Přímý vliv struktury zemědělské krajiny na výměru domovských okrsků zajíce polního: předběžné výsledky z České republiky

Abstract

The European hare (Lepus europaeus) is one of the farmland specialists inhabiting agroecosystems. It is particularly sensitive to negative changes in agricultural management and landscape homogenization. The quality of the environment affects not only the hare population dynamics but also the behaviour of individuals, which is reflected in the variation in home range sizes. Preliminary results of the GPS telemetry monitoring in the Czech Republic revealed significant differences in the home range size of hares in high-diversified farmland (18.62 ± 4.14 ha) and conventionally managed agroecosystems (129.96 ± 55.64 ha) during the spring. These results demonstrate that the hare can thrive in a relatively small area, provided there are sufficient food sources and suitable shelter opportunities. However, increasing the biodiversity of the landscape can benefit not only the European hare but also other wildlife including protected birds and animals, which can respond to positive changes in the agroecosystem.