The diet of the European badger in the Maremma Natural Park consisted of fruits and insects and these food categories constituted about 90% of the total amount of food eaten (by volume) in each year of the study. Faecal analyses showed that earthworms and the remaining food resources played a secondary role in the diet. Temporal and spatial variation occurred in the diet; insects were exploited mainly during winter and spring, and fruits mainly during summer and autumn. The bulk of the food comprised juniper berries in the pinewood, and Coleoptera larvae and adults, strawberry-tree fruits and blackberries in the grazing areas and maquis. Most food resources showed spatial variation, being regular (e.g. junipers, blackberries) in the pinewood, but contagious (e.g. blackberries, grasshoppers) or random (junipers, strawberry-trees) in the grazing areas and maquis. The occurrence of contagiously-distributed and long-lasting food resources in the diet was correlated with their availability in the grazing areas, whereas the occurrence in the diet of regularly-distributed and long-lasting foods was not correlated with their availability in the pinewood.To investigate the spacing pattern and use of space by badgers, seven individuals were radio-tracked. Badgers were solitary, with adult males living in a territory 4--5 times larger than that of adult females, which had a territory of 30--40 ha. The size of individual territories was fairly constant with latrines located mostly near the territory boundary. The movement pattern and use of space by badgers appeared to reflect the spatial and temporal availability of the most important food resources in their territory. This study confirms the relationship between feeding ecology and social organisation of badgers and suggests that in areas where they rely on markedly seasonal, less abundant food resources the spacing of badgers reverts to the basic mustelid pattern of solitary individuals.

No description available.

No description available.

Thesis (Masters) -- California Institute of Technology, 1939. / Title from home page (viewed 04/29/2010). Includes bibliographic references.

The lack of fundamental biological information on the honey badger Mellivora capensis and its vulnerable conservation status were the motivating factors behind this study. A study population of 25 individuals (12 females; 12 males) was radio-marked in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (KTP), South Africa. Through a combination of radio telemetry and visual observations (5 244 h) of nine habituated individuals (five females; four males), the feeding ecology, scent marking and social behaviour of the honey badger were investigated. The honey badger is a solitary, generalist carnivore with strong seasonal differences in diet. In support of optimal diet theory, the cold dry season diet is characterized by low species richness, low foraging yield, high dietary diversity and increased foraging time while the reverse is true in the hot wet and hot-dry seasons. The honey badger appears to shift between alternative prey species depending on their availability on a seasonal and daily level. The daily activity patterns of both sexes show a strong seasonal shift from predominantly nocturnal activity in the hot-wet and hot-dry season to more diurnal activity in the cold-dry season and this appears to be primarily affected by temperature. Despite marked sexual size dimorphism (males a third larger than females), no intersexual differences in diet or foraging behaviour were observed, but there were sexual and in males age-related differences in movement patterns, scent marking and social behaviour. The honey badger appears to have a polygynous or promiscuous mating system, but did not fit the general mustelid pattern of intrasexual territoriality. Instead, adult males had extensive overlapping home ranges (548 km2) that encompassed the smaller, regularly spaced home ranges of the females (138 km2) and young males (178 km2). Receptive females are an unpredictable and scare resource in space (large home ranges) and time (no breeding season) with a long time to renewal (inter-birth interval > 1 year). As a result adult males adopt a roaming rather than a staying tactic with competition for access to the mating burrow mediated by a dominance hierarchy loosely based on age, mass and testes size. The hierarchy appears to be maintained through regular aggressive and agonistic interactions and scent marking. Data suggest that latrine scent marking in adult males is related to advertising social status and maintaining the dominance hierarchy though “scent matching”. In females and young males latrine visits are rare, but token urination is common and its association with foraging behaviour suggests that it mediates spatio-temporal separation and/or resource utilization. Interspecific interactions between the honey badger and other mammalian and avian predators were common and included intraguild predation and interspecific feeding associations between the honey badger and seven other species (two mammals; five birds). The most common foraging associations were observed between the honey badger and the pale chanting-goshawk Melierax canorus and black-backed jackal Canis mesomelas. These associations appear to be commensalisms, with associating species benefiting from increased hunting opportunities and intake rate but no significant costs or benefits to the honey badger. Copyright 2001, University of Pretoria. All rights reserved. The copyright in this work vests in the University of Pretoria. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without the prior written permission of the University of Pretoria. Please cite as follows: Begg, CM 2001, Feeding ecology and social organisation of honey badgers (Mellivora capensis) in the southern Kalahari, DPhil thesis, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, viewed yymmdd < http://upetd.up.ac.za/thesis/available/etd-11282005-145818 / > / Thesis (DPhil (Zoology))--University of Pretoria, 2001. / Zoology and Entomology / unrestricted

Studying the dynamics of pathogen transmission within wildlife populations presents an array of challenges. Where populations are socially structured, this can influence parasite transmission, impacting on the effectiveness of disease management strategies. In this thesis, I focus on a well-studied social mammal, the European badger (Meles meles) which is a key wildlife reservoir of a disease of economic importance; bovine TB (caused by infection with Mycobacterium bovis). The social structuring, characteristic of high density badger populations, is of well-established importance in the transmission of bovine TB and has resulted in unexpected management outcomes. However, little is known about the role of kin structure or host genotype on transmission dynamics. In this thesis, I combine traditional spatial epidemiology and ecological analysis of a well-studied badger population with more novel genetic and genomic approaches. Firstly, I investigate the role of kin structure within badger social groups in determining early life infection risk (Chapter 3). Using host genotype data, I demonstrate that cubs who are related to infected adults experience enhanced infection risks. I then explore the role of badger genotype on outcomes of M. bovis exposure and demonstrate that inbred badgers are more likely to show evidence of progressive infection (Chapter 4). Where the social structure of badgers is stable and unmanaged, this is predicted to result in a stable spatial distribution of M. bovis infection. Motivated by an observation of change in the spatial distribution of M. bovis infection in the study population, in the absence of management, I characterise the attrition of a spatially stable infection distribution (Chapter 5). To explore the drivers of this, I detect changes in the genetic population structure (Chapter 6) and present evidence that the population has experienced a period of demographic flux. Finally, I use a novel dataset generated by whole genome sequencing of M. bovis isolates and present evidence of spatial spread of M. bovis infection across the study population (Chapter 7). To conclude, I discuss how my findings demonstrate how genetic and genomic approaches can complement traditional wildlife epidemiology approaches, how they contribute to our understanding of heterogeneity in transmission dynamics and discuss their implications for wildlife disease management.

A collection of poems.

Individual niche variation is increasingly being demonstrated in animal populations in a wide variety of species and taxa. Niche variation among individuals has important implications for the ecology, evolution and management of animal populations and is a subject of increasing interest. However, despite its widespread occurrence the causes and consequences of individual niche variation remain poorly understood. In this thesis I use the European badger (Meles meles), a well studied species of high ecological interest, as a model system to investigate individual niche variation. In order to achieve this I combine information on individual foraging niches derived via stable isotope analysis (SIA) of badger vibrissae with detailed life history and ecological data from a long-term study population to investigate the incidence, cause and consequence of individual niche variation within badger social groups. First I use the biomarker Rhodamine B to investigate vibrissae growth rates and patterns in badgers and demonstrate that the isotopic composition of a single vibrissa likely reflects diet over several months (Chapter 2). Next I explore the use of SIA as a tool to investigate badger diet, by comparing isotopic patterns to seasonal changes in diet measured using faecal analysis (Chapter 3). My results provide validation that SIA is powerful tool for investigating foraging variation in this species, and suggest that within badger populations substantial dietary variation may occur among individuals. Further investigation of isotopic variation Indicates that individuals within social groups differ markedly and consistently in their isotopic signature, independent of age and sex effects and that in some instances these differences are remarkably consistent across year (Chapter 4).This suggesting long term individual specialisation (Chapter 4). I find that the degree of this individual specialisation, and the relationship between specialisation and body condition is influenced by competition for resources (Chapter 5). Social groups with higher levels of competition exhibit greater specialisation and specialised individuals within these highly competitive environments are in better condition. Finally, I discuss the implications of these results for individual niche variation, for the application of SIA to study this behaviour and for badger ecology generally (Chapter 6). I also outline future directions for further research.

Between March, 1969 and July, 1970, 16 badgers (Taxidea taxus) were caught and fitted with radio transmitters in the southern part of Curlew Valley. The animals were followed telemetrically; seven animals contributed sufficient data from which home-range, movement and activity patterns could be discerned. The aver age annual home-range size of five females was 664 acres (± s.d. 99 .5 acres). Female home-range sizes were approximately the same within crested wheat-grass (Agropyron aristatum) and sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata) vegetation types, with greater distances traveled each night by females in the crested wheat-grass. Both home-range size and total movement were less during winter in the one badger observed during more than one season. The average home range of two males followed between September and mid-December was 1,440 acreas, twice the average female home-range size. The necropsy of badgers in the study collection and a scat collection yielded information on the food habits and breeding biology of badgers in Curlew Valley. Many prey species were used, but mice were the most frequently eaten food item. Badgers bred between mid-July and the end of August. Delayed implantation PE sisted until approximately January 26. Pregnant females gave birth to an average of 2.2 young about April 1.

<p>In Sweden live badgers are used in tests in order to train and prepare earth dogs for hunting underneath ground. This has for several years causeddebate concerning the welfare of the badgers. It is questioned whether the purpose of the dog training, i.e. to reduce injuries in both dogs and prey, is worth the suffering that is reflected on the badgers. </p><p>The aim of this investigation was to study </p><p>1) stress levels in badgers when used in earth dog training, </p><p>2) if the stress load differs when the badgers are exposed to dogs with varying aggression levels (low, moderate, high). </p><p>Behaviour, body temperature and heart rate were studied during the different treatments and for three consecutive nights following each treatment. These nights were compared to undisturbed conditions. Several effects of the treatments were found on behaviour, body temperature and heart rate. The result from this study suggest that badgers are likely to be affected (possible stressed) when used in earth dog training and that they react differently when exposed to dogs with varying levels of aggression.</p>