The seasonal trade-off between food and cover in the Alpine mountain hare (Lepus timidus) ...
Habitat use of prey species is often subjected to strong trade-offs when foraging needs and predator avoidance cannot be met simultaneously. Trade-offs may be particularly pronounced for species dwelling above ground throughout the year. Identifying habitat use of such species may help to determine...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Text |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Springer
2016
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://dx.doi.org/10.7892/boris.93848 http://boris.unibe.ch/93848/ |
| Summary: | Habitat use of prey species is often subjected to strong trade-offs when foraging needs and predator avoidance cannot be met simultaneously. Trade-offs may be particularly pronounced for species dwelling above ground throughout the year. Identifying habitat use of such species may help to determine crucial and limited environmental resources and has strong implications for habitat management. We investigated the relative importance of habitat structure and composition for mountain hares in the Swiss Alps at the small scale for two time periods, throughout the year and during the reproductive period. Habitat use was assessed by a non-invasive approach that considers the spatio-temporal distribution of fecal pellets, sampled along systematically distributed transects. We found that heterogeneous habitats with high diversity of vegetation layers and/or abundance of saplings and storeyed vegetation structures are strongly used. The availability of shelter was more important in summer when hares strongly used ... |
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