The wild goats <i>Capra aegagrus</i> Erxleben, 1777 of the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Atlantic Ocean islands

Masseti, Marco

doi:10.1111/j.1365-2907.2009.00141.x

Cited by 33 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 23 publications

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“…Opposition may not only come from activists, since even among researchers there are different opinions on the advisability of eradicating species that have been established on the islands for millennia, as in the case of goats (e.g. Masseti 2009). There are schools of thought contrary to eradications, from people believing that the damage deriving from eradications to local fauna is more serious than the impact that they may mitigate (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of mammal eradications on Mediterranean islands

Capizzi¹

2020

Mammal Review

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Impacts of alien invasive species on island communities and ecosystems may be even more detrimental than on the mainland. Therefore, since the 1950s, hundreds of restoration projects have been implemented worldwide, with the aim of controlling or eradicating alien species from islands. To date, no review has been focused on eradication on Mediterranean islands. To fill the gap, I reviewed the available information concerning mammal eradications so far carried out on Mediterranean islands, examining the details of several aspects of project implementation and monitoring. I obtained data for 139 attempted eradications on 107 Mediterranean islands in eight countries, with Greece, Italy, and Spain accounting for the highest number. Eradication projects targeted 13 mammal species. The black rat Rattus rattus was the target of over 75% of the known attempted eradications in the Mediterranean Basin; other species targeted were feral goat Capra hircus, house mouse Mus musculus, European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus, and domestic cat Felis catus. The most widely adopted technique was poisoning (77% of all eradications), followed by trapping (15%) and hunting (4%). However, techniques were largely target‐specific. The average failure rate was about 11%. However, this percentage varied according to the specific mammalian order, and eradications of Carnivora failed more often than those of other mammals. Among rodents, house mouse eradication attained a very high failure rate (75%). Reinvasion occurred after 15% of successful eradications. A better understanding of the motivations of animal rights activists may improve the chance of success when eradicating charismatic or domesticated species. Furthermore, it is crucial to collect data and case studies about reinvasions, in order to strengthen biosecurity programmes following eradication. As in other parts of the world, the next frontier in alien mammal management on Mediterranean islands concerns the eradication of invasive species from inhabited islands.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A review of mammal eradications on Mediterranean islands

Capizzi¹

2020

Mammal Review

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“…The situation of the ungulates is rather different and only three species of this taxonomic group are presently known for the satellite islands of Sardinia. Ancient populations of wild goats, Capra aegagrus Erxleben, 1777, are traditionally reported from Asinara (Toschi, 1953;De Beaux, 1955;Couturier, 1959;Massoli Novelli, 2003;Masseti, 2008Masseti, , 2009Masseti, , 2014 (Fig. 3) and Tavolara (Cetti, 1774;Valery, 1837;McGrigor, 1866;Toschi, 1953;Couturier, 1959;Masseti, 2008Masseti, , 2009Masseti, , 2014.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ancient populations of wild goats, Capra aegagrus Erxleben, 1777, are traditionally reported from Asinara (Toschi, 1953;De Beaux, 1955;Couturier, 1959;Massoli Novelli, 2003;Masseti, 2008Masseti, , 2009Masseti, , 2014 (Fig. 3) and Tavolara (Cetti, 1774;Valery, 1837;McGrigor, 1866;Toschi, 1953;Couturier, 1959;Masseti, 2008Masseti, , 2009Masseti, , 2014. Nowadays, their occurrence on both islands appears seriously compromised, and no individual of the original population still remains on Tavolara, where domestic goats were introduced by man.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…According to Couturier (1959), the original wild goats of Tavolara were instead the same as the goats of the northern Tyrrhenian island of Montecristo. They were characterised by morphological patterns which fall within the phenotype of Capra aegagrus dorcas Reichenow, 1888, typical of the island of Youra, in the Northern Sporades archipelago (Western Aegean Sea, Greece) (Masseti, 2009). A few original wild goats of Tavolara were collected before their extinction in the wild, and were bred in a free-ranging state until recently in the Ogliastra bush, within the perimeter of the Gulf of Orosei and Gennargentu National Park, where they returned to the wild after their abandonment by the shepherds (Fig.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Terrestrial mammals of the satellite islands of Sardinia (Italy)

Masseti¹

2019

Biodiversity Journal

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The mammalian fauna of the satellite islands and islets of Sardinia (Italy) is still imperfectly known. Only few data are available for some of them, while several others are still almost regarded as terra incognita. Complete information on the extant non-volant terrestrial mammals is available only for Asinara, Tavolara, and Molara, whereas historical and present data are available on the mammals of San Pietro. Further information on the non-flying taxa occasionally appears in specialised literature. At present, 15 species occur in the circum-Sardinian archipelagos. Only 6 of them, however, have been reported from the largest island, San Pietro, whereas the smaller Asinara hots at least 13 species, excluding local domestic breed such as the dwarf donkey. Data on the distribution of chiropters have been provided by a few studies carried out over time. Of the 21 species of bats found in Sardinia, at least 11 were recorded from the small islands.

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“…1). These goats are considered as Capra aegagrus by some authors, because of their wild status (Seguí and Payeras, 2002;Masseti, 2009), but some others argue that they are feral populations of ancient domestic stocks, and should be included in the domestic species Capra hircus (Giannatos et al, 2006). The other two study areas have been occupied for decades by feral domestic goats (Fig.…”

Section: Study Areamentioning

confidence: 98%

Comparative study of trophic behaviour and herd structure in wild and feral goats living in a Mediterranean island: Management implications

Rivera-Sánchez

Jorge

Baraza

et al. 2015

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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a b s t r a c tThe aim of this study was to compare the trophic behaviour and the social structure of Majorcan wild goats and feral goats present in the island of Majorca. The former are descendants of an ancestral goat ecotype introduced in the island in the late Neolithic, whereas feral goats come from domestic forms introduced recently from the Iberian Peninsula. The study was conducted in four localities of the Serra de Tramuntana, a mountain range located in the northwest of the island of Majorca. Behavioural data were collected in three seasons, summer, winter and spring of 2011-2013, and when goat activity is at its peak, i.e., 3 h after dawn and before dusk. The following variables were recorded: group composition (males, females, and kids) and activity (feeding, walking, resting, and watching). The proportion of time spent on each activity and their frequency were obtained from focal samples. Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVA) were used to simultaneously analyse the activity variables. A total of 155 observations of 85 herds were registered throughout the study. A similar behaviour pattern has been observed in this study for the two goat ecotypes, feral and wild, apart from some seasonal variations in feeding and resting activities. In summer, feral goats showed higher feeding efforts (duration and frequency) than wild goats; this might be related to a lower efficiency obtaining feeding resources by the former, whereas wild goats, that have inhabited the island for millennia, coexisting with vegetation in periods of lower forage abundance and quality, would be more efficient herbivores during restrictive periods. Average herd size for both ecotypes is smaller than that recorded for domestic goat herds, suggesting a relatively low browsing damage compared to the latter. Also, feral goats apparently have a higher gregarious behaviour than wild ones, which might relate to their domestic origin. Currently, the management of goats on the island is based on maintaining the wild ecotype and eradicate the feral one, whose impact on vegetation is supposedly worse. However, our results show a similar trophic behaviour by both ecotypes, so that their impact on vegetation should also be expected to be similar, indicating that this argument has not enough scientific basis.

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The wild goats Capra aegagrus Erxleben, 1777 of the Mediterranean Sea and the Eastern Atlantic Ocean islands

Cited by 33 publications

References 23 publications

A review of mammal eradications on Mediterranean islands

A review of mammal eradications on Mediterranean islands

Terrestrial mammals of the satellite islands of Sardinia (Italy)

Comparative study of trophic behaviour and herd structure in wild and feral goats living in a Mediterranean island: Management implications

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