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Mammal Status: Diversity, Abundance and Dynamics Volume II
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Mammal Status: Diversity, Abundance and Dynamics Volume II

A special issue of Sustainability (ISSN 2071-1050). This special issue belongs to the section "Sustainability, Biodiversity and Conservation".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 September 2023) | Viewed by 9487

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Linas Balčiauskas

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Laboratory of Mammalian Ecology, Nature Research Centre, LT08412 Vilnius, Lithuania
Interests: hoofed, semi-aquatic, carnivore and small mammal ecology; population management; biodiversity; human dimensions; threatened species; large carnivores; spatial distribution
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Sustainability is continuing its Special Issue series committed to mammals, a very important group of vertebrates closely related to the functioning of ecosystems and human interests. Mammals act as keystone species and ecosystem engineers, and are valuable resources. However, they can also be a source of damage and pathogen vectors and are not always welcomed by societies and stakeholders. As a result of recent climate changes and expansion to the commensal environments, some mammal populations and species are widening their distributions with overabundance in the suboptimal habitats, while the others weary in the remaining suitable habitat patches. Multiple management issues, including (but not limited to) hunting, poaching, uncontrolled trade, and road kills, influence the numbers and distribution of mammal species across all continents.

Continuing with the topic of mammals as a Special Issue, we endeavor to focus on investigations of mammal management and acceptance. Original research articles, reviews and opinions are welcome. Research areas may include (but are not limited to): mammalian ecology, population management and use, conservation, mammal damage and threats to human safety, long-term monitoring, and other mammal-related issues.

I look forward to receiving your contributions.

PS: Our first SI on mammals attracted a wide readership; full texts were downloaded over 7000 times.

Sustainability is a peer-reviewed, open access journal (IF=3.251, APC=2000 CHF) with rapid publication turnover. All submitted papers will undergo peer review. To avoid self-plagiarism, results already published in other journals will be not considered. There is no page limit and color figures are welcome.

Dr. Linas Balčiauskas
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • mammal population management (including hunting)
  • land-use effects on mammal populations
  • human dimensions of mammals
  • invasive mammals
  • threatened mammals and their conservation
  • mammal population dynamics

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 1604 KiB  
Article
Scavenger Activity and Anti-Predator Behaviour in an Apennine Wolf Area
by Sophie Ståhlberg and Marco Apollonio
Sustainability 2023, 15(14), 11056; https://doi.org/10.3390/su151411056 - 14 Jul 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 879
Abstract
Scavenging guilds often have several trophic levels with varying dominance and intra-guild predation, competition, and interaction. Apex predators can control subordinate predators by limiting their numbers and affecting behaviour but also supply a continuous food source by abandoning carcasses. Camera traps monitored the [...] Read more.
Scavenging guilds often have several trophic levels with varying dominance and intra-guild predation, competition, and interaction. Apex predators can control subordinate predators by limiting their numbers and affecting behaviour but also supply a continuous food source by abandoning carcasses. Camera traps monitored the scavenger guild in Alpe di Catenaia, Tuscan Apennine, for three years to determine intraguild interactions and the behaviour response. Wild boar visited most feeding sites but only scavenged in 1.4% of their visits. Red fox was the most frequent scavenger, traded vigilance and feeding equally, and selected low vegetation density, while marten invested more in feeding than vigilance. Marten was the prime follower, appearing within the shortest time after another scavenger had left the site. Red fox occasionally looked upwards, possibly to detect birds of prey. Badger showed scarcely any vigilance, did not feed much on carcasses but scent-marked abundantly. Wolves showed the highest vigilance in proportion to feeding at carcasses among the scavengers. Sites with good visibility were selected by all scavengers except martens who selected poor visibility and new moon illumination. Scavengers were mostly nocturnal, showed weak responses to twilight hours or lunar illumination, and all but red fox avoided human disturbance areas. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mammal Status: Diversity, Abundance and Dynamics Volume II)
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15 pages, 1950 KiB  
Article
Does Wolf Management in Latvia Decrease Livestock Depredation? An Analysis of Available Data
by Jurģis Šuba, Agrita Žunna, Guna Bagrade, Gundega Done, Aivars Ornicāns, Digna Pilāte, Alda Stepanova and Jānis Ozoliņš
Sustainability 2023, 15(11), 8509; https://doi.org/10.3390/su15118509 - 24 May 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1862
Abstract
In Latvia, livestock depredation by wolves has increased during the last two decades. Most of the attacks occur in summer and autumn during wolf hunting season. Use of effective preventive measures in Latvia is low, and farmers primarily rely on wolf hunting as [...] Read more.
In Latvia, livestock depredation by wolves has increased during the last two decades. Most of the attacks occur in summer and autumn during wolf hunting season. Use of effective preventive measures in Latvia is low, and farmers primarily rely on wolf hunting as a depredation reduction measure. The total numbers of wolf attacks and number of affected sheep per year in regional forest management units were analyzed in relation to the estimated wolf density, extent of culling, and proportion of juveniles, as well as the sheep density and estimated number of wild prey animals. The response variables (number of attacks and affected sheep per year) were modelled using a negative binomial regression, testing the effects of every covariate separately and building models from the significant covariates. The depredation level was related to sheep density and estimated wolf population size. No reducing effect was found for culling, and an even greater depredation rate was expected when the proportion of culled wolves increased. In addition, no significant effect was associated with the other covariates. However, greater numbers of affected sheep were expected at higher red deer density, suggesting increased opportunistic livestock depredation when red deer locally outcompete roe deer, the preferred wolf prey in Latvia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mammal Status: Diversity, Abundance and Dynamics Volume II)
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19 pages, 1861 KiB  
Article
Fallow Deer (Dama dama) Population and Harvest Changes in Europe since the Early 1980s
by Hanna Bijl and Sándor Csányi
Sustainability 2022, 14(19), 12198; https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912198 - 26 Sep 2022
Cited by 5 | Viewed by 2988
Abstract
Fallow deer is one of the most common and widespread cervid species in Europe. To make informed management decisions on any scale, it is essential to have long-term data on the abundance of populations and their harvest. We provide missing information on the [...] Read more.
Fallow deer is one of the most common and widespread cervid species in Europe. To make informed management decisions on any scale, it is essential to have long-term data on the abundance of populations and their harvest. We provide missing information on the changes and status of fallow deer populations in Europe and analyse the relationships between population and harvest changes using a numerical approach. To conduct our analyses, we collected national statistical data on population sizes and hunting bags for all European countries for four periods: 1984, the mid-2000s, mid-2010s, and early 2020s. The fallow deer population increased five-fold from 1984 to the early 2020s and the harvest increased six-fold in the same period. Although the correlations between the population growth rate and harvest growth rate are not strong, removing outliers strengthened the correlation. This indicates that the hunting effort increases as the population increases. Overall, the lack of some data shows that consistent, reliable data collection (monitoring programs) is needed to efficiently manage the increasing fallow deer populations as a renewable natural resource and mitigate the potential negative impacts in a holistic and responsible manner. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mammal Status: Diversity, Abundance and Dynamics Volume II)
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Review

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18 pages, 3199 KiB  
Review
Red Deer in Lithuania: History, Status and Management
by Linas Balčiauskas and Yukichika Kawata
Sustainability 2022, 14(21), 14091; https://doi.org/10.3390/su142114091 - 28 Oct 2022
Cited by 4 | Viewed by 1508
Abstract
The history, current population status and (un)sustainable management of red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Lithuania are reviewed on the basis of 57 publications and, additionally, analysis of data on numbers and hunting bag. After the extinction of the species at the [...] Read more.
The history, current population status and (un)sustainable management of red deer (Cervus elaphus) in Lithuania are reviewed on the basis of 57 publications and, additionally, analysis of data on numbers and hunting bag. After the extinction of the species at the beginning of the 19th century, red deer were reintroduced into the northern part of the country during World War I. Population re-establishment was further fueled after WWII by immigration from neighboring countries and local translocations. After the introduction of the Law on Hunting in 2002, which enabled hunting organizations to rent hunting grounds for longer than 10 years, local wildlife management strategies were targeted at increasing the number of animals. However, a scientifically-based target population size for C. elaphus, agreed by all major stakeholders, has still not been defined. In the last 20 years, population growth has been exponential, deer numbers in Lithuania being estimated as 68,816 individuals in 2021. An increase in the size of the hunting bag is necessary for the sustainable management of the species at the national scale and to avoid risks of over-population as observed elsewhere in Europe. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mammal Status: Diversity, Abundance and Dynamics Volume II)
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6 pages, 598 KiB  
Review
Do We Look for the Right Ones? An Overview of Research Priorities and Conservation Status of Dormice (Gliridae) in Central Europe
by Johannes Lang, Sven Büchner, Holger Meinig and Sandro Bertolino
Sustainability 2022, 14(15), 9327; https://doi.org/10.3390/su14159327 - 29 Jul 2022
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1338
Abstract
There are differences regarding distribution, conservation status and protection according to national and European laws and directives between the four dormouse species (Gliridae) native to Central Europe. We question the coherence between scientific knowledge and conservation status of dormice in Europe and hypothesize [...] Read more.
There are differences regarding distribution, conservation status and protection according to national and European laws and directives between the four dormouse species (Gliridae) native to Central Europe. We question the coherence between scientific knowledge and conservation status of dormice in Europe and hypothesize that the species included in the Habitats Directive have been the subject of considerable research, while those not included have been neglected, despite having an unfavourable conservation status. We did a review of the research presented at the International Conferences on Dormice from 1990–2017 and published in the scientific literature since 1950 to see for which species the most research was done and whether the Habitats Directive had an impact. The number of presentations increased over time for the Hazel (Muscardinus avellanarius, N = 200) and the Edible dormouse (Glis glis, N = 150), while those on the Garden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus, N = 46) decreased until 2014 with an apparent increase only in 2017; the Forest dormouse (Dryomys nitedula, N = 67) does not show any trends. The number of published articles increased for all species except for the Garden dormouse. This focus does not adequately address the current threats of the species. The results can serve as a guide for the re-evaluation of future research priorities and conservation strategies as well as the implementation of new monitoring projects and ecological studies. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Mammal Status: Diversity, Abundance and Dynamics Volume II)
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