Small game water troughs in a Spanish agrarian pseudo steppe: visits and water site choice by wild fauna

Abstract

This paper studies the visits of wild fauna, the influence of vegetal cover and fencing at water site election, and consumption tendency in water troughs designed for small game species distributed in an agricultural Mediterranean area during the summers from 2002 to 2005. Red-legged partridges (Alectoris rufa), lagomorphs (Oryctolagus cuniculus, Lepus granatensis), and other autochthonous species (birds and wild canids) visited water sources throughout the study. The number of visits by target species was higher than non-game. Lagomorphs preferred protected troughs (with surrounding vegetal cover) while partridges opted for open ones (without cover). Fencing had no effect on the visits of birds and lagomorphs, but it did reduce the visits of wild canids. Harsh climatic conditions determined an increase in water consumption in summer. Before designing a water trough device for this fauna, managers should consider that (1) target and non-target species could try to make use of it, (2) water points should be adapted to target species self protection, (3) fencing can prevent undesirable visitors (particularly predators), and (4) water requirements increase in the harsh moments of the dry season.