ACTIVITY OF ANIMALS NEAR THE BADGER (MELES MELES) SETTIN THE PYRIATYNSKYI NNP (POLTAVA REGION, UKRAINE)
DOI: 10.17721/1728.2748.2024.96.38-43
Keywords:
animal, badger sett, camera trap, monitoring, Pyriatynskyi NNPAbstract
Background. Burrows are an important resource and attract many animals. Badgers create complicated underground shelters that other species can use. The aim of our study was to estimate the activity of animals near the badger sett in the Pyriatynskyi National Nature Park. Such long-term observations near underground shelters are best carried out with the use of camera traps.
Methods. The research was conducted in 2021–2023 on the territory of the Pyriatynskyi NNP (Poltava region, Lubny district). A BOLY BG310-MFP camera trap was installed near one main badger sett. Viewing, identification of animal species and classification of camera trap images was carried out using the digiKam program.
Results. The camera trap at the Pyriatynskyi NNP worked for 295 trap-days and registered 545 events. At the main badger sett 19 species of animals were recorded: 13 mammals and 6 birds. The dominant activity was in badger, fox, roe deer, red squirrel and mouse-like rodents. According to the results of observations, all registered animals were divided into two classifications: by the type of connection with sett (residents, potential residents, foragers, visitors and not interested animals) and by the frequency of visits (permanent residents, regular visitors, irregular visitors and random visitors). Foragers near the badger sett are represented by the greatest species diversity (8 species). Half of the bird species were sett random visitors, only Eurasian jay regularly visited and examined the soil mound near the entrance.
Conclusions. The main badger sett in the Pyriatynskyi NNP is an attractive object both for animals that can directly use it as a shelter, and for those that receive additional benefits, for example, preying nearby. The frequency of occurrence may be an indicator of the importance of the sett for animals, but the large number of events with roe deers and squirrels requires a separate study of this issue.
References
Abduloeva, O. S., Danko, K. Yu., Protsenko, Yu. V., & Podobailo, A. V. (2017). The nature of the Pyryatynskyi National Nature Park. Talkom [in Ukrainian]
Andersen, M. L., Bennett, D. E., & Holbrook, J. D. (2021). Burrow webs: Clawing the surface of interactions with burrows excavated by American badgers. Ecology and Evolution, 17, 11559–11568. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7962
Bouroş, G., Ionescu, D. T. & Hodor, C. (2019). Observation of Eurasian Otter's diel activity using camera trapping in Central-Eastern Romania. Vestnik Zoologii, 53(1), 47–56. http://doi.org/10.2478/vzoo-2019-0005
Bravo, L. G., Belliure, J., & Rebollo, S. (2009). European rabbits as ecosystem engineers: warrens increase lizard density and diversity. Biodiversity and Conservation, 18, 869–885.https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-008-9438-9
Brøseth, H., Bevanger, K., & Knutsen, B. (1997). Function of multiple badger Meles meles setts: distribution and utilization. Wildlife Biology, 3(2), 89–96. https://doi.org/10.2981/wlb.1997.011
Brusentsova, N. O. (2021). Experience of estimation the mammal biodiversity by camera traps in pine forest of Slobozhanskyi NNP (Kharkiv region). In Chornobyl: open air lab. Materials handbook I International Science and Applied Conference, April 24, 2021, Kyiv (pp. 127–130). Krok [in Ukrainian]
Brusentsova, N., & Yarotskui, V. (2021). Organization of observations near underground shelters of burrowing carnivorans: a comparison of different methods. Theriologia Ukrainica, 22, 100–110 [in Ukrainian]. http://doi.org/10.15407/TU2211
Coppola, F., Dari, C., Vecchio, G., Scarselli, D., & Felicioli, A. (2020). Cohabitation of Settlements among Crested Porcupine (Hystrix cristata), Red Fox (Vulpes vulpes) and European Badger (Meles meles). Current Science, 119(5), 817–822. http://doi.org/10.18520/cs/v119/i5/817-822
Davison, J., Huck, M., Delahay, R. J., & Roper, T. J. (2008). Urban badger setts: characteristics, patterns of use andmanagement implications. Journal of Zoology, 275, 190–200. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2008.00424.x
Delgado-Martínez, C. M., Kolb, M., Pascual-Ramírez, F., & Mendoza, E. (2023). Differential utilization of surface and arboreal water bodies by birds and mammals in a seasonally dry Neotropical forest in southern Mexico. Ecology and Evolution, 13(11), e10781.https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10781
Gashchak, S., Barnett, C. L., Beresford, N. A., Paskevych, S., & Wood, M. D. (2022). Estimating the population density of Eurasian lynx in the Ukrainian part of the Chornobyl exclusion zone using camera trap footage. Theriologia Ukrainica, 23, 47–65. http://doi.org/10.15407/TU2307
Jones, C. G., Lawton, J. H., & Shachak, M. (1994). Organisms as ecosystem engineers. Oikos, 69(3), 373‒386. https://doi.org/10.2307/3545850
Lyubinska, L., Matvieiev, M., Optasyuk, O., Drebet, M., & Ragulina, M. (2022). Biodiversityof the Satanivska Dacha tract, aUNESCO World Heritage site (Ukraine). GEO&BIO, 23, 107–130. https://doi.org/10.15407/gb2310
Kluever, B. M., Gese, E. M., Dempsey, S. J., & Knight, R. N. (2013). A comparison of methods for monitoring kit foxes at den sites. Wildlife Society Bulletin, 37(2), 439–443. https://doi.org/10.1002/wsb.261
Kowalczyk, R., Zalewski, A., & Jędrzejewska, B. (2004). Seasonal and spatial pattern of shelter use by badgers Meles meles in Bialowieza Primeval Forest (Poland). Acta Theriologica, 49(1), 75–92. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF03192510
Kowalczyk, R., Jędrzejewska, B., Zalewski, A., & Jędrzejewski, W. (2008). Facilitative interactions between the Eurasian badger (Meles meles), the red fox (Vulpes vulpes), and the invasive raccoon dog (Nyctereutes procyonoides) in Białowieża Primeval Forest, Poland. Canadian Journal of Zoology, 86(12), 1389–1396. https://doi.org/10.1139/Z08-127
Mukherjee, A., Pal, A., Velankar, A. D., Kumara, H. N., & Bhupathy, S. (2019). Stay awhile in my burrow! Interspecific associations of vertebrates to Indian crested porcupine burrows. Ethology Ecology & Evolution, 31, 313–328. https://doi.org/10.1080/03949370.2019.1594392
Nowakowski, K., Ważna, A., Kurek, P., Cichocki, J., & Gabryś, G. (2020). Reproduction success in European badgers, red foxes and raccoon dogs in relation to sett cohabitation. PLoS ONE, 15(8), e0237642. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0237642
On approval of the lists of animal species included in the Red Book of Ukraine (animal world) and animal species excluded from the Red Book of Ukraine (animal world). (2021). Order of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources of Ukraine № 29 dated January 19, 2021 [in Ukrainian]. https://zakon.rada.gov.ua/laws/show/z0260-21#Text
Reichman, O. J., & Smith, S. C. (1990). Burrows and burrowing behaviour be mammals. In Current Mammalogy (pp. 197–244). Plenum Press, New York and London.
Revilla, E., Palomares, F., & Fernandez, N. (2001). Characteristics, location and selection of diurnal resting dens by Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) in a low density area. Journal of Zoology, 255, 291–299. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0952836901001388
Roper, T. J. (1992). The structure and function of badger setts. Journal of Zoology, 227, 691–694. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1992.tb04425.x
Vyshnevsky, D. (2021). The experience of low-resource fauna research by using camera traps. Theriologia Ukrainica, 21, 114–124 [in Ukrainian]. http://doi.org/10.15407/TU2110
