Fine-scale habitat use by Daurian hedgehogs in the Gobi-steppe of Mongolia

Abstract

The Daurian hedgehog (Mesechinus dauuricus) inhabits eastern Mongolia and adjacent areas of Asia. Previous research indicated that Daurian hedgehogs occupy larger home ranges than other hedgehog species and exhibit broad habitat selection for shrublands and rocky areas. However, few details about fine-scale habitat use exist. We investigated vegetation and topographic characteristics in areas used by two male and two female Daurian hedgehogs fitted with radio transmitters from June to September 2011. We recorded movement paths by continuously tracking each hedgehog during 10 nighttime periods (4–9 h) and used radio-tracking data to develop random alternative paths. We evaluated fine-scale habitat selection based on 1475 individual locations collected along five actual paths and five randomly-generated alternatives per animal. Hedgehog movement paths averaged 3.38 km (±0.39 SE, range = 0.25–12.23 km). Comparisons between actual and random paths indicated that hedgehogs selected topographically level terrain and areas with shrubs, specifically wild apricot (Amygdalus pedunculata). Hedgehogs probably foraged around wild apricot because it supports higher densities of insects important to their diets, and use of level areas may reduce the energetic costs of foraging. Our results provide evidence of non-random fine-scale habitat selection by Daurian hedgehogs.