Responses of foraging hedgehogs to badger odour

doi:10.1006/anbe.1996.0307

Animal Behaviour

Volume 53, Issue 4, April 1997, Pages 709-720

https://doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1996.0307 Get rights and content

Abstract

Enclosure and field trials were used to investigate the responses of hedgehogs,Erinaceus europaeus, to predator (badger,Meles meles) and non-predator odours. Two hypotheses were tested: (1) hedgehogs are capable of responding to badger odour; and (2) hedgehogs prefer not to forage in areas tainted with badger odour. In enclosure trials, hedgehogs almost exclusively avoided feeding at sites tainted with badger faeces in favour of sites tainted with non-predator faeces, and continued to avoid the previously badger-tainted site after 2 days, but not after 4. Field experiments with free-ranging hedgehogs showed a reduction in foraging effort in response to badger odour over periods of 5 and 30 min, but no evidence of site avoidance over a 24-h period. Lack of persistent avoidance of badger odour in the field was probably due to the costs of predator avoidance, which were negligible in the enclosure owing to the presence of an alternative superabundant food source.

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Understanding space use by animals plays a key role in a wide array of behavioural and ecological fields of study. An insight into how and why species use the space available to them may aid their conservation. The West European hedgehog, Erinaceus europaeus, a species in decline in part of its range, is relatively mobile and adapted to a wide range of habitat types. However, it is frequently associated with edge habitats. This edge-refuging behaviour is not well understood and may be the result of fear of predators, food availability or other factors. We used radiotelemetry to investigate the movement of hedgehogs in comparable landscapes with high and low predator (badgers, Meles meles) abundance. Simultaneously, food availability was assessed in both landscapes. Our results suggest that agricultural habitats may be ‘landscapes of fear’ for hedgehogs in the presence of a high number of predators. On agricultural fields, hedgehogs were on average situated closer to edge cover in areas with predators present. It is thus likely to be beneficial for the conservation of hedgehogs in areas with a high number of predators to increase the complexity of the habitat structure by, among other measures, establishing more and denser hedgerows in rural areas. Our results suggest that enhancing the complexity of the habitat structure might lessen the effects of fear. Additionally, our results emphasize the importance of integrating data on predator abundance and food availability in studies that focus on habitat selection behaviour and species conservation.
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^☆: R. M. SiblyR. H. Smith

^f1: D. W. Macdonald, Wildlife Conser-vation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, U.K.

^f2: C. P. Doncaster is now at the Department of Biology, School of Biological Sciences, Biomedical Sciences Building, Bassett Crescent East, Southampton, SO96 7PX, U.K.

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Regular ArticleResponses of foraging hedgehogs to badger odour☆

Abstract

Anim. Behav.

Anim. Behav.

Crop Proetction

Anim. Behav.

Anim. Behav.

Influence of season and moonlight on temporal-activity patterns of Indian crested porcupines (Hystrix indica

J. Mammal

Factors affecting feeding in wild rats

Acta Oecol.

Testing values of crested porcupine habitats by experimental food patches

Oecologia (Berl.)

The effects of owl predation on the foraging behaviour of heteromyid rodents

Oecologia (Berl.)

Foraging under predation risk in the wild guinea pig,Cavia aperea

Oikos

The Birds of the Western Palaearctic

The anal gland secretion of the European badger (Meles meles

J. Zool., Lond.

Predation and habitat shift in the house mouse,Mus domesticus

Ecology

Responses of small mammals to red fox (Vulpes vulpes) odour

J. Zool., Lond.

The wider countryside— principles underlying the responses of mammals to heterogeneous environments

Mammal Rev.

Factors regulating local variation in abundance: field tests on hedgehogs,Erinaceus europaeus

Oikos

Feeding ecology of red foxes (Vulpes vulpes

J. Mammal.

A field study of the African brush-tailed porcupines (Atherus africanus

Mammalia

The response of prey to stoat (Mustela erminea

J. Zool., Lond.

From individual behaviour to population dynamics

Behavioural Ecology

Regular Article
Responses of foraging hedgehogs to badger odour☆