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Population trend and distribution of mountain (Lepus timidus) and brown hares (Lepus europaeus) in Central Alps (N-Italy, 1980–2020)

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Abstract

Mountainous regions are very vulnerable to climate changes, as they experience higher temperature increases than the surrounding environments. A general movement of species toward higher altitudes, in search of suitable sites, is being observed. In the case of the Italian Alps, an expansion of the brown hare (Lepus europaeus) is possible within the zones occupied by the mountain hare (Lepus timidus), which frequents higher altitudes. The risk is an increase in the hybridization and a contraction of the mountain hare’s range. In this study, we analyzed the hunting bags (weighted by the number of active hunters each year) of brown and mountain hares from the period of 1980–2020, in the province of Sondrio (Central Alps) in northern Lombardy (N-Italy), with the aim of (i) highlighting any population trends in relation to climate change, (ii) identifying altitudinal changes in the distribution of the two species over the years, (iii) identifying the environmental variables that influence the distribution of the two species, and (iv) creating suitability maps in the study area. To study population trends, the hunting bag data were corrected by dividing the number of hare shot by the number of active hunters in that year. For both species, no population trends were found between 1980 and 2020. Weather variables do not seem to have influenced population trends. No significant trends in the altitudinal distribution of the two species were observed over the period investigated. The results indicate that the two species select different altitudes, with the exception of the belt between 1600 and 1800 m a.s.l. Both species select meadows.

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Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors acknowledge the support of “Rome Technopole” to the University of Tuscia.

Funding

G.C. acknowledge the support of University of Tuscia, project ECS00000024 Rome Technopole (CUP B83C22002820006, PNRR Missione 4 Componente 2 Investimento 1.5), funded by the European Union–NextGenerationEU.

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  1. DSTA, Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Pavia, Via Ferrata 1, 27100, Pavia, Italy

    Greta Martino & Alberto Meriggi

  2. Department of Ecological and Biological Sciences, University of Tuscia, Largo dell’Università S/N, 01100, Viterbo, Italy

    Gianpasquale Chiatante

  3. Wildlife Service, Province of Sondrio, Italy

    Maria Ferloni

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M.F. provided the data. G.M., G.C., A.M. wrote the main manuscript text. A.M. conceptualized and supervised. All authors reviewed the manuscript.

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Correspondence to Greta Martino.

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Martino, G., Chiatante, G., Ferloni, M. et al. Population trend and distribution of mountain (Lepus timidus) and brown hares (Lepus europaeus) in Central Alps (N-Italy, 1980–2020). Eur J Wildl Res 70, 38 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-024-01791-6

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