Nature Conservation Research. Заповедная наука 2018. 3(2): 47–56 DOI: 10.24189/ncr.2018.032 DAILY ACTIVITY OF THE EUROPEAN BADGER (MELES MELES, MUSTELIDAE, CARNIVORA) ON SETTS IN DARWIN RESERVE AND MESCHERA NATIONAL PARK (RUSSIA) IN SUMMER AND AUTUMN Natalia V. Sidorchuk*, Viatcheslav V. Rozhnov A.N. Severtsov Institute of Ecology and Evolution of RAS, Russia *e-mail: [email protected] Received: 30.01.2018 The European badger’s (Meles meles) daily activity was studied in two regions of European Russia with camera traps. The results of the study show that the daily activity of the European badger on settlements does not differ in the compared populations inhabiting Darwin Reserve and Meschera National Park. The badger appears on surface often during the daylight contrary to the classical idea of nocturnal activity of the species. More than half of all animal registrations occur at daylight during the summer. The moderate climate of the study areas and low level of human persecution are considered among the possible reasons of this type of activity. The daily activity of the European badger undergoes markedly seasonal changes in both populations. Badgers more often came out from their setts during daylight in summer and at night in autumn. The results have practical application in the organisation of the census of badgers by means of camera traps. Key words: camera trap, daily activity, Darwin Reserve, Meles meles, Meschera National Park Introduction Danilov & Tumanov, 1976; Danilov, 2005; Solo- The European badger is the most studied spe- viev, 2008). These studies were not systematic due cies of the three species of the genus Meles. Most to the laboriousness of observations. The research- of the information on the biology and ecology of ers note that the European badger can be found on the European badger was obtained in European the surface at different time of the day, both at the countries. The interest of European researchers is settlement and at a distance from it. However, in due to various reasons, both general theoretical, modern encyclopedias badgers are still described as fundamental, and applied studies. The European nocturnal animals (Blokhin et al., 2012). badger has become one of the model species in In general, tasks of studies of the European the study of the behavioural ecology of predatory badger ecology in the former USSR differ from mammals, the emergence and evolution of their those in European countries – for a long time they sociality due to the significant variability of the were determined by the hunting importance of the social and spatial organisation of populations of species. Despite the fact that badgers are hunted this species in different parts of the range and the species in Russia, the population density of these absence of obvious reasons for the formation of a species are counted rarely and irregularly. This is group lifestyle (Kruuk, 1978; Stopka & Johnson, evidenced by the lack of publications on the den- 2000; Macdonald et al., 2004). Such attention to sity of populations of badgers in the territory of the the European badger from European researchers Russian Federation in recent years. led to a detailed study of all aspects of the species Partly this is due to the fact that the estimation ecology, including daily activity. of population density of species of the genus Meles Daily activity of European badger was studied is labourious. It is necessary to determine a num- most extensively in the western part of its range, in ber of parameters using visual observations near those populations where animals were monitored settlements (for example, the average number of by radio tracking or by numerous observations animals inhabiting one settlement, the average size near settlements (Neal, 1948; Cresswell & Harris, of the litter). The use of camera traps can facilitate 1988; Fowler & Racey, 1988; Tuyttens et al., 2001; the work on the estimation of the badger popula- Kowalczyk et al., 2003; Goszczyński et al., 2005; tion density. The use of camera traps has a number Rosalino et al., 2005; Do Linh San et al., 2007). of advantages and is popular in zoological studies Data on the daily activity of the European badger (Rozhnov & Sidorchuk, 2016). Recently, methodi- in the eastern part of its range (the former USSR) are cal publications on the use of camera traps and fragmentary (Heptner et al., 1967; Gorshkov, 1997; on the processing and storage of data begin to ap- 47 Nature Conservation Research. Заповедная наука 2018. 3(2): 47–56 DOI: 10.24189/ncr.2018.032 pear (O’Connell et al., 2011; Jackson et al., 2005; tected part of the park at a distance from the rec- Ogurtsov et al., 2017). reation zone. Inspectors of the National Park Pro- The development of recommendations for the tection Department occasionally visit the badger use of camera traps in the estimation of the badger settlements . An additional factor of disturbance population density is one of the tasks of our stud- may be a dirt road which is located near one of ies. The daily activity of the European badger must the setts in the National Park. However, it is rarely be taken into account during the estimation of the used because it is located on the edge of a specially population density of this species. It is necessary to protected area of the National Park. We assume know aspects of the badger’s daily activity during the that the studied populations have small differences period of planning observations in settlements both in the degree of anthropogenic anxiety, as they are with the help of observers and with the help of cam- under protection and animal hunting is prohibited. era traps. This will allow determining the number of We used camera traps of different models (Wild animals inhabiting one settlement accurately. The re- view Xtreme II, Leaf River DC-3BU and Keep- sults of studies on the daily activity of two species of Guard 690 NV) to study the daily activity of the the genus Meles in different populations show that in European badger on setts (Sidorchuk et al., 2007). some populations it is better to carry out observations Camera traps were placed at badger setts near en- during daylight (Sidorchuk et al., 2014, 2016). trances that had intensive signs of their usage. We The aims of this work were to study the daily used a standard set for all camera traps without activity of the European badger on settlements in delay between photographs and 24-hour activity the Meschera National Park and compare the re- (day/night). The camera traps were attached to sults with the nearest studied population in the the tree trunks 1.5–2.0 m above the ground. This Darwin Reserve. Similar studies were not conduct- allowed us to avoid damage of camera traps and ed in the National Park earlier. lashing belts by the raccoon dog (Nyctereutes pro- cyonoides Gray, 1834). We placed only one camera Material and Methods trap on each sett. We checked camera traps every Our study was carried out in two populations 14–20 days to replace batteries and to move the of the European badger in Darwin Reserve and Me- cameras to different part of the settlement if bad- schera National Park. Both study areas are located gers started to use another entrance. in the same climatic zone and have a similar relief. We conducted observations at nine locations Darwin Reserve is situated in north-western (badger setts) in Darwin Reserve in 2006–2009. Russia. It is located on a peninsula surrounded by Each camera trap was kept for 6 month at the set- the waters of the Rybinsk reservoir. The reserve tlement (from May till October). Rarely we moved consists mostly of peat bogs and pine (Pinus syl- camera traps to another location if the initial ob- vestris L.) forests. The climate of the Reserve is servation settlement was abandoned by badgers. moderate with cool summers (average temperature We selected for analysis data for the period from of the warmest month +17.4°C) and moderately 01 June to 10 November. The total camera traps cold winters (average temperature of the coldest worked 1850 trap days. We got 678 badger shots month -12.2°C) (Sidorchuk & Rozhnov, 2010). for this period. The National Park is located in the central part In Meschera National Park we conducted ob- of the Meschera Lowland. Peat bogs occupied a servations at two locations (badger setts) in sum- quarter of the area of the National Park before eco- mer and autumn of 2016–2017. Camera traps nomic development of this territory. Pine forests worked 107 trap days total. We got over 3270 bad- are the most common in the territory of the Na- ger shots for this period. tional Park at present. The climate of the National The difference in the number of photographs Park is moderate with cool summers (average tem- obtained in the two study sites can be explained by perature of the warmest month +18.4°C) and mod- two reasons: the differences in the microrelief of the erately cold winters (average temperature of the badger settlements and the number of animals in- coldest month -11°C) (Relief and geology, 2006). habiting one settlement. In Darwin Reserve the soil Badger settlements in the Darwin Reserve are conditions are unfavourable for sett construction and rarely visited by people. No one visited the badger badgers dig their burrows in old charcoal pits, i.e. settlements during our work except us. Badger set- ring-shaped elevated grounds, which are remains of tlements in the National Park are also rarely visited the charcoal trade of the 19th century (Sidorchuk & by people, since they are located in a specially pro- Rozhnov, 2016).