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The conservation of animal populations often requires the estimation of population size. Low density and secretive behaviour usually determine scarce data sources and hampers precise abundance estimations of carnivore populations. However, joint analysis of independent scarce data sources in a common modeling framework allows unbiased and precise estimates of population parameters. We aimed to estimate the density of the European wildcat (Felis silvestris) in a protected area of Spain, by combining independent datasets in a spatially-explicit capture-recapture (SCR) framework. Data from live-capture with individual identification, camera-trapping without individual identification and radio-tracking concurrently obtained were integrated in a joint SCR and count data model. Ten live captures of five wildcats were obtained with an effort of 2034 trap-days, whereas seven wildcat independent events were recorded in camera traps with 3628 camera-days. Two wildcats were radio-tagged and telemetry information on their movements was obtained. The integration of the different data sources improved the precision obtained by the standard SCR model. The mean (± SD) density estimated with the integrated model (0.038 ± 0.017 wildcats/km2, 95% highest posterior density 0.013–0.082) is among the lowest values ever reported for this species, despite corresponding to a highly protected area. Among the likely causes of such low density, low prey availability could have triggered an extinction vortex process. We postulate that the estimated low density could represent a common situation of wildcat populations in the southern Iberia, highlighting the need for further studies and urgent conservation actions in the furthermost southwestern range of this species in Europe., Open Access funding provided thanks to the CRUE-CSIC agreement with Springer Nature., Funding was provided by Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales, Project OAPN 352/2011. We are grateful for the support received during this study from the staff of Cabañeros National Park. We also thank the assistance received during the fieldwork from T. Oliveira, I. Vaz and J.C. Zarca, and during data processing from A. Fragoso. F. Díaz-Ruiz was supported by a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral contract (FJCI-2015-24,949) and is currently supported by a postdoctoral contract from the University of Málaga (I Plan Propio de Investigación y Transferencia, call 2020). P. Monterroso was supported by UID/BIA/50027/2019 with funding from FCT/MCTES through national funds.

Hybridisation between domestic and wild taxa can pose severe threats to wildlife conservation, and human-induced hybridisation, often linked to species' introductions and habitat degradation, may promote reproductive opportunities between species for which natural interbreeding would be highly unlikely. Using a biome-specific approach, we examine the effects of a suite of ecological drivers on the European wildcat's genetic integrity, while assessing the role played by protected areas in this process. We used genotype data from 1217 putative European wildcat samples from 13 European countries to assess the effects of landcover, disturbance and legal landscape protection on the European wildcat's genetic integrity across European biomes, through generalised linear models within a Bayesian framework. Overall, we found European wildcats to have genetic integrity levels above the wildcat-hybrid threshold (ca. 83%; threshold = 80%). However, Mediterranean and Temperate Insular biomes (i.e., Scotland) revealed lower levels, with 74% and 46% expected genetic integrity, respectively. We found that different drivers shape the level of genetic introgression across biomes, although forest integrity seems to be a common factor promoting European wildcat genetic integrity. Wildcat genetic integrity remains high, regardless of landscape legal protection, in biomes where populations appear to be healthy and show recent local range expansions. However, in biomes more susceptible to hybridisation, even protected areas show limited effectiveness in mitigating this threat. In the face of the detected patterns, we recommend that species conservation and management plans should be biome- and landscape-context-specific to ensure effective wildcat conservation, especially in the Mediterranean and Temperate Insular biomes., Thanks are due to FCT/MCTES for the financial support to cE3c (UIDB/00329/2020), through national funds, and the co-funding by the FEDER, within the PT2020 Partnership Agreement and Compete 2020. PM was supported by UID/BIA/50027/2021 with funding from FCT/MCTES through national funds. FDR was supported by a postdoctoral contract from the University of Málaga (I Plan Propio de Investigación y Transferencia, call 2020). This study was partly funded by research projects CGL2009-10741, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and EU-FEDER, and OAPN 352/2011, funded by the Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales (Spain). Luxembourg sample collection has been co-funded by the Ministry of Environment, Climate and Sustainable Development of Luxembourg. We would like to thank the Bavarian Forest National Park Administration for the approval and support in collecting samples.

Genomic tools have greatly enhanced our ability to uncover ancient interspecific gene flow, including cases involving allopatric lineages and/or lineages that have gone extinct. Recently, a genomic analysis revealed the unexpected gene flow between the African wild dog (Lycaon pictus) and the dhole (Cuon alpinus). The two species have currently highly disjunct and patchy distributions in Africa and Asia, respectively, which are remnants of a much wider past distribution. Yet, no reported evidence of their past contact has ever been documented. By hindcasting the past potential distribution of both species during the Last Glacial Maximum and the Last Interglacial, validating paleoclimatic reconstructions with fossil evidence, quantifying the intersection of their bioclimatic niches, and assessing interspecific compatibility, we investigate the location and favorable conditions for such contact and its ecological validity. We were able to identify the Levant region in Eastern Mediterranean during the Last Interglacial as the most suitable spatio-ecological context for the co-occurrence of the two canids, and to provide evidence of a highly significant overlap of the African wild dog niche with the wider niche of the dhole. These results, combined with ecologic traits, including key compatibility features such as cooperative breeding and hunting, provide consistent support for the potential co-occurrence of both canids. We suggest that the ranges of these canids came into contact multiple times during periods resembling the Last Interglacial, eventually facilitating gene flow between the African wild dog and the dhole in their post-divergence history. Our results are highly supportive of the key role of the Levant region in providing connectivity between African and Eurasian faunas and provide further impetus to combine different tools and approaches in advancing the understanding of species evolutionary histories.

Humans have transformed most landscapes across the globe, forcing other species to adapt in order to persist in increasingly anthropogenic landscapes. Wide-ranging solitary species, such as wild felids, struggle particularly in such landscapes. Conservation planning and management for their long-term persistence critically depends on understanding what determine survival and what are the main mortality risks. We carried out the first study on annual survival and cause-specific mortality of the European wildcat with a large and unique dataset of 211 tracked individuals from 22 study areas across Europe. Furthermore, we tested the effect of environmental and human disturbance variables on the survival probability. Our results show that mortalities were mainly human-caused, with roadkill and poaching representing 57% and 22% of the total annual mortality, respectively. The annual survival probability of wildcat was 0.92 (95% CI = 0.87–0.98) for females and 0.84 (95% CI = 0.75–0.94) for males. Road density strongly impacted wildcat annual survival, whereby an increase in the road density of motorways and primary roads by 1 km/km2 in wildcat home-ranges increased mortality risk ninefold. Low-traffic roads, such as secondary and tertiary roads, did not significantly affect wildcat's annual survival. Our results deliver key input parameters for population viability analyses, provide planning-relevant information to maintain subcritical road densities in key wildcat habitats, and identify conditions under which wildcat-proof fences and wildlife crossing structures should be installed to decrease wildcat mortality., This research was funded by: the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) as part of the mFund project “WilDa—Dynamic Wildlife–Vehicle Collision warning, using heterogeneous traffic, accident and environmental data as well as big data concepts” grant number 19F2014B; the Deutscher Akademischer Austauschdienst (DAAD) Research Grants, Short-Term Grants, 2020 (57507441); the Deutsche Wildtier Stiftung (DeWiSt). The data from Cabañeros National Park were collected in the frame of the project OAPN 352/2011 funded by Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales. MM was supported by a research contract Ramón y Cajal from the MINECO (RYC-2015-19231). FDR was supported by a postdoctoral contract funded by the University of Málaga through the grants program “Ayudas para la Incorporación de Doctores del I Plan Propio de Investigación de la Universidad de Málaga (Call 2019)”. PM was supported by UIDB/50027/2020 with funding from FCT/MCTES through national funds.

The civil unrest that ravaged Angola for nearly 30 years took a heavy toll on the country's wildlife, and led to a lengthy absence of reliable information for many threatened species, including the cheetah Acinonyx jubatus and African wild dog Lycaon pictus. Using camera trapping we assessed the status of these two species in two areas of southern Angola, and complemented our findings by reviewing recent survey reports and observations to provide an update on the species' status. We found unequivocal evidence that African wild dogs are resident and reproducing in Bicuar National Park, where cheetahs appear to be absent. Conversely, cheetahs may be resident in western Cuando Cubango province, where African wild dogs may only be transient. Based on these and other recent records in Angola, we recommend a revision of these species' distribution ranges and note the need for monitoring of these remnant populations and for appropriate attention to any threats.

Hybridisation between wild taxa and their domestic congeners is a significant conservation issue. Domestic species frequently outnumber their wild relatives in population size and distribution and may therefore genetically swamp the native species. The European wildcat (Felis silvestris) has been shown to hybridise with domestic cats (Felis catus). Previously suggested spatially divergent introgression levels have not been confirmed on a European scale due to significant differences in the applied methods to assess hybridisation of the European wildcat. We analysed 926Felisspp. samples from 13 European countries, using a set of 86 selected ancestry-informative SNPs, 14 microsatellites, and ten mitochondrial and Y-chromosome markers to study regional hybridisation and introgression patterns and population differentiation. We detected 51 hybrids (four F1 and 47 F2 or backcrosses) and 521 pure wildcats throughout Europe. The abundance of hybrids varied considerably among studied populations. All samples from Scotland were identified as F2 hybrids or backcrosses, supporting previous findings that the genetic integrity of that wildcat population has been seriously compromised. In other European populations, low to moderate levels of hybridisation were found, with the lowest levels being in Central and Southeast Europe. The occurrence of distinct maternal and paternal markers between wildcat and domestic cat suggests that there were no severe hybridisation episodes in the past. The overall low (

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with ~26% of all species being included in the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associated with habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mammals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion for marine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems functionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is crucial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublished georeferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mammals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira that includes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occurring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live observations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%), bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent less than 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrows | soil mounds | tunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animal | hair | skulls | jaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8), observation in shelters, (9) photo trapping | video, (10) predators diet | pellets | pine cones/nuts, (11) scat | track | ditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalization | echolocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and 100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followed by Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496), Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data set includes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened (e.g., Oryctolagus cuniculus [n=12,159], Monachus monachus [n=1,512], and Lynx pardinus [n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate the publication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contribute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting on the development of more accurate and tailored conservation management strategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications.

Population density data on depleted and endangered wildlife species are essential to assure their effective management and, ultimately, conservation. The European wildcat is an elusive and threatened species inhabiting the Iberian Peninsula, with fragmented populations and living in low densities. We fitted spatial capture–recapture models on camera-trap data, to provide the first estimate of wildcat density for Portugal and assess the most influential drivers determining it. The study was implemented in Montesinho Natural Park (NE Portugal), where we identified nine individuals, over a total effort of 3,477 trap-nights. The mean density estimate was 0.032 ± 0.012 wildcat/km2 , and density tended to increase with distance to humanized areas, often linked to lower human disturbance and domestic cat presence, with forest and herbaceous vegetation cover and with European rabbit abundance. Although, this density estimate is within the range of values estimated for protected areas elsewhere in the Iberian Peninsula, our estimates are low at the European level. When put in context, our results highlight that European wildcats may be living in low population densities across the Iberian Mediterranean biogeographic region. No phenotypic domestic or hybrid cats were detected, suggesting potentially low admixture rates between the two species, although genetic sampling would be required to corroborate this assertion. We provide evidence that Montesinho Natural Park may be a suitable area to host a healthy wildcat population, and thus be an important protected area in this species' conservation context.

European badgers (Meles meles) are considered central-place foragers, whose spatial ecology is predominantly determined by sett location. Many studies have assessed the factors determining sett site selection throughout this species’ range, but these have often been geographically limited and have primarily identified locally dependent factors. To infer key factors determining sett location, a broader scale approach is needed. Between June 2014 and January 2017, we surveyed mainland Portugal to detect badger setts in 10 × 10 km cells, corresponding to a total of 657.5 km walked line transects. We detected 54 main setts in 136 surveyed cells. Each sett and non-sett site (i.e. transects without setts) was characterised using bioenvironmental variables (e.g. land cover, presence of human infrastructure, soil). We used generalized linear mixed models to test five hypotheses potentially explaining sett location: land cover composition; anthropogenic disturbance; abiotic environmental drivers; trophic resource availability; and a combined effect of all these factors. Our findings show that the key factors for badger sett site selection in Portugal are: (1) disturbance avoidance (low beehive density; absence of livestock; far from hunting reserves), but with a tendency to be located close to highways and unpaved roads; and (2) ease of excavation (avoidance of sedimentary/metamorphic composite rocks). Although specific factors among these drivers may be more important locally or regionally, these major drivers have also been identified elsewhere in Europe. Our nationwide approach contributes to a broader understanding of general patterns of sett site selection by badgers in southern Europe. Furthermore, it provides the national authorities with novel and broad-scale data to facilitate sustainable species conservation of badgers in the southwestern limit of their range.

Competition is a widespread interaction among carnivores, ultimately manifested through one or more dimensions of the species' ecological niche. One of the most explicit manifestations of competitive interactions regards spatial displacement. Its interpretation under a theoretical context provides an important tool to deepen our understanding of biological systems and communities, but also for wildlife management and conservation. We used Bayesian multispecies occupancy models on camera‐trapping data from multiple sites in Southwestern Europe (SWE) to investigate competitive interactions within a carnivore guild, and to evaluate how species' ecological traits are shaping coexistence patterns. Seventeen out of 26 pairwise interactions departed from a hypothesis of independent occurrence, with spatial association being twice as frequent as avoidance. Association behaviors were only detected among mesocarnivores, while avoidance mainly involved mesocarnivores avoiding the apex predator (n = 4) and mesocarnivore‐only interactions (n = 2). Body mass ratios, defined as the dominant over the subordinate species body mass, revealed an important negative effect ( βˆ=−0.38;CI95=−0.81𝑡𝑜−0.06 ) on co‐occurrence probability, and support that spatially explicit competitive interactions are mostly expressed by larger species able to dominate over smaller ones, with a threshold in body mass ratios of ~4, above which local‐scale intraguild coexistence is unlikely. We found a weak relationship between pairwise trophic niche overlap and the probability of coexistence ( βˆ=−0.19;CI95=−0.58𝑡𝑜0.21 ), suggesting that competition for feeding resources may not be a key driver of competition, at least at the scale of our analysis. Despite local‐scale avoidance, regional‐scale coexistence appears to be maintained by the spatial structuring of the competitive environment. We provide evidence that SWE ecosystems consist of spatially structured competitive environments, and propose that coexistence among near‐sized species is likely achieved through the interplay of “facultative” and “behavioral” character displacements. Factors influencing carnivore coexistence likely include context‐dependent density and trait‐mediated effects, which should be carefully considered for a sound understanding of the mechanisms regulating these communities., This study was funded by research projects CGL2009‐10741, funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and EU‐FEDER, and OAPN 352/2011, funded by the Spanish Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales. P. Monterroso enjoyed a Ph.D. grant from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) (ref: SFRH/BD/37795/2007) and a postdoctoral fellowship by EU‐FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors—COMPETE and by National Funds through FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology (ref: UID/BIA/50027/2013, POCI‐01‐0145‐FEDER‐006821). F. Díaz‐Ruiz enjoyed a research contract “Juan de la Cierva” (ref: FJCI‐2015‐24949) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness.

Carnivores are elusive, nocturnal and scarce, hence, their detection is difficult. Camera trapping has become a powerful non-invasive technique for collecting information on such elusive species. Some of its major applications are species inventories and community monitoring. Some efforts have been recently devoted to standardize protocols for monitoring mammal communities in tropical areas. Nevertheless, there is a lack of standardization across studies for monitoring carnivore communities in temperate areas. We aimed to optimize camera-trapping protocols for monitoring mesocarnivore communities in Mediterranean areas, minimizing sampling effort to accurately estimate species richness. For this purpose, we assessed the effect of number of cameras, time they remain active, area covered and spatial arrangement on species richness estimates. We used between 50 and 60 camera-traps combined with generalist scent attractants in two national parks located in central Spain. We generated random sets of 5–40 cameras and evaluated the accumulated richness between 1 and 30 days since deployment. Generalized linear model analysis indicates that active days, number of cameras, covered area and study area best explained species richness. A minimum of 30 active cameras during 20 days were required for attaining the asymptotical species richness. A larger effort was required to detect all species in the study area with higher species richness (six vs. five species). These results agree with the effort required for obtaining at least one camera image of those species with the lowest detection rates. Scattered deployments required less effort (number of cameras) to reach an asymptote of species richness than clumped layouts, although differences were not significant. These findings can be used as guidelines for monitoring mesocarnivore communities with camera-traps in temperate areas, although particular monitoring requirements will depend on the community composition and density of mesocarnivore species present in a given study area., This study was funded by Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales, project OAPN 352/2011. F. Díaz‐Ruiz enjoyed a postdoctoral contract funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) and Junta de Comunidades de Castilla‐La Mancha (Operational Programme FSE 2007/2013). P. Monterroso was granted a postdoctoral fellowship by the project ‘Genomics Applied to Genetic Resources’ cofinanced by North Portugal Regional Operational Programme 2007/2013 (ON.2 – O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The structure of mesopredators' communities is complex and results from a multidimensional web of interactions such as top-down and bottom-up regulation or intraguild interactions. However, these interactions may change geographically along species' distribution ranges. The pine marten (Martes martes) and stone marten (Martes foina) are 2 similar-sized mustelids with overlapping ecological traits and a wide distribution overlap. The absence of stone martens from potentially adequate areas has been advocated as resulting from competitive exclusion by pine martens. Particularly, the preference of both species for mammalian rodents could be the main driver of such competitive stress. However, their elusive behavior and morphological similarity of their scats often precluded the evaluation of their ecological traits in areas of co-occurrence. Using camera trapping and diet analysis on genetically identified scats, we evaluated the interactions between pine and stone martens in the southwestern limit of their range along 3 ecological niche dimensions: spatial, trophic, and temporal, under a hypothesis of competitive dominance of pine martens. We found no spatial segregation, and that coexistence was facilitated by seasonally adjusted shifts along the trophic and temporal axes. While both species often co-occurred, during the season of low food resources, pine martens exploited the less profitable feeding resource. Moreover, they not only displayed an activity pattern that limited their access to rodents, but also reduced the probabilities of direct encounters with stone martens. We suggest that the dominance position has changed in favor of the stone marten in our study area, probably as a result of habitat quality and range edge effects. These findings support the relative instability of interspecific interactions among similar-sized species, which should be evaluated using multidimensional and site-specific approaches.

Accurate analyses of the diets of predators are key to understand trophic interactions and defining conservation strategies. Diets are commonly assessed through analysis of non‐invasively collected scats, and the use of faecal DNA (fDNA ) analysis can reduce the species misidentifications that could lead to biased ecological inference. We review the scientific literature since publication of the first paper on amplifying fDNA , in order to assess trends in the use of genetic non‐invasive sampling (gNIS ) for predator species identification in scat‐based diet studies of North American and European terrestrial mammalian carnivores (Carnivora). We quantify error rates in morphology‐based predator species identification. We then provide an overview of how applying gNIS would improve research on trophic interactions and other areas of carnivore ecology. We found that carnivore species identity was verified by using gNIS in only 8% of 400 studies of carnivore diets based on scats. The median percentage of false positives (i.e. samples wrongly identified as belonging to the target species) in morphology‐based studies was 18%, and was consistent regardless of species’ body size. We did not find an increasing trend in the use of gNIS over time, despite the existing technical capability to identify almost all carnivore species. New directions for fDNA studies include employing high‐throughput sequencing (HTS ) and DNA metabarcoding to identify the predator species, the individual predator, the entire assemblage of consumed items, and the microbiome of the predator and pathogens. We conclude that HTS protocols and metagenomic approaches hold great promise for elevating gNIS as a fundamental cornerstone for future research in ecology and conservation biology of mammals., PM enjoyed a postdoctoral fellowship funded by FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors - COMPETE and by National Funds through FCT - Foundation for Science and Technology (UID/BIA/50027/2013 and POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006821). RG was supported by a research contract from the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (IF/564/2012). The University of Idaho, USA, provided salary support for LW. The Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) provided travel funding between the University of Porto, Portugal, and the University of Montana, USA.

[Context]: Camera trapping is commonly employed for studying carnivores because it provides better data than do other methods, and with lower costs. Increasing the probability of detecting the target species can reduce parameter uncertainty and survey effort required to estimate density and occurrence. Different methods, including attractants and baits, can be used to increase detectability. However, their efficacy has rarely been quantitatively assessed. [Aims]: To quantify the efficacy of scent and bait attractants to increase the detection probability of mesocarnivores by camera trapping. [Methods]: We tested two scent lures, valerian extract (Val) and lynx urine (LU), their combination (Val-LU), and a non-reward bait (i.e. not accessible to the animal), raw chicken, as carnivore attractants in two protected areas of central Spain. We used camera-trapping records under an occupancy-modelling framework to estimate attractant-specific detection probabilities for six mesocarnivore species, and quantified their effects by comparing these estimates with the baseline (i.e. no attractant) detectability. [Key results]: The weekly detection probability of four mesocarnivore species (red fox, Vulpes vulpes, stone marten, Martes foina, common genet, Genetta genetta, and Eurasian badger, Meles meles) significantly increased when Val-LU (between 0.11±0.07 and 0.67±0.05) or chicken (between 0.31±0.02 and 0.77±0.22) were used as attractant, when compared with baseline detectability (between 0.01±0.02 and 0.29±0.05). Although rarely, wildcats (Felis silvestris) were mostly detected with Val-LU. The probability of detecting a species after k sampling occasions (7 days each) where it was present was highly improved with both Val-LU and chicken for all species (e.g. from 0.20 to 0.98 after four sampling occasions with chicken for the stone marten). Both attractants reduced the sampling time required to ascertain that a species was absent to between 42% and 15% of baseline values. [Conclusions]: The tested attractants greatly improved the detectability of most Iberian mesocarnivores. Although chicken was preferable for some species such as stone marten, Val-LU is most efficient for detecting the whole mesocarnivore community, including rare species such as wildcats. [Implications]: Attractant selection in studies using non-invasive detection methods must be supported by quantitative assessment of the detection probability associated to each attractant. Researchers must choose those attractants best fitting target species and study aims., This study was funded by Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales, project OAPN 352/2011. F. Díaz-Ruiz was supported by a Juan de laCierva postdoctoral contract (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación, Funder Id: 10.13039/501100004837, FJCI-2015-24949) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness). P. Monterroso was granted a postdoctoral fellowship by the project ‘Genomics Applied to Genetic Resources’ co-financed by North Portugal Regional Operational Program 2007/2013 (ON.2 – O Novo Norte), under the National Strategic Reference Framework (NSRF), through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).

The interactions between animals and their environment vary across species, regions, but also with gender. Sex-specific relations between individuals and the ecosystem may entail different behavioral choices and be expressed through different patterns of habitat use. Regardless, only rarely sex-specific traits are addressed in ecological modeling approaches. The European wildcat (Felis silvestris silvestris) is a species of conservation concern in Europe, with a highly fragmented and declining distribution across most of its range. We assessed sex-specific habitat selection patterns for the European wildcat, at the landscape and home range levels, across its Iberian biogeographic distribution using a multipopulation approach. We developed resource selection functions in a use-availability framework using radio-telemetry data from five wildcat populations. At the landscape level, we observed that, while both genders preferentially established home ranges in areas close to broadleaf forests and far from humanized areas, females selected mid-range elevation areas with some topographic complexity, whereas males used lowland areas. At the home range level, both females and males selected areas dominated by scrublands or broadleaf forests, but habitat features were less important at this level. The strength of association to habitat features was higher for females at both spatial levels, suggesting a tendency to select habitats with higher quality that can grant them enhanced access to shelter and feeding resources. Based on our results, we hypothesize that sex-biased behavioral patterns may contribute to the resilience of wildcats' genetic integrity through influencing the directionality of hybridization with domestic cats. Our study provides information about European wildcats' habitat use in an Iberian context, relevant for the implementation of conservation plans, and highlights the ecological relevance of considering sex-related differences in environmental preferences., This work was supported by a postdoctoral fellowship to PM by FEDER funds through the Operational Programme for Competitiveness Factors—COMPETE and by National Funds through FCT—Foundation for Science and Technology (grant numbers UID/BIA/50027/2013, POCI-01-0145-FEDER-006821); and by a research contract “Juan de la Cierva” to FD-R (grant number FJCI-2015-24949) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry, and Competitiveness.

A survey of the Iberian lynx was conducted in Portugal between January 2002 and November 2003 in order to define lynx status and distribution baselines. Intensive search for lynx scats, scat DNA analysis, and camera trapping were used in areas of potential lynx presence. Over 4,200 km were investigated during a global searching effort of 1,975 man-hours. DNA obtained from 168 scats was analyzed, producing no positive lynx amplifications. Camera trapping represented a total effort of 5,647 camera-days in three potential lynx areas, producing no positive detections. Although results cannot confirm the species’ extinction, the scenario is rather pessimistic and the Iberian lynx is probably no longer present in Portugal. Presently, considering the Portuguese lynx’s historical range, the only significantly suitable areas for the species are located in the southeastern part of the country bordering Andalusia where no recent evidence of lynx presence was recorded.

Limiting similarity theory predicts that competing species must segregate along one or more dimensions of their ecological niche in order to coexist. In predator communities, interspecific interactions are influenced by a diversity of factors; therefore, the behavioural patterns of composing species will differ due to locally adapted interactions. We deployed 32-41 camera-traps in five study areas across the Iberian Peninsula to investigate the temporal relations between mesocarnivores in SW Europe. The selection for a period of the diel cycle and plasticity in activity patterns was evaluated using the Jacobs Selection Index (JSI) and the coefficient of activity overlap ({increment}1). Furthermore, we investigated whether temporal shifts can facilitate coexistence by reducing activity overlap. Seven species of mesocarnivores were detected and were assigned into one of three behaviourally distinct groups: Diurnal (JSIday ≥ 0.8), strictly nocturnal (JSInight ≥ 0.8) or facultative nocturnal species (0.4 ≥ JSInight > 0.8). Most species exhibited substantial flexibility, which allowed them to locally adapt their foraging strategies (intraspecific {increment}1 = 0.70-0.77). Mean Δ1 from all interspecific pairwise comparisons was negatively correlated with the number of carnivore species with ≥10 detections (r -0.76, p = 0.02). Our results suggest that temporal segregation is likely to play an important role in facilitating mesocarnivore coexistence, especially with increasing community complexity, where most species' activity peaks were asynchronous. These results contribute to understanding the dynamics and behavioural strategies of coexisting mesocarnivores, crucial for forecasting the possible outcomes of conservation or management actions., This work was partially supported by a PhD grant from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) to PM (SFRH/BD/37795/2007) and two research projects, one from the Spanish National Plan (project ref: CGL2009-10741) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and EU-FEDER funds, and another one from the Spanish Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales (project ref: OAPN 352/2011).

Mammalian carnivore communities affect entire ecosystem functioning and structure. However, their large spatial requirements, preferred habitats, low densities, and elusive behavior deem them difficult to study. In recent years, noninvasive techniques have become much more common as they can be used to monitor multiple carnivore species across large areas at a relatively modest cost. Hair snares have the potential to fulfill such requirements, but have rarely been tested in Europe. Our objective was to quantitatively assess the effectiveness of hair snares for surveying mesocarnivores in the Iberian Peninsula (Southwestern Europe), by comparison with camera-trapping. We used an occupancy modeling framework to assess method-specific detectability and occupancy estimates and hypothesized that detection probabilities would be influenced by season, sampling method, and habitat-related variables. A total of 163 hair samples were collected, of which 136 potentially belonged to mesocarnivores. Genetic identification success varied with diagnostic method: 25.2 % using mitochondrial CR, and 9.9 % using the IRBP nuclear gene. Naïve occupancy estimates were, in average, 5.3 ± 1.2 times higher with camera-trapping than with hair-snaring, and method-specific detection probabilities revealed that camera traps were, in average, 6.7 ± 1.1 times more effective in detecting target species. Overall, few site-specific covariates revealed significant effects on mesocarnivore detectability. Camera traps were a more efficient method for detecting mesocarnivores and estimating their occurrence when compared to hair snares. To improve hair snares' low detection probabilities, we suggest increasing the number of sampling occasions and the frequency at which hair snares are checked. With some refinements to increase detection rates and the success of genetic identification, hair-snaring methods may be valuable for providing deeper insights into population parameters, attained through adequate analysis of genetic information, that is not possible with camera traps., This work was partially supported by a PhD grant from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) to PM (SFRH/BD/37795/2007) and two research projects, one from the Spanish National Plan (project ref: CGL2009-10741) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and EU-FEDER funds, and one from the Spanish Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales (project ref: OAPN 352/2011). PCA was supported by the Luso-American Development Foundation (FLAD) and FCT sabbatical grant SFRH/BSAB/1278/2012.

Research on terrestrial carnivore ecology frequently relies on scat identification and analysis. However, species assignment is commonly based on scat morphology. Potential errors in scat identification are rarely accounted for and might contribute to substantial bias of the final results. Using molecular methods, we evaluate the accuracy of species identification based on morphological characteristics of mammalian mesocarnivore scats collected in two areas in the Iberian Peninsula. Our results revealed that error rates in species assignment of scats based on morphology were highly variable, ranging from 14%, for putative red fox Vulpes vulpes samples, to 88%, for putative wildcats Felis silvestris. The developed models revealed that putative species, season, study area and target species abundance are among the factors involved in identification accuracy. However, the low variability explained suggests that unaccounted factors also had significant effects on accuracy rates. The error rates in scat species assignment constitute a potential source of bias in ecological studies, with serious consequences for the management of threatened species, as unrealistic estimates of status and distribution are prone to occur. Our results suggest that scat identification accuracy rates are circumstance-specific and therefore should not be transferred or extrapolated. We suggest that scat-based studies should implement measures (molecular or others) that allow researchers to determine their own circumstance-specific error rates in scat identification, which should be incorporated in subsequent analyses, ensuring reliable ecological inferences., This work was partially supported by a PhD grant from the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) to P.M. (SFRH/BD/37795/2007) and a research project from the Spanish National Plan (project ref: CGL2009-10741) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and EU-FEDER funds. R.G. and T.S. are supported by postdoctoral and PhD grants, respectively (SFRH/BPD/36021/2007and SFRH/BD/73680/2010).

Most studies dealing with home ranges consider the study areas as if they were totally flat, working only in two dimensions, when in reality they are irregular surfaces displayed in three dimensions. By disregarding the third dimension (i.e., topography), the size of home ranges underestimates the surface actually occupied by the animal, potentially leading to misinterpretations of the animals' ecological needs. We explored the influence of considering the third dimension in the estimation of home-range size by modeling the variation between the planimetric and topographic estimates at several spatial scales. Our results revealed that planimetric approaches underestimate home-range size estimations, which range from nearly zero up to 22%. The difference between planimetric and topographic estimates of home-ranges sizes produced highly robust models using the average slope as the sole independent factor. Moreover, our models suggest that planimetric estimates in areas with an average slope of 16.3° (±0.4) or more will incur in errors ≥5%. Alternatively, the altitudinal range can be used as an indicator of the need to include topography in home-range estimates. Our results confirmed that home-range estimates could be significantly biased when topography is disregarded. We suggest that study areas where home-range studies will be performed should firstly be scoped for its altitudinal range, which can serve as an indicator for the need for posterior use of average slope values to model the surface area used and/or available for the studied animals., This work was partially supported by a research project from the Spanish National Plan (project ref: CGL2009-10741) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and EU-FEDER funds. P. M. was supported by a Ph.D. grant from the Fundaçao para a Ciència e a Tecnologia (FCT) (SFRH/BD/37795/2007). N. S. was partially supported by a postdoctoral grant from FCT (SFRH/BPD/26666/2006). L. M. R. was funded by a Postdoctoral fellowship from the FCT and Fundo Social Europeu (III Quadro Comunitario de Apoio) (SFRH/BPD/35842/2007) and FAPESP (Proc. Ref.: 2011/00408-4).

The activity patterns exhibited by animals are shaped by evolution, but additionally fine-tuned by flexible responses to the environment. Predation risk and resource availability are environmental cues which influence the behavioural decisions that make both predators and prey engage in activity bursts, and depending on their local importance, can be strong enough to override the endogenous regulation of an animals' circadian clock. In Southern Europe, wherever the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is abundant, it is the main prey of most mammalian mesopredators, and rodents are generally the alternative prey. We evaluated the bidirectional relation between the diel activity strategies of these mammalian mesopredators and prey coexisting in south-western Europe. Results revealed that even though predation risk enforced by mammalian mesocarnivores during night-time was approximately twice and five times higher than during twilight and daytime, respectively, murids consistently displayed unimodal nocturnal behaviour. Conversely, the European rabbits exhibited a bimodal pattern that peaked around sunrise and sunset. Despite the existence of some overlap between the diel rhythms of mesocarnivores and rabbits, their patterns were not synchronized. We suggest that the environmental stressors in our study areas are not severe enough to override the endogenous regulation of the circadian cycle in murids. European rabbits, however, are able to suppress their biological tendency for nocturnality by selecting a predominantly crepuscular pattern. In spite of the higher energetic input, mesocarnivores do not completely track rabbits' activity pattern. They rather track rodents' activity. We propose that these systems have probably evolved towards a situation where some degree of activity during high-risk periods benefits the overall prey population survival, while the accessibility to sufficient prey prevents predators to completely track them., This work was partially supported by a PhD grantfrom the Fundaçao para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT) to PM (SFRH/BD/37795/2007) and two research projects, one from the Spanish National Plan (project ref: CGL2009-10741) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and EU-FEDER funds and one from the Spanish Organismo Autónomo Parques Nacionales (project ref: OAPN352/2011).

[Context]: The estimation of population parameters for mammalian carnivore species is a challenging task because of their low densities and large home ranges, which make detection probabilities very low. Several factors, such as the species abundance, habitat structure or the use of an attractant affect carnivore detection probabilities; however, attractants are the most easily manipulated. Some previous research suggests that the use of effective attractants can significantly increase detection probabilities. [Aims]: To assess the effectiveness of several attractants for Iberian carnivores, and to evaluate their usefulness for non-invasive survey methods. [Methods]: The responses of seven carnivore species to six potential attractants were evaluated through cafeteria-like experiments with captive specimens. A selectivity index was applied to assess the relative attractiveness of each tested substance. The enclosure tests were followed by field trials with camera-trapping, using the most promising attractants for field evaluation of their efficiency. [Key results]: Enclosure trials revealed that lynx urine was the most effective and generalist attractant because it successfully attracted six of the seven species tested. Rubbing behaviour was also induced in the greatest number of species by lynx urine. Field tests using a combination of lynx urine and valerian extract solution induced investigative behaviours in over 50% of all detection events in all species, with the exception of the Eurasian badger. [Conclusions]: No single attractant is effective for all species. Nevertheless, a combination of lynx urine and valerian solution should efficiently attract the majority of species present in Iberian carnivore communities. Furthermore, some species exhibit a rubbing behaviour when they come in contact with the attractants. Regardless of the generalist efficiency of the lynx urine, other tested substances revealed promising results for single-species monitoring. [Implications]: Our results provide a baseline for selecting attractants in survey and monitoring programs that focus on carnivore species. The rubbing behaviours exhibited by several of the species tested suggest the use of these attractants could improve the efficiency of field studies that rely on rub-pads for the collection of biological samples., This work was developed as part of a PhD grant from the Fundacão para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT), ref: SFRH/BD/37795/2007, and a research project from the Spanish National Plan (project ref: CGL2009-10741) funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and EU-FEDER funds.

Despite some populations of European wildcat Felis silvestris in central Europe are stable or increasing, the Iberian subpopulation is in decline and is listed as ‘vulnerable’. In Portugal, little is known about wildcat populations, making conservation policies extremely difficult to define. Furthermore, the secretive behaviour of these mammals, along with low population densities, make data collection complicated. Thus, it is crucial to develop efficient analytical tools to interpret existing data for this species. In this study, we determine the home-range size and environmental factors related to wildcat spatial ecology in a Mediterranean ecosystem using a combined analysis of habitat selection and maximum entropy (Maxent) modelling. Simultaneously, we test the feasibility of using radio-tracking locations to construct an ecologically meaningful distribution model. Six wildcats were captured and tracked. The average home-range size (MCP95) was 2.28 km2 for females and 13.71 km2 for one male. The Maxent model built from radio-tracking locations indicated that the abundance of the European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus and limited human disturbance were the most important correlates of wildcat presence. Habitat selection analysis revealed that wildcats tend to use scrubland areas significantly more than expected by chance. A mosaic of scrublands and agricultural areas, with a higher proportion of the former, benefits wildcat presence in the study area; however, species distribution is mainly constrained by availability of prey and resting sites. The Maxent model validation with camera-trapping data indicated that highly adequate model performance. This technique may prove useful for recovering small radio-tracking datasets as it provides a new alternative for handling data and maximizing the ecological information on a target population, which can then be used for conservation planning.