Why do wolves eat livestock?: Factors influencing wolf diet in northern Italy
Thanks to protection by law and increasing habitat restoration, wolves (Canis lupus) are currently re-colonizing Europe fromthe surviving populations of Russia, the Balkan countries, Spain and Italy, raising the need to update conservation strategies. A major conservation issue is to restore connect...
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Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/11571/1111209 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.01.003 |
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ftunivpavia:oai:iris.unipv.it:11571/1111209 2024-04-14T08:10:14+00:00 Why do wolves eat livestock?: Factors influencing wolf diet in northern Italy Imbert, Camille Caniglia, Romolo Fabbri, Elena MILANESI, PIETRO Randi, Ettore Serafini, Matteo Torretta, Elisa MERIGGI, ALBERTO Imbert, Camille Caniglia, Romolo Fabbri, Elena Milanesi, Pietro Randi, Ettore Serafini, Matteo Torretta, Elisa Meriggi, Alberto 2016 STAMPA http://hdl.handle.net/11571/1111209 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.01.003 eng eng info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:000371942300019 volume:195 firstpage:156 lastpage:168 numberofpages:13 journal:BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION http://hdl.handle.net/11571/1111209 doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.01.003 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/scopus/2-s2.0-84954289932 www.elsevier.com/inca/publications/store/4/0/5/8/5/3 Canis lupu Feeding ecology Prey selection Scat analysi Wolf-human conflict Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematic Nature and Landscape Conservation info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2016 ftunivpavia https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.01.003 2024-03-21T15:55:32Z Thanks to protection by law and increasing habitat restoration, wolves (Canis lupus) are currently re-colonizing Europe fromthe surviving populations of Russia, the Balkan countries, Spain and Italy, raising the need to update conservation strategies. A major conservation issue is to restore connections and gene flow among fragmented populations, thus contrasting the deleterious consequences of isolation. Wolves in Italy are expanding from the Apennines towards the Alps, crossing the Ligurian Mountains (northern Italy) and establishing connections with the Dinaric populations. Wolf expansion is threatened by poaching and incidental killings, mainly due to livestock depredations and conflicts with shepherds, which could limit the establishment of stable populations. Aiming to find out the factors affecting the use of livestock by wolves, in this study we determined the composition of wolf diet in Liguria. We examined 1457 scats collected from 2008 to 2013. Individual scats were genotyped using a non-invasive genetic procedure, and their content was determined using microscopical analyses. Wolves in Liguria consumed mainly wild ungulates (64.4%; in particular wild boar Sus scrofa and roe deer Capreolus capreolus) and, to a lesser extent, livestock (26.3%; in particular goats Capra hircus). We modeled the consumption of livestock using environmental features, wild ungulate community diversity, husbandry characteristics and wolf social organization (stable packs or dispersing individuals).Wolf diet varied according to years and seasons with an overall decrease of livestock and an increase ofwild ungulate consumption, but also between packs and dispersing individuals with greater livestock consumption for the latter. The presence of stable packs, instead of dispersing wolves, the adoption of prevention measures on pastures, roe deer abundance, and the percentage of deciduous woods, reduced predation on livestock. Thus, we suggest promoting wild ungulate expansion, the use of prevention tools in pastures, and ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Canis lupus IRIS UNIPV (Università degli studi di Pavia) Biological Conservation 195 156 168 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
IRIS UNIPV (Università degli studi di Pavia) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivpavia |
language |
English |
topic |
Canis lupu Feeding ecology Prey selection Scat analysi Wolf-human conflict Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematic Nature and Landscape Conservation |
spellingShingle |
Canis lupu Feeding ecology Prey selection Scat analysi Wolf-human conflict Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematic Nature and Landscape Conservation Imbert, Camille Caniglia, Romolo Fabbri, Elena MILANESI, PIETRO Randi, Ettore Serafini, Matteo Torretta, Elisa MERIGGI, ALBERTO Why do wolves eat livestock?: Factors influencing wolf diet in northern Italy |
topic_facet |
Canis lupu Feeding ecology Prey selection Scat analysi Wolf-human conflict Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematic Nature and Landscape Conservation |
description |
Thanks to protection by law and increasing habitat restoration, wolves (Canis lupus) are currently re-colonizing Europe fromthe surviving populations of Russia, the Balkan countries, Spain and Italy, raising the need to update conservation strategies. A major conservation issue is to restore connections and gene flow among fragmented populations, thus contrasting the deleterious consequences of isolation. Wolves in Italy are expanding from the Apennines towards the Alps, crossing the Ligurian Mountains (northern Italy) and establishing connections with the Dinaric populations. Wolf expansion is threatened by poaching and incidental killings, mainly due to livestock depredations and conflicts with shepherds, which could limit the establishment of stable populations. Aiming to find out the factors affecting the use of livestock by wolves, in this study we determined the composition of wolf diet in Liguria. We examined 1457 scats collected from 2008 to 2013. Individual scats were genotyped using a non-invasive genetic procedure, and their content was determined using microscopical analyses. Wolves in Liguria consumed mainly wild ungulates (64.4%; in particular wild boar Sus scrofa and roe deer Capreolus capreolus) and, to a lesser extent, livestock (26.3%; in particular goats Capra hircus). We modeled the consumption of livestock using environmental features, wild ungulate community diversity, husbandry characteristics and wolf social organization (stable packs or dispersing individuals).Wolf diet varied according to years and seasons with an overall decrease of livestock and an increase ofwild ungulate consumption, but also between packs and dispersing individuals with greater livestock consumption for the latter. The presence of stable packs, instead of dispersing wolves, the adoption of prevention measures on pastures, roe deer abundance, and the percentage of deciduous woods, reduced predation on livestock. Thus, we suggest promoting wild ungulate expansion, the use of prevention tools in pastures, and ... |
author2 |
Imbert, Camille Caniglia, Romolo Fabbri, Elena Milanesi, Pietro Randi, Ettore Serafini, Matteo Torretta, Elisa Meriggi, Alberto |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Imbert, Camille Caniglia, Romolo Fabbri, Elena MILANESI, PIETRO Randi, Ettore Serafini, Matteo Torretta, Elisa MERIGGI, ALBERTO |
author_facet |
Imbert, Camille Caniglia, Romolo Fabbri, Elena MILANESI, PIETRO Randi, Ettore Serafini, Matteo Torretta, Elisa MERIGGI, ALBERTO |
author_sort |
Imbert, Camille |
title |
Why do wolves eat livestock?: Factors influencing wolf diet in northern Italy |
title_short |
Why do wolves eat livestock?: Factors influencing wolf diet in northern Italy |
title_full |
Why do wolves eat livestock?: Factors influencing wolf diet in northern Italy |
title_fullStr |
Why do wolves eat livestock?: Factors influencing wolf diet in northern Italy |
title_full_unstemmed |
Why do wolves eat livestock?: Factors influencing wolf diet in northern Italy |
title_sort |
why do wolves eat livestock?: factors influencing wolf diet in northern italy |
publishDate |
2016 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11571/1111209 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.01.003 |
genre |
Canis lupus |
genre_facet |
Canis lupus |
op_relation |
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/wos/WOS:000371942300019 volume:195 firstpage:156 lastpage:168 numberofpages:13 journal:BIOLOGICAL CONSERVATION http://hdl.handle.net/11571/1111209 doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2016.01.003 info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/scopus/2-s2.0-84954289932 www.elsevier.com/inca/publications/store/4/0/5/8/5/3 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2016.01.003 |
container_title |
Biological Conservation |
container_volume |
195 |
container_start_page |
156 |
op_container_end_page |
168 |
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1796307757881622528 |