the case on bare ground. The vegetation type was important for habitat selection by inactive hares, with fabaceae, fallow, and maize being selected for, potentially providing both cover and forage. Our results indicate that patches of shorter vegetation could improve the forage quality and habitat accessibility for hares, especially in areas with large monocultures. Thus, policymakers should aim to increase areas with short vegetation throughout the year. Further, permanent set‐asides, like fallow and wildflower areas, would provide year‐round cover for inactive hares. Finally, the reduction in field sizes would increase the density of field margins, and farming different crop types within small areas could improve the habitat for hares and other farmland species.

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Habitat selection guiding agri‐environment schemes for a farmland specialist, the brown hare

Cited by 63 publications

References 41 publications

Bioenergy crops and farmland biodiversity: benefits and limitations are scale-dependant for a declining mammal, the brown hare

Bioenergy crops and farmland biodiversity: benefits and limitations are scale-dependant for a declining mammal, the brown hare

Food quality and quantity are more important in explaining foraging of an intermediate‐sized mammalian herbivore than predation risk or competition

Habitat selection by the European hare in arable landscapes: The importance of small‐scale habitat structure for conservation

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