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Seasonal variation in the home range size of the Eurasian beaver: do patterns vary across habitats?

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Abstract

Spatial use by animals is one of the most important topics in animal ecology, because the proper description of spatial patterns is essential for the better understanding of animal’s behaviour. Seasonal variation might reflect varying behavioural or energy balance requirements of the animals. Our aim was to test whether the space use of Eurasian beavers (Castor fiber) seasonally varies and whether the pattern comprises diverse habitats. We studied beaver’s spatial use from autumn to spring at three different habitats diverging in several environmental conditions. We captured, tagged and released 42 Eurasian beavers in three sites within the Czech Republic; 33 individuals were tracked during at least one season. From 2006 to 2010, a total of 5074 night locations were recorded during three consecutive seasons. We used 95 % of fixes in the appropriate season to determine seasonal space requirements; then, we estimated the effective sizes of utilised space, i.e. home ranges (HR95). The beaver’s HR95 sizes varied substantially among seasons, whereas the seasonal pattern was similar among different habitats. Our results revealed that spring HR95 were significantly larger than in other seasons; the smallest HR95 were observed in winter. The largest HR95 were observed in lowland floodplain forests; the smallest HR95 were found on sub-mountain hilly streams. In general, the mean HR95 was similar for different sexes and age classes. An overlap of spatial use between neighbouring home ranges was recorded in only one case.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to many fieldworkers who helped us with data collection, in particular, Josef Korbel, and also to (in alphabetical order) Vít Dvořák, Jan Horníček, Hana Kadlecová, Veronika Němcová, Michal Pihera, Marta Skálová and Kamila Šimůnková. This research was made possible by financial support from the grant VaV MŽP ČR SP/2D4/52/07 “Analysis of parameters for prediction of dispersion and dispersion model of European beaver in the ecosystems of central Europe” (2007–2010). Meteorological data provided Czech Hydrometeorological Institute. All applicable international, national and institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals were followed. The Agency for Nature Conservation and Landscape Protection of the Czech Republic issued the permissions for capturing and manipulating of beavers (00053/CS/SR/2006-Fr, 00223/LP/E/06, 00413/PA/E/06 and 923/CL/2007/AOPK).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 21, Praha 6, Suchdol, Czech Republic

    Jana Korbelová, Lenka Hamšíková & Aleš Vorel

  2. Department of Ecology, Faculty of Science, Palacký University Olomouc, tř. Svobody 26, 771 46, Olomouc, Czech Republic

    Jaroslav Maloň & Lenka Válková

Authors
  1. Jana Korbelová
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  2. Lenka Hamšíková
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  3. Jaroslav Maloň
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  4. Lenka Válková
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  5. Aleš Vorel
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Correspondence to Aleš Vorel.

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Communicated by: Jan M. Wójcik

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Korbelová, J., Hamšíková, L., Maloň, J. et al. Seasonal variation in the home range size of the Eurasian beaver: do patterns vary across habitats?. Mamm Res 61, 243–253 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-016-0265-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13364-016-0265-1

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