Abstract
The European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) is an important game species throughout Europe. In Italy, for preventing the introduction of allochthonous strains, the management of brown hare populations has focused on the establishment of small protected areas (ZRCs), appositely managed for disposing of wild-born hares for restocking hunting territories. We investigated the effects of both land cover and surveillance on hare density and habitat preferences in 20 ZRCs, monitored twice per year (pre- and post-breeding periods) between 1997 and 2017. Density, as assessed by spotlight counts, ranged between 2.8 and 47.0 ind/km2 in spring and 5.0 and 68.4 ind/km2 in autumn. Surveillance, percent length of protected boundaries, year of institution and habitat diversity, as assessed by Shannon’s Index, were the main factors affecting hare density. During their foraging activity, hares selected ryegrass, hayfields and lucerne, while avoided maize stubble and ploughed fields and were never recorded in poplar plantations or next to human settlements. While the effects of habitat heterogeneity on hare density have been widely studied, we suggest that the involvement of local stakeholders may be of paramount importance for ensuring effective conservation measures.
Highlights
The European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) is an important small game species (Hacklander and Schai-Braun 2019; Schai-Braun et al 2019), which, since the 1960s, has suffered such a dramatic decline in western and central Europe (e.g. Broekhuizen 1982; Pielowski 1990; Tapper 1992; MitchellJones et al 1999) to be listed as “Near Threatened” or “Threatened” in several countries (e.g. Switzerland, Germany and Austria) and in Appendix III of the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.Despite having probably evolved in steppe grasslands, currently the brown hare is generally more abundant in intensively cultivated farmland than in pastures (Vaughan et al 2003)
While the effects of habitat heterogeneity on hare density have been widely studied, we suggest that the involvement of local stakeholders may be of paramount importance for ensuring effective conservation measures
The decline reached a peak in the 1980s, for the combined effects of agricultural intensification, hunting pressure and European brown hare syndrome (EBHS) (Spagnesi and Trocchi 1993)
Summary
The European brown hare (Lepus europaeus) is an important small game species (Hacklander and Schai-Braun 2019; Schai-Braun et al 2019), which, since the 1960s, has suffered such a dramatic decline in western and central Europe (e.g. Broekhuizen 1982; Pielowski 1990; Tapper 1992; MitchellJones et al 1999) to be listed as “Near Threatened” or “Threatened” in several countries (e.g. Switzerland, Germany and Austria) and in Appendix III of the Berne Convention on the Conservation of European Wildlife and Natural Habitats.Despite having probably evolved in steppe grasslands, currently the brown hare is generally more abundant in intensively cultivated farmland than in pastures (Vaughan et al 2003). Since the 1960s, the intensification and mechanization of agriculture have been paralleled by the reduction in hare numbers throughout Europe, pointing at habitat changes as the main cause of hare decline (Hutchings and Harris 1996; Smith et al 2005). Several studies have related the loss of habitat diversity caused by increased field size to the decrease of food availability, with consequent higher adult mortality and smaller litter size (Frylestam 1980; Smith et al 2005). The reduction of permanent cover caused by the removal of hedgerows and grassy field margins may locally exacerbate the impact of predators, mainly the red fox (Vulpes vulpes) (Smith et al 2004). Italian hare populations have followed the same trend recorded throughout Europe, showing the greatest reduction in the central and southern peninsula. In an ineffective attempt to halt hare decline, restocking was carried out throughout the peninsula, using hares from source populations in Eastern Europe and
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