Global patterns in wolf (Canis lupus) ecology: Implications for management = Patrons globals en l'ecologia del llop: Implicacions en la gestió

• Main Author: Sazatornil i Luna, Victor
• Other Authors: López Bao, José Vicente, Rodríguez, Alejandro (Rodríguez Blanco), Mañosa, Santi, Universitat de Barcelona. Departament de Biologia Evolutiva, Ecologia i Ciències Ambientals
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: Universitat de Barcelona 2018
• Subjects: Llop; Lobo; Wolf; Ecologia animal; Ecología animal; Animal ecology; Relacions home-animal; Relaciones hombre-animal; Human-animal relationships; Ciències Experimentals i Matemàtiques; 574; Canis lupus
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10803/666642

Environmental authorities, conservation professionals, and several other social sectors frequently demand scientifically sound information to inform policy and decision-making processes. Beyond national or subnational conservation laws, biodiversity conservation increasingly relies on international agreements and commitments, through which sovereign nations commit to share part of their duties and responsibilities in conservation issues. In this pyramidal structure of multi-governance layers, the use of the best available evidence is of paramount importance to effectively adapt general statements contained in general laws or regulations into specific contexts. Using wolves (Canis lupus) as case study, this thesis explores the interface between ecology and policy-making in wildlife conservation and management at different spatial and governance scales. The thesis combines empirical evidence, focused on wolf breeding site attributes and livestock depredations by wolves, literature reviews and in-deep analyses of conservation and management instruments in order to critically assess how evidence is used to develop site-specific management actions, and the way forward to improve policy implementations and effectiveness. The thesis provides an illustrative example of how unveiling general ecological patterns and sources of variation from empirical datasets can provide valuable information to policy decision-makers. In particular, Chapter 1 analyses global patterns in breeding site selection by wolves regarding their vulnerability to humans. Remarkable findings from this chapter are the relationship between the strength of the response (selection of refuge vegetation and avoidance of exposed areas) and the human population density as a surrogate of human pressure. In addition, continental differences are described, being the selection towards more secluded and remote areas stronger in Eurasia than in North America, which denote differences in coexistence history. By identifying global patterns and context-dependent ...