Published December 31, 2021 | Version v1
Journal article Open

CORTISOL AND CAMERA-TRAPPING AS USEFUL TOOLS TO EXPLORE ECOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF THE EUROPEAN WILDCAT (FELIS SILVESTRIS SILVESTRIS)

  • 1. Dipartimento di Scienze Agroalimentari, Ambientali e Animali, Università degli Studi di Udine, 33100 Udine (UD)

Description

The combined use of different monitoring techniques for wildlife studies (with particular attention dedicated to felids) assumes remarkable importance to the knowledge of all those ecological and physiological variables which may affect the welfare of the target species. The quantification of glucocorticoid metabolites in hair is a non-invasive tool that provides important information regarding the endocrine status and represents a valuable method for studying potential stressors that may affect carnivores under both natural and non-natural conditions. Cortisol is the main glucocorticoid hormone of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal gland axis and is considered a standard stress indicator for animal welfare. Differences in hair cortisol concentration between subspecies such as wild and feral cats is related to either physiological and/or ecological conditions. Wildcats generally have to cope with ecological pressures (e.g., hunting for food, competition, anthropic disturbance) that may lead to an increasing allostatic load. Nevertheless, hair cortisol comparisons between felid species or subspecies in response to both natural and non-natural factors is still poorly considered. Therefore, further studies are strongly suggested. At the same time, camera-trapping, i.e., the use of remotely triggered cameras that automatically take images and/or videos of animals transiting in front of them, represents a useful tool to study species’ population parameters, as well as the interactions among species within a specific area. Such data may be combined to cortisol analyses to provide further insights on species (e.g., wildcat) welfare within different wildlife communities. Therefore, this information might be used by conservationists to delineate adequate management plans aimed at fostering wildcat conservation.

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