Home Ranges of Semi-Urban Brown Hares (Lepus europaeus) and Mountain Hares (Lepus timidus) at Northern Latitudes

Many species shift their distribution northwards due to changing climate, which may bring previously isolated species into contact. In some cases, this can lead to competition and crossbreeding among congeneric species. Due to milder winters, several hare species (Lepus spp.) have shifted poleward o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annales zoologici fennici 2019-11, Vol.56 (1-6), p.107-120
Main Authors: Levänen, Rikka, Pohjoismäki, Jaakko L. O, Kunnasranta, Mervi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Breeding
Breeding seasons
Climate change
Cross-breeding
Geographical distribution
Home range
Interspecific
Lepus europaeus
Lepus timidus
Mountains
Spatial data
Species
Sympatry
Telemetry
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Summary:Many species shift their distribution northwards due to changing climate, which may bring previously isolated species into contact. In some cases, this can lead to competition and crossbreeding among congeneric species. Due to milder winters, several hare species (Lepus spp.) have shifted poleward or to higher elevations and currently occur in sympatry. There are limited data on the spatial ecology of northern brown hares (L. europaeus), and on possible joint space use with mountain hares (L. timidus), although species are known to frequently crossbreed. We estimated home ranges of 12 brown and 12 mountain hares in eastern Finland using GPS telemetry. The total home-range median areas were 111 ha for brown hares and 105 ha for mountain hares. The median core areas of these species were 5 and 3 ha, respectively. Individual home ranges and core areas of the studied species overlapped. Interspecific interaction seems to be frequent during the breeding season, which also enables crossbreeding.
ISSN:0003-455X
1797-2450
DOI:10.5735/086.056.0110