Love getaway: dispersal pattern and distance of the crested porcupine

摘要: The crested porcupine Hystrix cristata is undergoing a marked range expansion in Italy, and it reaching the northern regions, where was historically absent. We studied its dispersal ability by marking 86 subadult individuals through coloured tapes on dorsal quills, contrasting environmental context (i.e. coastal scrubland, deciduous woodland, suburbs, rural areas farmlands), Southern Tuscany. Recaptures occurred only for 14 (16.3%) of them, allowing us to evaluate patterns, which ranged from 180 4896 m. showed that no sexual difference distances, as expected monogamous mating system this rodent. season did not affect patterns significantly, although most these movements at peak main reproductive season. Dispersal distance increased with increasing home woodland cover % study site covered woodland). Forest reexpansion Italy may thus have promoted species during last 40 years.