Habitat selection by the European hare in arable landscapes: The importance of small-scale habitat structure for conservation.

ABSTRACT: Agricultural land-use practices have intensified over the last decades, leading to population declines of various farmland species, including the European hare (Lepus europaeus). In many European countries, arable fields dominate agricultural landscapes. Compared to pastures, arable land is highly variable, resulting in a large spatial variation of food and cover for wildlife over the course of the year, which potentially affects habitat selection by hares. Here, we investigated within-home-range habitat selection by hares in arable areas in Denmark and Germany to identify habitat requirements for their conservation. We hypothesized that hare habitat selection would depend on local habitat structure, that is, vegetation height, but also on agricultural field size, vegetation type, a

SUBMITTER: Mayer M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6303708 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature