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Predicting the spatial distribution of wolf (Canis lupus) breeding areas in a mountainous region of central Italy

Bassi, E.; Willis, S.G.; Passilongo, D.; Mattioli, L.; Apollonio, M.

Predicting the spatial distribution of wolf (Canis lupus) breeding areas in a mountainous region of central Italy Thumbnail


Authors

E. Bassi

D. Passilongo

L. Mattioli

M. Apollonio



Abstract

Wolves (Canis lupus) in Italy represent a relict west European population. They are classified as vulnerable by IUCN, though have increased in number and expanded their range in recent decades. Here we use 17 years of monitoring data (from 1993 to 2010) collected in a mountainous region of central Italy (Arezzo, Tuscany) in an ecological niche-based model (MaxEnt) to characterize breeding sites (i.e. the areas where pups were raised) within home ranges, as detected from play-back responses. From a suite of variables related to topography, habitat and human disturbance we found that elevation and distance to protected areas were most important in explaining the locality of wolf responses. Rendezvous sites (family play-back response sites) typically occurred between 800 and 1200 m a.s.l., inside protected areas, and were usually located along mountain chains distant from human settlements and roads. In these areas human disturbance is low and the densities of ungulates are typically high. Over recent years, rendezvous sites have occurred closer to urban areas as the wolf population has continued to expand, despite the consequent human disturbance. This suggests that undisturbed landscapes may be reaching their carrying capacity for wolves. This, in turn, may lead to the potential for increased human-wolf interactions in future. Applying our model, both within and beyond the species’ current range, we identify sites both within the current range and also further afield, that the species could occupy in future. Our work underlines the importance of the present protected areas network in facilitating the recolonisation by wolves. Our projections of suitability of sites for future establishment as the population continues to expand could inform planning to minimize future wolf-human conflicts.

Citation

Bassi, E., Willis, S., Passilongo, D., Mattioli, L., & Apollonio, M. (2015). Predicting the spatial distribution of wolf (Canis lupus) breeding areas in a mountainous region of central Italy. PLoS ONE, 10(6), Article e0124698. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0124698

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 25, 2015
Publication Date Jun 2, 2015
Deposit Date Jun 1, 2015
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal PLoS ONE
Publisher Public Library of Science
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 10
Issue 6
Article Number e0124698
DOI https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0124698

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Publisher Licence URL
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Copyright Statement
© 2015 Bassi et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.





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