Second International Hedgehog
Workshop
European Hedgehog Research Group
18.-19.8.1997 in Vienna (Wien), Austria
(Österreich)
INTRODUCTION
In April 1996 a group of scientists and
people from wildlife hospitals met for a workshop in Arendal (Norway).
Participants from all across Europe gave presentations on various topics
concerning the ecology, distribution and taxonomy of the two European hedgehog
species: Erinaceus europaeus and E. concolor. Other presentations focused
on the caring for sick and injured individuals and the prospects for such
animals once released in the wild again.
The participants founded the European
Hedgehog Research Group (EHRG) to serve as an umbrella for their contacts.
Several joint studies were initiated as well. These ranged from a distribution
project in Europe to genetic differences in the regions around the North
Sea and the Baltic. A hedgehog litter size project was also initiated:
various reproduction parameters seem to be closely related to climatal
factors.
The 2nd workshop of the EHRG was held
in Vienna on 18 and 19 August 1997. Presentations focused on similar topics
to the first workshop, but nevertheless contained new ideas and results
based on recent research. Special attention was given to the preliminary
results and future goals of joint EHRG projects.
ABSTRACTS OF PAPERS PRESENTED
MORPHOLOGY
External morphology of hedgehogs
Beate S. Johansen
Dept. of Zoology, Norwegian
University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7034 Trondheim, Norway, e-mail:
beate.johansen@hia.no
Are there differences in size and weight
between European hedgehogs in various parts of Europe? There are indications
that British hedgehogs are smaller than continental hedgehogs. If the European
hedgehog follows Bergmann's rule, the Scandinavian hedgehogs should be
larger than those living further south. The present study tries to find
out if this is the case. However, there is a serious lack of data on external
body measures from most European countries so comparisons cannot be made.
Therefore, hedgehog researchers are herewith asked to collect such data
according to the forms developed by Matti Masing and myself. The form developed
by Matti Masing concerns various diagnostic
characters in Erinaceus europaeus and E. concolor, and the aim is to distinguish
various morphs of the two species in Europe. Preliminary data show for
example difference in the shape of the nose between British and Norwegian
hedgehogs. The form developed by myself deals with various external measures
to be taken from live or dead hedgehogs. Only some measures can be taken
from living individuals,
and these are sex, weight, hind foot length
(both left and right because of asymmetry) and ball length (body length
when the individual is rolled into a ball). Since the weight of hedgehogs
fluctuates seasonally, it is important to take the date of the measure
into account, as well as the reproductive status of the individual. Many
more measures may be taken from dead individuals. However, after correlating
the various measures with each other, it was found that tail length, face
length and ear length did not correlate well with other body measurements
and should not be used. lt is also important to note that ball length is
not an accurate measure in dead individuals, and that normal body length
is difficult to take from living individuals. A new measure of body size
is introduced: the spiny skin length. This measure correlates very well
with other measures of body size (e.g.
weight, body length, ball length, hind foot length, leg length), and is
often the only measure that can be taken to tell the size of a predated
or road killed hedgehog.
The various measures of body size may
be used to categorize hedgehogs into different age groups. Hedgehog researchers
in different countries are herewith asked to measure marked hedgehogs of
known age (for example by measuring the same individuals from year to year,
preferably from the juvenile state and each year after). It is also possible
to take x-ray photographs of a fore foot to see if an individual is juvenile
(1st summer), subadult (2nd summer) or adult (3rd summer). These body measurements
of individuals of known age may now be used to make a figure of the average
size of hedgehogs in different age groups in a certain geographical area.
If strong correlations are present, it will enable us to compare measures
of new, unknown individuals with this figure to find the age group of the
individual in question. In behavioural studies in particular, it is important
to know in which age group your study animals belong, since individuals
of different age and reproductive status may behave differently.
HEDGEHOGS IN CAPTIVITY AND REHABILITATION
Rehabilitation of hedgehogs in Britain
Nigel Reeve
School of Life Sciences,
Roehampton Institute London, West Hill, London SWJ 5 3SN, United Kingdom,
e-mail: n.reeve@roehampton.ac.uk
The successful return of animals to the
wild after care in captivity is an aim common to all hedgehog rescue centres.
However, despite the several published studies of released hedgehogs that
have been carried out in Britain, more field experiments are needed before
the key factors that influence the survival and welfare of released hedgehogs
can be clearly identified. A better understanding of such factors could
be used to improve release protocols that are currently largely based on
informed guess-work. Wildlife rescue organisations should always try to
evaluate their rehabilitation programmes with empirical data.
Further post-release monitoring studies
using radio-tracking are recommended to determine more clearly the effects
of pre-release factors on post-release survival and welfare e.g. body weight,
the use of soft release methods, anti-parasitic treatments, characteristics
of release sites etc. However radio-tracking remains beyond the resources
of most rescue centres. Alternatively, it is recommended that hedgehog
rescue centres and wildlife hospitals routinely tag all hedgehogs prior
to release using some form of easily visible permanent individual mark
eg. numbered ear tags. Subcutaneously implanted microchip transponders
are also good but are relatively expensive and marked animals cannot be
recognised without a special microchip reader. Already widely used are
the many temporary identification methods based on marking hedgehog spines;
for example, with coloured paint/nail varnish, the addition of coloured
beads or shrink-fit tubing.
The routine use of permanent identification
tags would at least enable the certain recognition by carers of former
patients but would also provide the means to collect useful follow-up data
- provided that there is: a) a rigorous and well-designed system of record
keeping, b) an informed and co-operative public, c) thorough and professional
analysis of data collected. Some centres already use such monitoring procedures,
however, it is the aim of this paper to encourage the spread and standardisation
of best practice and the productive collaboration of different rescue centres
carrying out research. If the results of such work are to be of real value
it is essential that they are properly written up and published in the
scientific literature.
ECOLOGY
Breeding activity of hedgehogs in Norway
Beate S. Johansen
Dept. of Zoology, Norwegian
University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7034 Trondheim, Norway, e-mail:
beate.johansen@hia.no
The present study is based on radio telemetry
of 29 suburban hedgehogs in Trondheim, Central Norway MIN) during spring
and summer 1994 and 1995. Snow cover in Trondheim normally lasts from November
to April, often with days of snow in May. Hedgehogs were caught and marked
as soon as they became active in late April or in May, and males and females
seemed to become active at the same time. Males started courtship at once,
and moved fast over large distances in search for females. Females seemed
to try to forage as much as possible, moved comparatively short distances
and used small activity areas. However, they were often
disturbed by courting males, and both
males and females could be observed late in the following morning (until
10.00 am) still active. In 1994, 11 courtships between male and females
were observed, and 32 courtships in 1995. In 1995 courtships involving
more than two individuals were observed three times. Male-male interactions
were also noted. In early June, all courtships suddenly stopped, and the
males adopted a female-like strategy by moving short distances
while constantly foraging. From now on,
males used the rest of the summer and autumn to gain weight before hibernation
in October. Females gained weight until birth of their young in end June,
but did not increase in weight again before the end of lactation when the
juveniles were weaned and dispersed at 4-5 weeks of age. As a result, females
had shorter time to gain weight before hibernation than adult males. The
individuals were weighed every week, and the weight curves of males and
females shows clearly different patterns which reflects the different costs
related to the different strategies during the mating and breeding period.
How to analyze dependent telemetry data?
Marcel P. Huijser, Mathy P. Lips, Johan
A. Buitenkamp and Anita Dulos
Vereniging voor Zoogdierkunde
en Zoogdierbescherming (VZZ), Emmalaan 41, 3581 HP Utrecht, The Netherlands,
e-mail: zoogdier@bigfoot.com
At the first workshop of the European Hedgehog
Research Group we presented the preliminary results of a habitat study
of hedgehogs in a small scale agricultural landscape. The hedgehogs showed
a marked preference for hedgerows and a zone of 5 m adjacent to these linear
elements or a forest's edge. The assumptions of the Chi2-test and Bonferroni
90% confidence intervals we used at that time were violated, since our
data, which we had obtained through radio telemetry, were far from independent.
Now we addressed the question whether
the hedgehogs used the landscape selectively by applying the Friedman test
(Alldredge & Ratti, 1992; Sokal & Rohlf, 1995). For this test the
differences in percentage use and availability for the habitat types for
each animal are ranked. The Friedman test then tests whether certain habitat
types are used more or less often than expected. A box and whisker plot,
which shows the variability in habitat selection each of the habitat types,
may than serve as a descriptive aid to determine which habitat types are
positively or negatively selected.
References
Alldredge, J.R. & J.T. Ratti. 1992.
Further comparison of some statistical techniques for analysis of resource
selection. Journal of Wildlife Management 560): 1-9.
Sokal R.R. & F.J. Rohlf. 1995. Biometry.
The principles and practice of statistics in biological research. 3rd ed.
W.H. Freeman and Company, New York.
Nest use and nest site selection of
hedgehogs in Norway
Beate S. Johansen and Hanne Mari Saether
Dept. of Zoology, University
of Trondheim (NTNU), N-7055 Dragvoil, Norway, e-mail: hannesat@james.avh.unit.no
or beate.johansen@hia.no
Radio tracking data from 29 adult hedgehogs
and 22 juveniles were used to study the nest site selection and nest use
in summer by hedgehogs living in suburban areas of Trondheim, mid Norway.
Nest sites were mostly under buildings, verandas, stairs and sheds, and
juveniles also used to sleep on waste ground and among shrubs. Each individual
used several nests
throughout the summer, and they changed
nest after a couple of days. Adult females used significantly fewer nests
and spent more days before changing nest than adult males, which
may be explained by the birth and rearing
of the young and the greater activity of males when searching for mates.
Juveniles did not show any sexual differences in nest use. Lactating females
were observed more often foraging during daytime than adult males and juveniles.
On several occasions, hedgehogs used the same nests both simultaneously
and non-simultaneously. This is the first time simultaneous nest use has
been demonstrated in wild hedgehogs during summer.
Do roads and traffic affect hedgehog
population density?
Marcel P. Huijser (1) and Piet J.M.
Bergers (2)
1 Vereniging voor Zoogdierkunde
en Zoogdierbescherming (VZZ), Emmalaan 41, 3581 HP Utrecht, the Netherlands,
e-mail: zoogdier@bigfoot.com
2 Institute for Forestry
and Nature research (IBN-DLO), P.O. Box 23, 6700 AA Wageningen, the Netherlands,
e-mail: p.j.m.bergers@ibn.dlo.nl
In order to determine whether roads and
traffic lead to a negative effect on hedgehog density, a pairwise comparison
of relative hedgehog density was made in 15 road- and control plots. The
size, shape and location of the plots were designed to measure the effect
of traffic mortality. The relative hedgehog density in the plots was determined
by the presence or absence of foot prints in small plastic tunnels that
were specifically designed for this project. The number of foot prints
was strongly correlated with the number of individual hedgehogs that were
captured in wooden traps immediately afterwards in five of the plots.
The data were analyzed in two ways. Both
of them indicated a possible negative effect of a little over 30%, although
the difference between road- and control plots was not significant (P =
0.13, P = 0.14). However, a power analysis showed that we would have needed
26 or 17 road- and control plots to detect a difference of 30 % (p = 90
%, a = 0.05). Differences of 40 % or greater should have been detected
with a sample size of 15. An effect of about 30% may well exist despite
the P-values of 0.13 and 0.14: the sample size that was too small to detect
a difference of 30 % and the P-values can already be considered relatively
low. The fact that the control plots could not always be situated at the
preferred minimum distance to a paved road, made the possible effect also
harder to detect. An increase in sample size is needed to test whether
an effect of 30 % indeed exists or not.
GENETICS
On gene pool variability within and
between the two hedgehog species Erinaceus europaeus and E. concolor in
their central European contact and overlap zones
Franz Suchentrunk (1), Anita Haiden
(1) and Günther B. Hartl (2)
1 Research Institute of
Wildlife Ecology, Vienna Veterinary, University, Savoyenstr. 1, A-1 160
Vienna, Austria, e-mail: franz.suchentrunk@vu-wien.ac.at
2 Inst. f. Haustierkunde
der Christian-Albrechts-Universität zu Kiel, Olshausenstr. 40, D-24118
Kiel, Germany, e-mail: ghartl@ifh.uni-kiel.de
The zone of sympatric occurrence of the
two closely related hedgehog species Erinaceus europaeus and E. concolor
in central Europe reaches from the Baltic sea (Germany and Poland) to the
northernmost part of the Adriatic sea (Italy). According to morphological
studies and successful hybridization experiments (e.g. Ansorge, 1987; Herter,
1935; Holz, 1978; Poduschka & Poduschka, 1983), occurrence of introgressive
hybridization in the species' overlap zone cannot be entirely excluded.
This study estimates the gene pool divergence between the two hedgehog
species from parts of their sympatric range and adjacent areas in central
Europe in comparison to intraspecific variability. Fourtyfive western European
hedgehogs (E. europaeus) from two regions (eastern Germany and Austria)
and 40 eastern European hedgehogs (E. concolor) from three regions in Austria
were screened for allozymic variation at 37 structural gene loci by horizontal
starch gel electrophoresis.
Based on 2750 and 2908 genes analyzed
in E. europaeus and E. concolor, respectively, allozymic variability was
detected at only six loci. At three loci (Aat-1, -2, Gpt) alleles were
obviously alternately fixed between the two species, which indicated distinct
gene pool separation. The Mor-2 locus was polymorphic only in E. europaeus,
the Gpi locus only in E. concolor, and the Pep-1 locus in either species.
In each hedgehog there was concordance of morphological and allozymic species
classification. There was no hint for occurrence of introgressive hybridization.
Mean expected heterozygosities of populations of E. europaeus
(He = 0,019-0,020) and E. concolor (He
= 0,000-0,020) and rates of polymorphism (E. europaeus: P = 5,4; E. concolor:
P = 0,0-5,4) were low as compared to mammalian standards, and corresponded
to those reported already by Filippucci & Lapini (1988) for Italian
hedgehogs. Significant variation of alleles at polymorphic loci was found
in either species, indicating some gene pool differences across the studied
range. Nei 's (1978) pairwise genetic distance D between geographical samples
of the two species ranged between 0,087 and 0,099, and was somewhat lower
than reported in Filippucci & Lapini (1988). The divergence time between
the two species, calculated by using Nei 's (1975) estimated average rate
of codon substitution, amounted to 435.000 - 495.000 years BP. This estimate
corresponds to the hypothesis of the differentiation of a primarily common
European hedgehog gene pool in a southeastern and a southwestern refuge
area in Europe during the pleistocene.
References
Ansorge, H. 1987. Säugetierkd.
Inf. 2: 399-402.
Filippucci, M.G. & L.
Lapini. 1988. Gortania 9: 227-236.
Herter, K. 1935. Sitz.-Ber.
Ges. Natf. Fr. Berlin: 118-121.
Holz, H. 1978. Z. Zool.
Syst. Evolut.-forsch. 16: 148-165.
Nei, M. 1975. Molecular
population genetics and evolution. North-Holland Publ.Co., Amsterdam, Nei,
M. 1978. Genetics 89:583-590.
Poduscka, W. & C. Poduschka.
1983. Sitzber. Österr. Akad. Wiss. (Math.-Nath. K., Abt. 1) 192: 21-36
A mitochondrial DNA study into genetic
variation among populations of the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)
across Europe
Nigel Reeve
School of Life Sciences,
Roehampton Institute London, West Hill, London SW1 5 3SN, United Kingdom,
e-mail: n.reeve@roehampton.ac.uk
After some funding and communication problems,
we can now confirm that the DNA analysis of samples already collected will
go ahead over the next few months. Technical support and laboratory facilities
have been made available by Prof. Godfrey Hewitt at the Department of Biological
Sciences, University of East Anglia where there are excellent facilities.
1 was also successful in raising just over £2000 from Roehampton
Institute London to cover the costs of consumables in the analysis. We
thank all those who have been kind enough to supply tissue samples from:
Norway, Estonia, Germany, New Zealand, Ireland, The Netherlands, Jersey.
All collaborators will be contacted as soon as results become available.
APPEAL FOR MORE TISSUE SAMPLES from European
hedgehogs from the following regions, Northern and Southern France, Denmark,
Sweden, Finland, Switzerland, Spain. If you are able to help, we need a
small piece of clean tissue (not decomposed) from freshly dead hedgehogs.
Muscle is ideal. Only a small shred of tissue eg. 5mm x 5mm is needed.
The tissue sample should be immediately placed in a small specimen tube
(eg. an eppendorf is ideal) filled with 100% ethanol and kept cool. If
70% ethanol must be used then the sample will store less well and will
need to be kept frozen (eg. at -20° C). Specimens from 10 animals in
your region would be ideal but any sample is better than nothing. Send
the samples to Dr. N.J.Reeve, School of Life Sciences, Roehampton Institute
London, West Hill, London SW1 5 3SN.
Loss of genetic variability in an isolated
hedgehog population
S. Anette Becher
School of Environmental
& Evolutionary Biology, University of St. Andrews, St. Andrews Fife
KY16 9TH, Scotland, e-mail: sab5@st-andrews.ac.uk
As part of a larger study of the effect
of changes in landuse on wildlife, I collected 75 tissue samples from European
hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) on four Orkney Islands (Mainland, Hoy,
Egilsay and North Ronaldsay) and genotyped these for six hedgehog-specific
dimeric microsatellite loci.
Heterozygosity values in Orcadian hedgehogs
were low (average 0.18) compared to values found in reference populations
from a fragmented area in Oxfordshire (0.70). Orcadian hedgehogs also had
fewer microsatellite alleles compared to the Oxfordshire reference population.
Tissue from Orkney had between one and six alleles per locus, while one
locus was entirely monomorphic. This contrasts with between six and nine
alleles per locus scored in Oxfordshire.
It is likely that this result reflects
the origin of the hedgehog populations on Orkney. Orcadian populations
are derived from very few individuals that, in turn, represent the end
of a chain of bottlenecking events of varying length. Very possibly, serial
bottlenecking has resulted in this loss of genetic variability.
Weir & Cockerham's Fst values were
high among populations from different islands. Fst among Orcadian hedgehogs
was 0.398, compared to 0.069 among the reference populations from Oxford.
This reflects the spatial isolation of the island populations.
Orcadian hedgehogs also suffered from
an unbalanced sex ratio (an excess of three females to one male), from
a mutation of the Agouti gene resulting in pale (blonde) spine colouration
and from high juvenile mortality. It is likely that these effects are also
related to the genetic impoverishment due to serial bottlenecks.
LITTER SIZE
Litter sizes and breeding season of
hedgehogs in Germany
Monika Neumeier
Pro Igel e.V., Lindenhofweg
50, D-88131 Lindau/B, Germany, e-mail: proigel@t-online.de. Presented by
Barbara Trentini, Pro Igel Switzerland, P.0. Box 77, 8932, Mettmenstetten,
Switzerland
In 1996 Pro Igel Germany sent Pat Morris'
questionnaire "Hedgehogs - how many babies do they have?" to about 100
German hedgehog carers. We evaluated the incoming questionnaires before
passing them to Dr. Morris, because we were interested in the German data.
For the German area we found an average litter size of 5.13 young. Among
the 217 litters recorded there were two litters consisting of 10 young.
The principal months of birth are August and September. More than half
of the hedgehogs in Germany were born in August. Second litters could be
expected only in climatically favourable regions. From one of the areas
we were only reported April and May litters, except for one. Only one September
litter was reported from that area. It might have been a second litter.
We conclude from the analysis of the data that in some warmer parts of
Germany, second litters are not entirely impossible to occur. However,
in terms of the reproduction rate, they are insignificant.
Litter size of hedgehogs in Norway
Beate S. Johansen
Dept. of Zoology, Norwegian
University of Science and Technology (NTNU), 7034 Trondheim, Norway, e-mail:
beate.johansen@hia.no
Data on litter size and date of birth were
collected in Norway in 1996 and 1997. The European survey of hedgehog litter
size form, as developed by Pat Morris, was used. Additional data on litter
size and date of birth were obtained from a questionnaire in 1993/1994
on various aspects of hedgehog distribution and biology in Norway (ca.
2000 respondents). Nearly all answers were in category 2c, i.e. "seen with
mother" outside the nest. Radio marking studies in Trondheim by the author
have shown that juvenile hedgehogs leave the nest at four weeks of age,
and disperse when they are 5-6 weeks old. This enabled a reasonably accurate
calculation of the date of birth. Litter size and monthly observations
of litters in each county of Norway (19 counties in total) were shown in
two different tables. This showed that most of the answers came from the
six counties of West Norway and Tröndelag, and that young hedgehogs
were mostly observed in June, July and August, which means that they are
born one month before. Litter size from the 1993/1994 questionnaire showed
that litters of two, three or f our young were most commonly observed,
with a peak at two young in a litter. This is in contrast to the litter
size of radio marked female hedgehogs in Trondheim 1994 and 1995. Of 11
litters in total, six litters contained five young, two litters contained
eight young, and tree litters contained respectively two, three and six
young each. The average litter size was five young. This is supported by
the preliminary data on litter size from 1997 based on the form by Pat
Morris, despite continued sample size (11 litters). In contrast, the 1996
results (24 litters) showed a peak at three young per litter, however with
a broad spectre (1-7 young per litter). This leads to the conclusion that
care must be taken in interpreting the results when sample size is small,
and that different methods may lead to different results. However, litter
size in Norway might show yearly variation, and the range in litter size
may be relatively broad compared to more southern latitudes. The questionnaire
from 1993/1994 may have been biased towards two young in each litter since
people may not have seen all young. However, when the total observations
on litter size from the whole country is pooled together, two young in
a litter may turn up to be the most common in Norway.
Hedgehog young in the Netherlands
Marcel P. Huijser
Vereniging voor Zoogdierkunde
en Zoogdierbescherming (VZZ), Emmalaan 41, 3581 HP Utrecht, the Netherlands,
e-mail: zoogdier@bigfoot.com
In 1996 the standard hedgehog litter size
questionnaire, as presented by Pat Morris at the first workshop of the
European Hedgehog Research Group, was distributed to Dutch wildlife hospitals,
and to some extend to the public. The number of young observed in the nest
was a little over four for the first age category (range 2-6). When trapping
hedgehogs, the majority of the animals is male. The same applies for hedgehogs
that are brought to wildlife hospitals. This could either be caused by
an unequal sex ratio or an increased probability for males to be trapped
or to encounter a human being. The sex of the young could be determined
in some wildlife hospitals where (complete) nests are looked after. Of
the 38 nests with 159 young in total, 74 were male and 85 female. So, an
unequal sex ratio with more males than females seems highly unlikely. The
higher activity of males during the (long) mating season is a more probable
cause for the male majority in traps and wildlife hospitals.
Most young were born in the second part
of August. However, there is great variability (end of May - end of September).
This variability is seems to be correlated with the geographical location
of the nests. Early nests (end May- end June) were all found south of the
river Rhine, most of them in the extreme south-east of the Netherlands
(southern Limburg), whereas late nests (half July - end September) came
from north of the river Rhine (with some exceptions). This indicates a
geographical gradient. The spring starts about two weeks earlier in southern
Limburg than in the north. This implicates that hedgehogs in the south
do not deplete their fat reserves as much as the ones in the north, and
they may also begin to restore their reserves earlier in the season. This
may, at least for the greater part, explain the difference in time of birth
for hedgehogs in the extreme south and north of the Netherlands. Since
all three regions have only one peak in the number of nests with young,
the existence of a second litter in the wild is unlikely.
By winter 1997/1998 the number of observations
will have increase substantially due to increased publicity in media (papers,
radio, magazines etc.). We also expect data from Belgium (and possibly
France to be coming in this year or in 1998. For Wallonie and France a
French version of the litter size questionnaire has been made. Fact sheets
on hedgehogs (see hand-outs) were distributed together with the questionnaires,
and seem to be much appreciated by the public.
DISCUSSIONS
Litter size project
Interesting geographical patterns were
revealed in litter size and time of birth. In the United Kingdom and the
Netherlands litter sizes are relatively low (just over four young per nest),
whereas greater litter sizes (average of five or six) occur in Germany
and Scandinavia where winters are more severe. Climate also seems to influence
time of birth. However, hedgehogs in Norway (Trondheim area) arouse surprisingly
early from hibernation and have their litters early too. Some possible
explanations were discussed. Data from more southern countries, especially
the mediterranean region are needed to gain insight in the full spectrum
of geographic variability in reproduction parameters and their possible
relation to climate related factors.
Things to do:
1 Establish contacts in more southern
countries (e.g. France, Spain, Italy) and central Europe (Switzerland,
Austria).
2 Discussion on the observed patterns
(preferably by e-mail) with Pat Morris (central data collector), spot literature
that relates to our questions or analyzing methods. Keep an eye open for
literature on this subject. We hope to get a paper out in 1998.
3 Increase sample sizes in general.
4 Those who have not send their data to
Pat Morris, please do so as soon as possible.
Contact:
Pat Morris, Dept. of Zoology, Royal Holloway
& Bedford New College, University of London Conservation, Egham, Surrey
TW20 OEX, United Kingdorn, e-mail: p.morris@RHBNC.ac.uk
Invitation for project proposals for
a EHRG study on comparative ecology and genetic separation between Erinaceus
europaeus and E. concolor in the Baltics
Gundega Kampe
Faculty of Biology, University
of Latvia, Kronvalda bulv. 4, LV-1 842 Riga, Latvia, e-mail: mb60022@lanet.lv
Erinaceus europaeus and E. concolor are
quite similar in appearance, but their overlap in distribution seems to
be limited and hybridization in the wild seerns to be infrequent or low.
Do the animals inhabit separate ecological niches, does competition occur,
and if so, to what extend, and is the apparent genetic separation due to
behavioural differences? Questions like these could be answered in a joint
EHRG / Latvian Mammal Society study in the Baltic states where both species
occur. Gundega Kampe invites EHRG members to submit research proposals.
She will be the contact person in the Baltics and may apply for funding.
Beate Johansen will take initiative and write a research proposal. Nigel
Reeve, Marcel Huijser and others may comment on the draft.
More information available through Gundega
Kampe
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