Urban Hedgehog Behavioural Responses to Temporary Habitat Disturbance versus Permanent Fragmentation

Abstract

Anthropogenic activities can result in both transient and permanent changes in the environment. We studied spatial and temporal behavioural responses of European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) to a transient (open-air music festival) and a permanent (highly fragmented area) disturbance in the city of Berlin, Germany. Activity, foraging and movement patterns were observed in two distinct areas in 2016 and 2017 using a “Before & After“ and “Control & Impact“ study design. Confronted with a music festival, hedgehogs substantially changed their movement behaviour and nesting patterns and decreased the rhythmic synchronization (DFC) of their activity patterns with the environment. These findings suggest that a music festival is a substantial stressor influencing the trade-off between foraging and risk avoidance. Hedgehogs in a highly fragmented area used larger home ranges and moved faster than in low-fragmented and low-disturbed areas. They also showed behaviours and high DFCs similar to individuals in low-fragmented, low disturbed environment, suggesting that fragmentation posed a moderate challenge which they could accommodate. The acute but transient disturbance of a music festival, therefore, had more substantial and severe behavioural effects than the permanent disturbance through fragmentation. Our results are relevant for the welfare and conservation measure of urban wildlife and highlight the importance of allowing wildlife to avoid urban music festivals by facilitating avoidance behaviours.

Using citizen science to understand and map habitat suitability for a synurbic mammal in an urban landscape: the hedgehog Erinaceus europaeus

“…High human densities are associated with increasing habitat disturbance, which may impact hedgehog populations negatively. Acute human disturbance from park music festivals has been found to impact hedgehog movement and behaviours in Berlin (Rast et al 2019, Berger et al 2020), whilst hedgehogs in Bristol become more active after midnight, potentially to avoid exposure to pedestrian and vehicular traffic (Dowding et al 2010). Therefore, despite being found near to humans, these results suggest a threshold in hedgehog populations’ capacity to tolerate high levels of human activity.…”

“…Intermediate impervious cover may reflect the patchwork environment found in residential areas, with mixtures of housing and greenspace providing rich and varied habitat. Hedgehogs not only avoid impervious cover (Rondinini & Doncaster 2002, Dowding et al 2010, Braaker et al 2014) but also display behavioural capacity to tolerate habitat fragmentation and to traverse impervious surfaces within fragmented habitats (Berger et al 2020). It has been suggested that, excepting large roads, impervious cover does not pose a strong barrier for hedgehog movement (Rondinini & Doncaster 2002, Braaker et al 2014).…”

Fine-scale habitat selection of a small mammalian urban adapter: the West European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)

“…In addition to sex, season and environmental conditions, hedgehog movement behaviour also varies between urban landscapes (Dowding et al 2010a;Rasmussen et al 2019;Schaus Calderón 2021) potentially due to differences in building density (Schaus Calderón 2021), road type (Rondinini and Doncaster 2002) and disturbance levels (Berger et al 2020a). Irrespective of this, hedgehogs consistently favour back gardens (Baker and Harris 2007;Hof and Bright 2009;Dowding et al 2010a;Williams et al 2015Williams et al , 2018bRasmussen et al 2019;Gazzard and Baker 2020;Schaus Calderón 2021) and are thought to require access to around 13-14 back gardens per night (Rasmussen et al 2019;Schaus Calderón 2021).…”

Applied Hedgehog Conservation Research

“…However, a study in Berlin used GPS tracking and dataloggers and demonstrated a preference for movement in locations with lower light levels [ 35 ]. By attaching dataloggers to urban hedgehogs under different conditions, it was documented that the temporary disturbance of their habitat that was caused by a music festival had a more serious impact on hedgehog behaviour than a permanent disturbance caused by fragmentation [ 36 ]. Nevertheless, we stress the importance of further investigations on the effects of anthropogenic disturbances to the habitats before clear conclusions can be drawn.…”