Scent marking in wolves Canis lupus inhabiting managed lowland forests in Poland
| Autor: | Kinga M. Stępniak, Natalia Niedźwiecka, Robert W. Mysłajek, Maciej Szewczyk |
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| Rok vydání: | 2020 |
| Předmět: |
0106 biological sciences
0303 health sciences geography.geographical_feature_category biology Ecology Lupus (constellation) biology.organism_classification Old-growth forest 010603 evolutionary biology 01 natural sciences 03 medical and health sciences Canis Geography Animal ecology Animal Science and Zoology Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics 030304 developmental biology |
| Zdroj: | Mammal Research. 65:629-638 |
| ISSN: | 2199-241X 2199-2401 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s13364-020-00514-x |
| Popis: | In wolves Canis lupus, scent marking plays an important role in territory defence. In Europe, studies on patterns of scent marking in wolves have mostly been conducted in mountains or primeval forests, but since these areas are characterised by low human activity, the impact of people on this behaviour has been neglected. We conducted a study that combined genetic methods with an analysis of the spatial distribution of wolf territory markings in lowland managed forests with high human activity. We found that scent markings are deposited by all members of wolf family groups. Wolves most intensively marked crossroads and their vicinity, especially on roads only accessible for four-wheel drive cars. Our study provides further evidence that crossroads of forest roads play a crucial role in wolf scent marking. The results of our study may be useful during inventories of wolf populations based on collecting indirect signs of their presence or non-invasive genetic sampling. |
| Databáze: | OpenAIRE |
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