1_The adult demographic parameters, mobility, nectar choice and how the spatial distribution of males and females of Z. polyxena is affected by the distribution and abundance of host-plants, and adults of the opposite sex was studied in a population of this species inhabiting a dense network of permanent habitats (totalling 8.7 ha). The population size was estimated to be ca. 300 individuals. The average adult lifespan was 4.4 days and the maximum 23 (male) and 20 (female) days. The capture probability was higher for males than females due to the more conspicuous behaviour and bounded area of activity of males. A slow increase was followed by a slow decrease in the sex specific parabolic recruitment curve, indicating slight protandry and long emergence period, probably due to habitat heterogeneity. The spatial distribution of host plants (Aristolochia lutea) is the key factor determining the spatial distribution of adults. There was a strong positive correlation between male and female density at each patch, both of which were dependent on the cover of host plants growing in sunny conditions. In searching for A. lutea plants suitable for oviposition, females fly greater distances and move more frequently between patches than males. The size, shape and orientation of the male home range were influenced by the size, shape and orientation of stands of host-plants in sunny positions, but not by patch area. Such adult fidelity to stands of host-plants in sunny positions indicates that the spatial distributions of oviposition sites, mate-locating sites and larval habitats of Z. polyxena overlap. The better statistical fit and much lower probabilities for long-distance movements generated by a negative exponential function than an inverse power function are probably due to the small size and high habitat connectivity of the site studied. Adults were opportunistic in their use of nectar plants., 2_Traditional management is the key factor for maintaining permanent habitats for this species in a grassland biotope., Tatjana Čelik., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Presented here are the results of research on spatial organisation among hares originating from enclosure-type rearing but released into a natural environment for them. The fates of the 60 animals were traced by radiotelemetry in the course of four successive years of research. The mean annual home range size was found to be 1.68 km 2 in males, significantly greater than that noted for females (0.43 km 2). Similar relationships were observed in the case of seasonal ranges. The mean distance of movements noted for hares between successive radio-locations in the first month after release (at 239 m) was significantly greater than that noted for the second month (103 m) or the third (116 m). The mean distance of movement within individual annual home range for the males hares was 335 m and was significantly greater than that for females (226 m). Similar findings were obtained for seasonal ranges.
The habitat selection of European beaver (Castor fiber) was studied in Central Moravia (the Czech Republic). The Global Positioning System and Geographic Information System were used for mapping the habitat types and marks of beaver activity. Used and available habitats were compared by compositional analyses in two levels. Comparison of habitat use from home range compared to habitat availability in the study area gave Λ = 0.335 (P = 0.001), a simplified matrix ranked beaver habitat in the order: riverine willow scrub > willow- poplar forests of lowland rivers > hardwood forests > spruce plantations > meadows > reed and tall sedge beds > fields > river gravel banks > ruderal vegetation > oak-hornbeam forests > urbanized areas > ash-alder alluvial forests. Use of the habitat types based on the distribution of cut trees differed significantly from the habitat distribution within the home ranges (for habitat use quantified by number of cut trees Λ = 0.168, P = 0.001; for habitat use quantified by the time a beaver needs to cut trees Λ = 0.251, P = 0.003), the ranking matrix was: riverine willow scrub > willow-poplar forests of lowland rivers > ash-alder alluvial forests > hardwood forests of lowland rivers.
Movements, home-range size and habitat use of the European wolf (Canis lupus) are described in the Slovak Carpathians. The study was carried out in 1994–2002 in two national parks of central Slovakia. In the Tatry National Park we monitored for 11 months an adult male associated with a pack of 7. In the Nízke Tatry National Park we radio-tracked an adult female for 82 months (1995–2002). Over the course of the study the pack size in the Nízke Tatry ranged from 2 to 7 members. In this park the most intensive telemetry was conducted from 1996 to 1997 when the radio-tagged female reared her offspring. Home – ranges of radio-collared wolves calculated for the whole period of radio – tracking (MCP with 100 % of observations) were 146 km2 (male) and 191 km2 (female), respectively. Extraterritorial forays were not observed. Core areas of the home – ranges estimated by the Kernel method (50 % of locations), were small (21 km2: male; 28 km2: female) and overlapped mainly with the forest habitats heavily used by red deer (Cervus elaphus). The size of territory used in summer was 24 % – 49 % smaller than in winter.
Research on the diet of barn owls on some of the lesser Pityusic Islands (Formentera, s’Espalmador and s’Espartar) reveals a previously undescribed opportunistic trophic behaviour based on regular foraging in patches of territory separated by relatively broad sea channels. Individually, small islets with reduced human influence do not usually provide enough food for the barn owl. Consequently, the species expands its home range to include multiple islands or islets. This study is the first to document the regular
crossing of broad sea channels (one of which exceeds 4.5 km) by barn owls in order to hunt. The islets provide the barn owls with prey otherwise considered as marginal (such as Oryctolagus cuniculus and Hydrobates pelagicus).