Activvidad y uso del hábitat por parte del erizo europeo (Erinaceus europeus Linnaeus, 1758) en el Parque Natural de la Serrallada de Marina (Barcelona, Cataluña)

Abstract

The activity and habitat selection patterns of seven European hedgehogs were studied using radio-tracking from 2005 to 2007 in a periurban area of Badalona (Barcelona, north-east Spain) which lies within the Serralada de Marina Natural Park. Euclidean distance methods were used to analyze habitat selection patterns. Our results suggest that European hedgehogs positively select cluttered forest areas as well as urban areas, and forage mainly in the ecotone without showing any tendency to penetrate into uniform habitat patches. In our case study, urban areas were represented by roads and traditional rural buildings, the former including stone walls and fences from a nearby irrigated golf course, where the animals were also found. Foraging areas (MCPs) were slightly larger among males than females, ranging from 3.03 to 28.01 ha among males, and from 3.47 to 9.89 ha among females. Hedgehogs began their activity shortly after sunset and stopped by dawn, showing a bimodal activity pattern.