Habitat and Harvesting Practices Influence Horn Growth of Male Ibex

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F00216224%3A14310%2F20%3A00123143" target="_blank" >RIV/00216224:14310/20:00123143 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/86652079:_____/20:00524105

Result on the web

<a href="https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.21830" target="_blank" >https://wildlife.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jwmg.21830</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jwmg.21830" target="_blank" >10.1002/jwmg.21830</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Habitat and Harvesting Practices Influence Horn Growth of Male Ibex

Original language description

Size-selective harvesting of wild ungulates can trigger a range of ecological and evolutionary consequences. It remains unclear how environmental conditions, including changes in habitat, climate, and local weather conditions, dilute or strengthen the effects of trophy hunting. We analyzed horn length measurements of 2,815 male ibex (Capra pyrenaica) that were harvested from 1995 to 2017 in Els Ports de Tortosa i Beseit National Hunting Reserve in northeastern Spain. We used linear mixed models to determine the magnitude of inter-individual horn growth variability and partial least square path models to evaluate long-term effects of environmental change, population size, and hunting strategy on horn growth. Age-specific horn length significantly decreased over the study period, and nearly a quarter (23%) of its annual variation was attributed to individual heterogeneity among males. The encroachment of pine (Pinus spp.) forests had a negative effect on annual horn growth, possibly through nutritional impoverishment. The harvesting of trophy and selective individuals (e.g., small-horned males) from the entire population increased horn growth, probably because it reduced the competition for resources and prevented breeding of these smaller males. Local weather conditions and population size did not influence horn growth. Our study demonstrates how habitat changes are altering the horn growth of male ibex. We suggest that habitat interventions, such the thinning of pine forests, can contribute to securing the sustainability of trophy hunting. Even in situations where size-selective harvesting is not causing a detectable phenotypic response, management actions leading to the expansion of preferred land cover types, such as grass-rich open areas, can have a positive effect on ungulate fitness. Forest encroachment on open meadows and heterogeneous grasslands is pervasive throughout Mediterranean ecosystems. Therefore, our management recommendations can be extended to the landscape level, which will have the potential to mitigate the side effects of habitat deterioration on the phenotypic traits of wild ibex.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10618 - Ecology

Project

—

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2020

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Journal of Wildlife Management

ISSN

0022-541X

e-ISSN

1937-2817

Volume of the periodical

84

Issue of the periodical within the volume

4

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

15

Pages from-to

651-665

UT code for WoS article

000511485000001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85079029699