Does differential habitat selection facilitate coexistence between badgers and hedgehogs?

Lee, KA ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-9887-3677, Uzal, A ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6478-1895, Gentle, LK ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4864-5775, Baker, PJ, Delahay, RJ, Sévêque, A ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4363-4137, Davis, RS ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9953-1340 and Yarnell, RW ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6584-7374, 2025. Does differential habitat selection facilitate coexistence between badgers and hedgehogs? Ecology and Evolution, 15 (1): e70744. ISSN 2045-7758

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Abstract

Predicting the spatial and temporal responses of species exhibiting intraguild predation (IGP) relationships is difficult due to variation in potential interactions and environmental context. Eurasian badgers (Meles meles) are intraguild predators of European hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) and are implicated in their population decline via both direct predation and competition for shared food resources. Previous studies have shown spatial separation between these species and attributed this to hedgehogs experiencing a ‘landscape of fear’, but little is known about the potential role of differential habitat use. We estimated the density and occupancy of both species at 22 rural study sites in England and Wales, to explore whether food availability, habitat or the presence of badgers, explained hedgehog distributions. Hedgehog density varied significantly across major rural land uses, whereas badger density did not. Although both species coexisted at a regional (1 km2) scale, occupancy modelling showed spatial segregation at a finer (individual camera trap) scale, associated with differential habitat use. In contrast to badgers, hedgehogs were recorded near buildings, and in areas supporting lower invertebrate biomass. This is in agreement with IGP theory, whereby IG-prey may occupy suboptimal habitat to avoid predation; however, hedgehog habitat use did not vary relative to the presence of badgers. Badger and hedgehog temporal activity showed no evidence of separation. Although these findings are consistent with hedgehogs avoiding badgers via a landscape of fear, they are also indicative of differential habitat use, highlighting the need for more holistic studies considering variation in habitat selection and food availability when investigating intraguild relationships. Future studies exploring alternative hypotheses for urban habitat selection by hedgehogs are needed to better understand how possible spatial niche partitioning may support their coexistence with badgers in some areas.

Item Type:	Journal article
Publication Title:	Ecology and Evolution
Creators:	Lee, K.A., Uzal, A., Gentle, L.K., Baker, P.J., Delahay, R.J., Sévêque, A., Davis, R.S. and Yarnell, R.W.
Publisher:	Wiley
Date:	January 2025
Volume:	15
Number:	1
ISSN:	2045-7758
Identifiers:	Number Type 10.1002/ece3.70744 DOI 2369679 Other
Rights:	© 2025 The Author(s). Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Divisions:	Schools > School of Animal, Rural and Environmental Sciences
Record created by:	Laura Borcherds
Date Added:	10 Feb 2025 09:49
Last Modified:	10 Feb 2025 09:49
URI:	https://irep.ntu.ac.uk/id/eprint/52997

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