Winter feeding ecology of male and female European wildcatsFelis silvestris in Slovakia

The study deals with the food spectrum of the European wildcat. It is based on the analysis of the stomach contents of 38 individuals, collected in NE Slovakia during the winters of 1959-1970. Morphometric analysis of wildcat skins revealed that males were significantly larger than females. We hypot...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:European journal of wildlife research 2002-03, Vol.48 (1), p.49-54
Main Authors: Tryjanowski, P., Antczak, M., Hromada, M., Kuczyński, L., Skoracki, M.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Ecology
Food
Niches
Predation
Wildcats
Winter
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:The study deals with the food spectrum of the European wildcat. It is based on the analysis of the stomach contents of 38 individuals, collected in NE Slovakia during the winters of 1959-1970. Morphometric analysis of wildcat skins revealed that males were significantly larger than females. We hypothesised, that due to their different body sizes, there should be some differences in food niche between the two sexes. Rodents, particularlyMicrotus arvalis andClethrionomys glareolus, were the dominant component of the diet, which is consistent with other European studies. There were no significant differences in diet composition between sexes. Similarly, we observed no season-dependent differences, that would point to seasonal shifts in foraging strategy. Thus, our results do not confirm the hypothesis of sexually segregated food niches in the European wildcat.[PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]
ISSN:0044-2887
1612-4642
1439-0574
DOI:10.1007/BF02285356