Abstract
Habitat fragmentation and loss have contributed significantly to the demographic decline of European wildcat populations and hybridization with domestic cats poses a threat to the loss of ...genetic purity of the species. In this study we used microsatellite markers to analyse genetic variation and structure of the wildcat populations from the area between the Dinaric Alps and the Scardo-Pindic mountains in Slovenia, Croatia, Serbia and North Macedonia. We also investigated hybridisation between populations of wildcats and domestic cats in the area. One hundred and thirteen samples from free-leaving European wildcats and thirty-two samples from domestic cats were analysed. Allelic richness across populations ranged from 3.61 to 3.98. The observed Ho values ranged between 0.57 and 0.71. The global F
ST
value for the four populations was 0.080 (95% CI 0.056–0.109) and differed significantly from zero (
P
< 0.001). The highest F
ST
value was observed between the populations North Macedonia and Slovenia and the lowest between Slovenia and Croatia. We also found a signal for the existence of isolation by distance between populations. Our results showed that wildcats are divided in two genetic clusters largely consistent with a geographic division into a genetically diverse northern group (Slovenia, Croatia) and genetically eroded south-eastern group (Serbia, N. Macedonia). Hybridisation rate between wildcats and domestic cats varied between 13% and 52% across the regions.
The conservation of large carnivores is a formidable challenge for biodiversity conservation. Using a data set on the past and current status of brown bears (Ursus arctos), Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), ...gray wolves (Canis lupus), and wolverines (Gulo gulo) in European countries, we show that roughly one-third of mainland Europe hosts at least one large carnivore species, with stable or increasing abundance in most cases in 21st-century records. The reasons for this overall conservation success include protective legislation, supportive public opinion, and a variety of practices making coexistence between large carnivores and people possible. The European situation reveals that large carnivores and people can share the same landscape.
Abstract
Integrating data across studies with traditional microsatellite genetic markers requires careful calibration and represents an obstacle for investigation of wide-ranging species where ...populations require transboundary management. We used the “yardstick” method to compare results published across Europe since 2002 and new wolf (
Canis lupus
) genetic profiles from the Carpathian Mountains in Central Europe and the Dinaric Mountains in Southeastern Europe, with the latter as our reference population. We compared each population with Dinaric wolves, considering only shared markers (range 4–17). For each population, we calculated standard genetic diversity indices plus calibrated heterozygosity (
Hec
) and allelic richness (
Ac
).
Hec
and
Ac
in Dinaric (0.704 and 9.394) and Carpathian wolves (0.695 and 7.023) were comparable to those observed in other large and mid-sized European populations, but smaller than those of northeastern Europe. Major discrepancies in marker choices among some studies made comparisons more difficult. However, the yardstick method, including the new measures of
Hec
and
Ac
, provided a direct comparison of genetic diversity values among wolf populations and an intuitive interpretation of the results. The yardstick method thus permitted the integration of diverse sources of publicly available microsatellite data for spatiotemporal genetic monitoring of evolutionary potential.
A comprehensive understanding of the dietary habits of carnivores is essential to get ecological insights into their role in the ecosystem, potential competition with other carnivorous species, and ...their effect on prey populations. Genetic analysis of non-invasive samples, such as scats, can supplement behavioural or microscopic diet investigations. The objective of this study was to employ DNA metabarcoding to accurately determine the prey species in grey wolf (Canis lupus) and Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) scat samples collected in the Julian Alps and the Dinaric Mountains, Slovenia. The primary prey of wolves were red deer (Cervus elaphus) (detected in 96% scat samples), European roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) (68%), and wild boar (Sus scrofa) (45%). A smaller portion of their diet consisted of mesocarnivores, small mammals, and domestic animals. In contrast, the lynx diet mostly consisted of European roe deer (82%) and red deer (64%). However, small mammals and domestic animals were also present in lynx diet, albeit to a lesser extent. Our findings indicate that the dietary habits of wolves and lynx are influenced by geographical location. Snapshot dietary analyses using metabarcoding are valuable for comprehending the behaviour and ecology of predators, and for devising conservation measures aimed at sustainable management of both their natural habitats and prey populations. However, to gain a more detailed understanding of wolf and lynx dietary habits and ecological impact, it would be essential to conduct long-term genetic monitoring of their diet.
Wolves have large spatial requirements and their expansion in Europe is occurring over national boundaries, hence the need to develop monitoring programs at the population level. Wolves in the Alps ...are defined as a functional population and management unit. The range of this wolf Alpine population now covers seven countries: Italy, France, Austria, Switzerland, Slovenia, Liechtenstein and Germany, making the development of a joint and coordinated monitoring program particularly challenging. In the framework of the Wolf Alpine Group (WAG), researchers developed uniform criteria for the assessment and interpretation of field data collected in the frame of different national monitoring programs. This standardization allowed for data comparability across borders and the joint evaluation of distribution and consistency at the population level. We documented the increase in the number of wolf reproductive units (packs and pairs) over 21 years, from 1 in 1993–1994 up to 243 units in 2020–2021, and examined the pattern of expansion over the Alps. This long-term and large-scale approach is a successful example of transboundary monitoring of a large carnivore population that, despite administrative fragmentation, provides robust indexes of population size and distribution that are of relevance for wolf conservation and management at the transnational Alpine scale.
Large carnivores can be found in different scenarios of cohabitation with humans. Behavioral adaptations to minimize risk from humans are expected to be exacerbated where large carnivores are most ...vulnerable, such as at breeding sites. Using wolves as a model species, along with data from 26 study areas across the species' worldwide range, we performed a meta-analysis to assess the role of humans in breeding site selection by a large carnivore. Some of the patterns previously observed at the local scale become extrapolatable to the entire species range provided that important sources of variation are taken into account. Generally, wolves minimised the risk of exposure at breeding sites by avoiding human-made structures, selecting shelter from vegetation and avoiding agricultural lands. Our results suggest a scaled hierarchical habitat selection process across selection orders by which wolves compensate higher exposure risk to humans within their territories via a stronger selection at breeding sites. Dissimilar patterns between continents suggest that adaptations to cope with human-associated risks are modulated by the history of coexistence and persecution. Although many large carnivores persisting in human-dominated landscapes do not require large-scale habitat preservation, habitat selection at levels below occupancy and territory should be regarded in management and conservation strategies aiming to preserve these species in such contexts. In this case, we recommend providing shelter from human interference at least in small portions of land in order to fulfill the requirements of the species to locate their breeding sites.
•Breeding site selection by large carnivores is driven by the risk of interaction with humans.•Globally, wolves minimize the risk of exposure by avoiding manmade structures and selecting refuge-providing vegetation.•Observed continental-level differences suggests wolf adaptations are modulated by the history of coexistence and persecution.•Large carnivores compensate higher exposure risk at territory levels by stronger selection against it at homesites.•Shelter from human interference in small portions of land will encourage large carnivore persistence.
The specifics of meat production from free-ranging animals include the killing of animals in the wild with firearms. This type of uncontrolled killing sometimes leads to the phenomenon that the game ...does not die immediately but after a certain time from the shot to death, which may ultimately affect the quality of the meat. During one hunting year on free-ranging red deer (Cervus elaphus) (RD), roe deer (Capreolus capreolus) (RoD), and wild boar (Sus scrofa) (WB), the effect of time from shot to death on final pH, water-holding capacity (WHC), water content, and colour (L*, a*, b*) was investigated. All analyses were performed on Musculus biceps femoris (BF). After shooting, the animals were divided into two categories (A = time from shot to death ≤ 1 min; B = time from shot to death > 1 min). In RD, group B had significantly lower (p < 0.05) water content. In RoD, group B had significantly lower (p < 0.05) values of L* and b*. In WB, group B had significantly lower (p < 0.05) L* value and significantly higher (p < 0.05) pH value. The study proves that in BF of the three studied game species, the time extension from shot to death significantly affects the final water content values in RD, L* and b* in RoD and pH and L * in WB.
In the last two centuries, persecution and deforestation caused grey wolf Canis lupus populations in Europe to decline. Recently, their numbers started to recover although most populations still ...remain isolated from one another. This study presents the first documented evidence of the successful reconnection of the Dinaric-Balkan and the Alpine wolf populations via long-distance dispersal and subsequent reproduction. A young male wolf radiocollared in the Dinaric Mountains in July 2011 travelled through Slovenia and Austria to the Italian Alps, where he settled in March 2012. During the 98 days of dispersal period, the wolf has travelled a cumulative line distance of 1176 km crossing multiple anthropogenic and natural barriers, and successfully hunting wild prey until he settled 233 km straight line distance from its natal territory. Camera trapping, snow tracking and genetic evidence in the new territory confirmed pairing with a female wolf from the neighbouring Alpine population. In the following year, the pair has produced a first documented “mixed” litter between wolves from the Dinaric-Balkan and the Alpine wolf populations. This case study demonstrates the potential for the future merging of European wolf populations even in human-dominated landscapes and highlights the importance of transboundary cooperation in wolf research and management.
Rapid development of molecular genetics has provided ecologists and wildlife managers with a powerful set of tools for studying and monitoring wildlife. We applied these tools to estimate the size of ...the brown bear population in Slovenia in 2007. In the years after the estimate was made public, we followed how this estimate affected policy and management actions in Slovenian bear management. We designed and executed a large-scale noninvasive genetic sampling across the range of this species in the country with a network of volunteers and estimated the size of the brown bear population in Slovenia using mark-recapture modeling. In a highly intensive 3-month sampling in autumn 2007, we collected 1057 samples. A total of 931 samples were successfully genotyped, yielding 354 different genotypes. Using mark-recapture and correcting for the edge effect caused by bears moving in and out of the sampling area across the Slovenian-Croatian border, and accounting for detected mortality, we estimated “winter” population size (after annual mortality, before reproduction) at 424 (95% confidence interval 383–458). We also observed an uneven male and female ratio of 0.405 and 0.595, respectively. Using “citizen science,” we managed to conduct a highly intensive large-scale sampling with modest financial resources, something that would be impossible to do otherwise. We produced the first robust, scientifically defensible estimate of the brown bear population size in Slovenia. Although at first reluctantly considered by managers as equivalent to other “traditional” population monitoring data, awareness of the importance of the estimate grew with time. It became the first reference point for understanding population dynamics, a basis to which current and future development of the population is being compared to. As such, we can expect it will profoundly affect Slovenian bear management in the years to come.
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