Disentangling the drivers of European badger (Meles meles) activity at multiple temporal scales

Abstract

Animals shape their activity in response to several processes that take place at different timescales. It stands to reason that the assessment of activity at multiple temporal scales will enhance the understanding of its patterns and determinants than studies that focus on a single scale. This thesis aimed to explore the patterns and drivers of the activity of the European badger (Meles meles) at three temporal scales: annual, seasonal and diel. I fitted occupancy models to data from camera traps collected continuously from different latitudes in Norway between 2015 and 2018. The results showed that activity patterns of the badgers were influenced by seasonality more significantly than by photoperiod, revealing plasticity in their temporal patterns to variation in environmental conditions. Season, temperature and time of the day had the strongest effect on activity levels, with badgers being more active in spring, during cold but not freezing days, and during night-time. Further, badgers in this study selected sites at lower latitude an altitude, and also closer to fields and human settlements. Overall, this study showed that scale is important for understanding the activity of species both in the long and short term. Further development of models considering both multiple temporal and spatial scales would offer more opportunities for enhancing the knowledge related to management and conservation of species.