title: Impacts of removing badgers on localised counts of hedgehogs.
abstract: Experimental evidence of the interactions among mammalian predators that eat or compete with one another is rare, due to the ethical and logistical challenges of managing wild populations in a controlled and replicated way. Here, we report on the opportunistic use of a replicated and controlled culling experiment (the Randomised Badger Culling Trial) to investigate the relationship between two sympatric predators: European badgers Meles meles and western European hedgehogs Erinaceus europaeus. In areas of preferred habitat (amenity grassland), counts of hedgehogs more than doubled over a 5-year period from the start of badger culling (from 0.9 ha-1 pre-cull to 2.4 ha-1 post-cull), whereas hedgehog counts did not change where there was no badger culling (0.3-0.3 hedgehogs ha-1). This trial provides experimental evidence for mesopredator release as an outcome of management of a top predator.
authors.affiliation: National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Iain D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Trewby
authors.affiliation: Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Les Augrès Manor Trinity, Jersey, Channel Islands, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Young
authors.affiliation: Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Robbie A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.affiliation: National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Gavin J
authors.initials: GJ
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia.
authors.forename: John
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Davison
authors.affiliation: National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Neil
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Walker
authors.affiliation: Environment and Sustainability Institute, University of Exeter, Penryn, Cornwall, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.affiliation: Centre for Biological Sciences, University of Southampton, Southampton, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: C Patrick
authors.initials: CP
authors.lastname: Doncaster
authors.affiliation: National Wildlife Management Centre, Animal Health and Veterinary Laboratories Agency, New Haw, Addlestone, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Delahay
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D065948:Grassland; D006364:Hedgehogs; D045969:Mustelidae; D011156:Population Density; D011235:Predatory Behavior
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