Abstract
A hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) survey was conducted in four regions of west and south-west England during the summer of 2006. In each region, surveys were conducted in a series of 15–18 survey areas each of which contained 1–4 paired amenity grassland (recreation ground, sports field, and village green) and permanent pasture survey sites. Each pair of survey sites was surveyed for hedgehogs using night-time lamped searches during two separate survey periods. Located hedgehogs were sexed, weighed, and aged. The density of hedgehogs on individual sites was based on the maximum number of hedgehogs recorded during any one of the two surveys. The occurrence of hedgehogs on pasture (2 % of fields) was much lower than that on amenity grassland (26 % of fields), resulting in mean densities of hedgehogs that were significantly greater on amenity grassland than on pasture in all four regions. The density of hedgehogs was 0.47 ± 0.09 ha−1 on amenity grassland and 0.04 ± 0.02 ha−1 on pasture (mean ± standard error). This study represents a geographically extensive and locally intensive hedgehog field survey in England and produces results that are spatially and temporally concurrent with wildlife surveys of another ecologically linked species, the badger (Meles meles).
References
Doncaster CP (1992) Testing the role of intraguild predation in regulating hedgehog populations. Proc R Soc Lond B 249:113–117
Doncaster CP (1994) Factors regulating local variations in abundance: field tests on hedgehogs Erinaceus europaeus. Oikos 69:182–192
Hof AR, Bright PW (2012) Factors affecting hedgehog presence on farmland as assessed by a questionnaire survey. Acta Theriol 57:79–88
Micol T, Doncaster CP, Mackinlay LA (1994) Correlates of local variation in the abundance of hedgehogs Erinaceus europaeus. J Anim Ecol 63:851–860
Parrott D, Prickett A, Pietravalle S, Etherington TR, Fletcher M (2012) Estimates of regional population densities of badger Meles meles, fox Vulpes vulpes and hare Lepus europaeus using walked distance sampling. Eur J Wildl Res 58:23–33
Reeve N (1994) Hedgehogs. T. & A.D, Poyser, London
Trewby ID, Wilson GJ, Delahay RJ, Walker N, Young R, Davison J, Cheeseman C, Robertson PA, Gorman ML, McDonald RA (2008) Experimental evidence of competitive release in sympatric carnivores. Biol Lett 4:170–172
Young RP, Davison J, Trewby ID, Wilson GJ, Delahay RJ, Doncaster CP (2006) Abundance of hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) in relation to the density and distribution of badgers (Meles meles). J Zool 269:349–356
Acknowledgments
This study was funded by the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. We acknowledge all the landowners and farmers who permitted access to their land and thank all the field staff that took part in the project.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
Communicated by C. Gortázar
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Parrott, D., Etherington, T.R. & Dendy, J. A geographically extensive survey of hedgehogs (Erinaceus europaeus) in England. Eur J Wildl Res 60, 399–403 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-014-0795-2
Received:
Revised:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10344-014-0795-2