Do the behavioural patterns of beavers reflect the re-occurence of wolves?

Micol Genazzi

Diplomová práce

Abstract:

After facing extinction in the late 19th century, the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber L.) has recently repopulated the Czech Republic. Belong to the beavers, another animal has recently reappeared in the park: the wolf (Canis lupus, L.). This study aims to understand how the reoccurrence of wolves in the Šumava National Park has potentially induced changes in the circadian rhythms of beavers. To achieve this, a basic dataset was obtained by monitoring selected individuals between the years 2022–2024 in the Šumava NP. The telemetry was especially focused on the start and end of the activity of the animal. These data were compared with data collected more than a decade ago, between 2008 and 2012. Analyses were carried out at the annual and seasonal scales by using the program R with the overlap package. Primary data collection for the study spanned from October to June 2022/23, monitoring 7 beavers across 5 territories. Secondary data collection took place from October to March 2023/24, observing 8 beavers across 6 territories. The results showed a coefficient of overlap (4) of 0.85 indicating a high degree of similarity between the two datasets and a 95% confidence interval ranging from 0.82 to 0.88. The resulting graphs show a similar start of activity between the two periods, but a different end of activity. The study showed that beavers prefer mostly nocturnal behaviour. Research suggests that recent beavers have changed their circadian rhythm, showing an earlier start and end of activity, possibly due to the reoccurrence of wolves.

Keywords

telemetry, circadian rhythms, prey-predator interactions, Sumava National Park

Jazyk práce: angličtina

Datum vytvoření / odevzdání či podání práce: 31. 3. 2024

Obhajoba závěrečné práce

• Obhajoba proběhla 22. 5. 2024
• Vedoucí: Ing. Aleš Vorel, Ph.D.
• Oponent: Miloš Ježek, Ph.D.

Česká zemědělská univerzita v Praze

Fakulta životního prostředí

Magisterský studijní program:
Nature Conservation