TY  - JOUR
A1  - Mayer, Martin
A1  - Ullmann, Wiebke
A1  - Sunde, Peter
A1  - Fischer, Christina
A1  - Blaum, Niels
T1  - Habitat selection by the European hare in arable landscapes
BT  - The importance of small-scale habitat structure for conservation
JF  - Ecology and Evolution
N2  - Agricultural land-use practices have intensified over the last decades, leading to population declines of various farmland species, including the European hare (Lepus europaeus). In many European countries, arable fields dominate agricultural landscapes. Compared to pastures, arable land is highly variable, resulting in a large spatial variation of food and cover for wildlife over the course of the year, which potentially affects habitat selection by hares. Here, we investigated within-home-range habitat selection by hares in arable areas in Denmark and Germany to identify habitat requirements for their conservation. We hypothesized that hare habitat selection would depend on local habitat structure, that is, vegetation height, but also on agricultural field size, vegetation type, and proximity to field edges. Active hares generally selected for short vegetation (1-25 cm) and avoided higher vegetation and bare ground, especially when fields were comparatively larger. Vegetation >50 cm potentially restricts hares from entering parts of their home range and does not provide good forage, the latter also being the case on bare ground. The vegetation type was important for habitat selection by inactive hares, with fabaceae, fallow, and maize being selected for, potentially providing both cover and forage. Our results indicate that patches of shorter vegetation could improve the forage quality and habitat accessibility for hares, especially in areas with large monocultures. Thus, policymakers should aim to increase areas with short vegetation throughout the year. Further, permanent set-asides, like fallow and wildflower areas, would provide year-round cover for inactive hares. Finally, the reduction in field sizes would increase the density of field margins, and farming different crop types within small areas could improve the habitat for hares and other farmland species.
KW  - agriculture
KW  - arable land
KW  - conservation
KW  - GPS
KW  - habitat selection
KW  - Lepus europaeus
KW  - vegetation height
Y1  - 2018
U6  - https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4613
SN  - 2045-7758
VL  - 8
IS  - 23
SP  - 11619
EP  - 11633
PB  - Wiley
CY  - Hoboken
ER  -