engleski

Activity patterns in introduced nonnative Barbary sheep (Ammotragus lervia) from Southern Dinarides, Croatia

During year 2002 five Barbary sheep (three females and two males) of unknown origin have been illegally released in the southern Dinaric region (Mosor Mountain ; 1.339 m a.s.l.) of Croatia and the current population size is estimated to be at around 210 animals with an increasing tendency. Daily activity rhythms of ungulates are strongly affected by a range of biotic and abiotic factors. During warm periods, mountain ungulates living in open areas typically show a bimodal pattern of activity rhythms, with peaks at dawn and dusk. To date, however, little is known about the activity patterns of free range nonnative Barbary sheep in areas where large predator (wolves) is present. Using ten camera-traps over a 2-month period between mid-May and mid-July of 2015, we investigated the activity patterns of Barbary sheep in different locations and altitudes, in three types of habitats (forest, rock and bush). Daily dynamics were highest in two periods, in the morning between 5:00 am and 7:00 am and also in the evening between 7:00 pm and 9:00 pm (with an average of 1.8 individuals per photo). The success rates in camera-trapping suggested significant differences in Barbary sheep activity patterns between habitat types, the highest activity was at elevation of 679 m in rock habitat while the no activity was at elevation 357 m in bush habitat. Also, on 11 of March 2015 two individuals (one male and one female) were caught in the net and tagged with GPS-GSM collars. GPS collars were set to record a position every full hour, 24-hours per day. Female (4 years old) was killed by the wolves at night (23:45) on 22 of March 2015, just 11 days after GPS-tagging. Therefore we did not analyze its GPS data. The male (3 years old) average daily sum of traveled distances was only 1, 61 km. His circa diurnal locomotion activity typically exhibits two pronounced peaks, first one in the morning (around 6:00 am) and second one in the evening (20:00-20:00 pm). Barbary sheep exhibits typical bimodal pattern (with two peaks) of activity that has been previously also described in chamois. Our study were based on a small number of animals but still is one of the first GPS studies on free range Barbary sheep, though further investigations is necessary to better illuminate this issue.

camera-traps ; GPS telemetry ; mountain ; ungulate ; activity ; Croatia

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