Hare's affairs: Lessons learnt from a noninvasive genetic monitoring for tracking mountain hare individuals.

Laura Schenker,Kurt Bollmann,Sabine Brodbeck,Felix Gugerli,Maik Rehnus

doi:10.1002/ece3.6676

Laura Schenker, Kurt Bollmann + Show 3 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.6676

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Abstract

Systematic monitoring of individuals and their abundance over time has become an important tool to provide information for conservation. For genetic monitoring studies, noninvasive sampling has emerged as a valuable approach, particularly so for elusive or rare animals. Here, we present the 5‐year results of an ongoing noninvasive genetic monitoring of mountain hares (Lepus timidus) in a protected area in the Swiss Alps. We used nuclear microsatellites and a sex marker to identify individuals and assign species to noninvasively collected feces samples. Through including a marker for sex identification, we were able to assess sex ratio changes and sex‐specific demographic parameters over time. Male abundance in the area showed high fluctuations and apparent survival for males was lower than for females. Generally, males and females showed only little temporary migration into and out of the study area. Additionally, using genotyped tissue samples from mountain hares, European hares (Lepus europaeus) and their hybrids, we were able to provide evidence for the first occurrence of a European hare in the study area at an elevation of 2,300 m a.s.l. in spring 2016. For future monitoring studies, we suggest to include complementary analysis methods to reliably infer species identities of the individuals analyzed and, thus, not only monitor mountain hare individual abundance, but also assess the potential threats given through competitive exclusion by and hybridization with the European hare.

Highlights

Estimates of demographic parameters of populations provide important knowledge for the evaluation of conservation measures of a species (Allendorf, Luikart, & Aitken, 2013)
Through genotyping nuclear microsatellite loci and a sex marker based on DNA extracted from fecal pellets, we were able to show that male mountain hare individuals had lower apparent survival rates than females, and higher fluctuations in activity rates throughout the year, presumably based on their mating behavior
Apparent survival was lower for males than females, male individuals mostly disappeared between spring and fall, and new male individuals appeared between fall and spring

Summary

| INTRODUCTION

Estimates of demographic parameters of populations provide important knowledge for the evaluation of conservation measures of a species (Allendorf, Luikart, & Aitken, 2013). We present a 5-year NiG sampling dataset of the mountain hare (Lepus timidus) as study species, used to assess demographic parameters in a strictly protected area which allows their estimation under assumedly natural conditions (Rehnus, Marconi, Hackländer, & Filli, 2013) This enables us to draw conclusions about the conservation status and types of threat present in an exemplary alpine habitat. We investigate how NiG can be used to track population changes and to quantify threats for mountain hares by considering sex-specific demographic parameters and tracking possible occurrence of European hares In this way, we used the samples of an ongoing monitoring from the years 2014‒2018 and asked the following research questions: (a) Do apparent survival rates differ between sexes? We used the samples of an ongoing monitoring from the years 2014‒2018 and asked the following research questions: (a) Do apparent survival rates differ between sexes? As activity rates are sex-specific during mating season and have been closely linked to survival (Murray, 2002), we expect to observe sex-specific apparent survival rates. (b) Are temporary migration rates equal between sexes? Both sexes have been shown to display high site fidelity (Bisi et al, 2011); we expect to observe low temporary migration rates for both sexes. (c) Are European hares already present in the study area? Through genotyping tissue samples of known European and mountain hares and comparing the thereby obtained individual genotypes to individual genotypes obtained for the monitoring, we expected to be able to assign species identities (Beugin et al, 2017)

| MATERIAL AND METHODS

Findings

| DISCUSSION

| CONCLUSIONS