Changes in the feeding behavior and habitat use of The Desert Hedgehog Paraechinus aethiopicus (Ehrenberg 1832), in Saudi Arabia (original) (raw)
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Scientific Reports
Hedgehogs’ wide distribution and breadth of habitat use means they are a good model taxon for investigating behavioural responses to winter conditions, such as low temperatures and resource availability. We investigated the over-winter behaviour of desert hedgehogs (Paraechinus aethiopicus) in Qatar by radio-tracking 20 individuals and monitoring the body mass of 31 hedgehogs. Females spent more nights (38.63% of nights tracked) inactive than males (12.6%) and had lower monthly activity levels. The mean temperature on nights where hedgehogs were inactive was 14.9 °C compared with 17.0 °C when hedgehogs were active. By December, females lost a higher percentage of their November body mass than did males, but by February males had lost a higher percentage than females. We conclude that these sex differences in behaviour are a result of differing reproductive strategies with males becoming more active early in spring to search for mates, whereas female hedgehogs conserve energy for pro...
Scientific reports, 2018
We investigated seasonal changes in the ecology and behaviour of the Ethiopian hedgehog (Paraechinus aethiopicus) in Qatar, particularly in respect to differences in behaviour between hedgehogs living in arid environments and hedgehogs in temperate mesic environments. These comparisons will allow us to explore behavioural adaptations to different environments across hedgehog taxa. We radio-tracked 30 hedgehogs in Qatar over two years, and measured home range size, habitat preference, travel speed, activity and body mass. Whilst we found no difference in body mass between males and females, male home range size was over twice as large as that for females. Unlike hedgehogs in Europe, males maintained large home ranges during the non-breeding season. This behaviour may be sustained by the low cost of maintaining a large home range; males travelled less far per hour during the non-breeding season. Habitat use was non-random; arid areas with human influence, including rubbish dumping sit...
Daily energy expenditure in the face of predation: hedgehog energetics in rural landscapes
The Journal of experimental biology, 2017
Failure to balance daily energy expenditure (DEE) with energy intake can have an impact on survival and reproduction, and therefore on the persistence of populations. Here we study the DEE of the European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), which is declining in the UK. We hypothesise that there is a gradient of suitable habitat for hedgehogs in rural areas, which is a result of fewer food resources, a higher risk from predation by badgers (Meles meles) and colder ambient temperatures, as distance to the nearest building increases. We used the doubly labelled water method to obtain 44 measurements of DEE from hedgehogs on four predominately arable sites, to determine the energetic costs associated with proximity to buildings, on sites with and without badgers. The mean±s.e.m. DEE was 508.9±34.8 kJ day(-1) DEE increased the further a hedgehog was from buildings during the study, possibly as they ranged larger distances on arable land, supporting the hypothesis that hedgehogs select villa...
Systematic Reviews in Pharmacy, 2021
The current research is the first study on parasitic infection in hedgehog and its relation to food items, total (73) specimens of hedgehog (Hemiechinus auritus) were collected from different area in Samawah city for the period from march- august 2019. The results showed that 18 hedgehogs were infected with a total percentage of 24.66. The results of the current study proved that the hedgehog animal was infected with six species of parasites ,the total infection with one species of parasites was 9.52, while the total infection with two species of parasites was 6.80 and reported one of infection with three species of parasites was recorded by total infection 4.762,statistical analysis showed no significant differences at the level of P ≤ 0.05 in the percentage of infection between males and females of long-eared hedgehog. The Coefficient of Contingency test, the highest value( 99.93) was recorded between Rhipicephalus turanicuss and Moniliformis moniliformis, followed by the value (9...
Snacks in the city: the diet of hedgehogs in Auckland urban forest fragments
New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 2019
Urbanisation causes fragmentation of natural habitats, which results in loss of biodiversity, while promoting an environment that can facilitate invasive species. However, forest fragments are an important refuge for native species and therefore understanding and mitigating threats in fragments is critical. While the impacts of some mammalian pest species, such as rats (Rattus spp.), are relatively well-known in New Zealand, hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) are relatively understudied invasive mammals, and their impacts in urban fragments are unknown. Hedgehogs are abundant and widespread in New Zealand, with a relatively broad diet that can include invertebrates, lizards and bird eggs. We examined the stomach contents of 44 hedgehogs collected from 10 forest fragments in urban Auckland, New Zealand. Hedgehogs were feeding predominantly on invertebrates (Coleoptera, found in 53% of stomachs; earthworms, 43%; slugs, 23%), but also weta (13%), giant centipedes (5%), birds (7%) and lizards (2%) at lower frequencies. Hedgehogs are likely to be affecting community composition primarily through predation of invertebrates, with unknown effects on their populations.