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Population dynamics of badgers (Meles meles) in Oxfordshire, U.K.: numbers, density and cohort life histories, and a possible role of climate change in population growth

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 December 2001

D. W. Macdonald  and
C. Newman
D. W. Macdonald
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, Oxford University, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, U.K.
C. Newman
Affiliation:
Wildlife Conservation Research Unit, Department of Zoology, Oxford University, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, U.K.
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Abstract

Between 1987 and 1996 the numbers of badgers Meles meles in Wytham Woods rose from 60 to 228 adults. The area occupied by the population has not changed and thus density has also risen from 10 adult badgers/km2 to 38/km2. This rise parallels an increase in badger abundance seen across Britain in recent years. The hypothesis that this increase is either the consequence of improved badger protection or of changes in habitat can be rejected for this site. Instead, a link between increasing numbers and changing weather patterns, possibly resulting from climate change, is investigated. In particular, attention is drawn to a correlation between mild winters and heavier body weights of badgers in January. Furthermore socio-spatial restructuring within the population may be the mechanism that has permitted high density to be sustainable. The increase in badger numbers at Wytham has not affected population sex ratio, which has remained relatively constant at parity throughout the study.

Keywords

bovine tuberculosisMycobacterium bovissex ratioclimate changeEurasian badgerMeles meles
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Zoology , Volume 256 , Issue 1 , January 2002 , pp. 121 - 138
Copyright
© 2002 The Zoological Society of London

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