Importance of wild ungulates as ecosystem engineers for amphibian communities
Carolina Baruzzi (Author), Miha Krofel (Author)

Abstract

As ecosystem engineers, ungulates can importantly alter the habitats where they live by changing plant cover, soil and water properties through wallowing, rooting, urinating, excreting, grazing and trampling. It is a common belief that wild ungulates, especially wild boar, Sus scrofa, represent a threat to amphibian communities due to disturbance caused while using water pools. On the other hand, ungulates could also create new aquatic habitats suitable for amphibians. So far these effects have been poorly understood. We conducted a pilot study to test whether ungulate engineering action affected amphibians% pool choice comparing amphibian species number in pools created and/or maintained by wild ungulates and pools that were fenced or, for other reasons, not used by ungulates. We observed that amphibians readily used pools also used by ungulates, although amphibian species richness in these pools was generally lower, especially when the pools were smaller. Our results suggest the need for further research and highlight the importance of wild ungulates as ecosystem engineers that create new aquatic habitats, as well as trade-offs connected with the presence of wild ungulate populations for amphibian communities. This has several management and conservation implications and prudent managers could use this understanding to incorporate ungulate management in their conservation programs targeting endangered wildlife that depends on habitats created or modified by these ecosystem engineers.

Keywords

ecosystem engineers;ungulates;amphibians;disturbance;habitat modification;

Data

Language: English
Year of publishing:
Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
Organization: UL BF - Biotechnical Faculty
UDC: 630*15
COBISS: 4983462 Link will open in a new window
ISSN: 1584-9074
Parent publication: North-Western Journal of Zoology
Views: 844
Downloads: 625
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Other data

Secondary language: English
Secondary keywords: ekosistemi;kopitarji;dvoživke;motnje;življenjski habitat;
Type (COBISS): Not categorized
Pages: str. 320-325
Volume: ǂVol. ǂ13
Issue: ǂiss. ǂ2
Chronology: 2017
ID: 10925546