Spatial activity and habitat use of crested porcupine, Hystrix cristata L., 1758 (Rodentia, Hystricidae) in central Italy

AbstractMany herbivorous, granivorous and frugivorous rodents can integrate animal proteins in their diet, still for many of them no information is available on the importance of animal food sources. The crested porcupine, Hystrix cristata, is considered a strictly vegetarian rodent. It may integrate animal proteins through bone-gnawing, while the importance of insects in his diet is poorly known. In this study we assessed the presence of insects in the diet of this rodent in Central Italy by collecting 141 faecal samples along transects in 2016–2020. Hypogeal plant organs were the main component of the diet (absolute frequency = 50.38%; volume = 60.13%). Insects were detected only in 6.8% samples, only in February–March, at the annual birth peak for the crested porcupine. Insect consumption, although occasional, could be linked to the nutritional requirements of this rodent during lactation.

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Blessing the rains down in Africa: spatiotemporal behaviour of the crested porcupine Hystrix cristata (Mammalia: Rodentia) in the rainy and dry seasons, in the African savannah

Tropical Zoology ◽

10.4081/tz.2020.80 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 33 (4) ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Andrea Viviano ◽

Giovanni Amori ◽

Luca Luiselli ◽

Horst Oebel ◽

Farid Bahleman ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Habitat Selection ◽

Rainy Season ◽

Wildlife Conservation ◽

Temporal Patterns ◽

Common Species ◽

Wild Mammals ◽

Activity Rhythms ◽

Hystrix Cristata ◽

Crested Porcupine ◽

Birth Peak

The assessment of habitat selection and temporal patterns of activity rhythms is paramount for wildlife conservation. Studies on behavioural ecology of wild mammals are particularly challenging in tropical areas, mostly when involving rare or elusive species. Despite being a common species in Italy, the crested porcupine Hystrix cristata is threatened of extinction throughout most of its sub-Saharan range. All available information on the ecology of this species has been collected in Italy, whereas no data is present in the scientific literature on spatiotemporal behaviour of this large rodent in Africa. In this work, we attempted to determine habitat selection and temporal patterns of activity rhythms of the crested porcupine in northern Benin and neighbouring countries, through intensive camera-trapping. We collected a total of 146 records of crested porcupine, 91 in the dry season (October-March) and 55 in the rainy season (April-September). Porcupines used most habitats in proportion to their local availability, while selecting rock outcrop formations (possibly used as shelter sites) and avoiding open areas, wetlands and gallery forests. A mostly nocturnal behaviour was confirmed throughout the year, with some diurnal activity at the start and at the end of the rainy season. The importance of rains in determining birth peak has been also showed, with juvenile individuals always observed at the start and at the end of the rainy season. Full moon always inhibited activity of this large rodent, most likely evolved as an antipredatory behaviour to limit encounters with potential predators (common leopard Panthera pardus, spotted hyaena Crocuta crocuta and honey badger Mellivora capensis) and humans. Poaching pressure towards porcupines in West Africa is strong. Porcupines are killed for the traditional medicine, for their meat and because they are widely considered as a crop pest. This assessment should therefore be used as a basic tool to design conservation plans to preserve this rodent species in its native range.

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Pulmonary Adiaspiromycosis in a Crested Porcupine (Hystrix cristata) in Italy

Journal of Comparative Pathology ◽

10.1016/j.jcpa.2011.11.173 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 146 (1) ◽

pp. 88

Author(s):

F. Morandi ◽

R. Galuppi ◽

M. Delogu ◽

L.J. Lowenstine ◽

C. Benazzi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hystrix Cristata ◽

Crested Porcupine

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Isolation of Leptospira serovar Pomona from a crested porcupine ( Hystrix cristata , L., 1758)

Veterinary Medicine and Science ◽

10.1002/vms3.308 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 985-991 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Giovanni Cilia ◽

Fabrizio Bertelloni ◽

Francesca Coppola ◽

Barbara Turchi ◽

Claudia Biliotti ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Hystrix Cristata ◽

Crested Porcupine

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Crested Porcupine (Hystrix cristata L.): A New Potential Host for Pathogenic Leptospira Among Semi-Fossorial Mammals

Comparative Immunology Microbiology and Infectious Diseases ◽

10.1016/j.cimid.2020.101472 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 70 ◽

pp. 101472 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Francesca Coppola ◽

Giovanni Cilia ◽

Fabrizio Bertelloni ◽

Lucia Casini ◽

Enrico D’Addio ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Pathogenic Leptospira ◽

Potential Host ◽

Hystrix Cristata ◽

Crested Porcupine

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A 28-years-long monitoring study suggests heavy decline and habitat shifts in three populations of a Mediterranean tortoise species

Animal Biology ◽

10.1163/15707563-bja10014 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 71 (1) ◽

pp. 21-35

Author(s):

Lorenzo Rugiero ◽

Massimo Capula ◽

Daniele Dendi ◽

Fabio Petrozzi ◽

Massimiliano Di Vittorio ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Habitat Use ◽

Linear Models ◽

Central Italy ◽

Habitat Type ◽

Thermal Ecology ◽

Ecological Studies ◽

Monitoring Study ◽

Testudo Hermanni ◽

Selection Of

Abstract Long-term ecological studies are important for understanding wild populations’ dynamics and processes and the actual factors that can determine their decline. Here, we report the results of a 28-years-long (1992–2019) monitoring of three distinct populations of a tortoise, Testudo hermanni, in Central Italy, with an emphasis on their population abundance trends and on the eventual variation in their habitat use across years and among the study areas. Samplings were conducted by Visual Encounter Survey (VES) methodology, and using a suite of statistical analyses including correlations and Generalized Linear Models analyses. Our data showed a statistically significant decline in tortoise sightings through time, and concurrently also a variation in habitat use by tortoises. In all the three study areas, we observed a significant increase of tortoise sighting frequency in the habitat type characterized by high (>taller than 200 cm) shrubby and wooded vegetation. Since our analyses revealed no significant change in the habitat type availability by year in each study area, we suggest that T. hermanni was increasingly selecting closed vegetation spots throughout the years. We hypothesize that this observed trend of shift in habitat selection could be due to lowering their body temperatures to prevent overheating. So, the selection of more covered spots would be a thermal ecology adaptive consequence of the ongoing global warming.

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