First look on the home range, movement, and habitat selection of the invasive Northern raccoon (Procyon lotor) in France through two contrasted populations

Introduction of invasive alien species (IAS) is one of the main threats to biodiversity. The Northern raccoon ( Procyon lotor ), here after named “raccoon,” recently introduced and rapidly expanding in three main populations in France, is one of the 47 IAS of concern in the European Union. At this d...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	European journal of wildlife research Vol. 70; no. 1; p. 7
Main Authors:	Gautrelet, Manon, Gerard, Jean-François, Helder, Rémi, Fournier, Pascal, Fournier-Chambrillon, Christine, Hubert, Pauline, Isère-Laoué, Estelle, Capitaine, Lucille, Dupuy, Maëlle, Dispan de Floran, Lucie, Alleman, Clémence, Devos, Alain
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01-02-2024 Springer Nature B.V Springer Verlag
Subjects:	Animal biology Biodiversity Biodiversity and Ecology Biomedical and Life Sciences Convexity Ecology Environmental Sciences Fish & Wildlife Biology & Management Habitat selection Habitats Home range Introduced species Invasive species Life Sciences Populations Procyon lotor Procyonidae Rural areas Rural populations Stochastic processes Woodlands Zoology France GPS tracking Habitat selection Invasive alien species Home range France Procyon lotor
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Summary:	Introduction of invasive alien species (IAS) is one of the main threats to biodiversity. The Northern raccoon ( Procyon lotor ), here after named “raccoon,” recently introduced and rapidly expanding in three main populations in France, is one of the 47 IAS of concern in the European Union. At this date, there is no study on the ecology of the raccoon in France, yet the acquisition of knowledge of the species in its new environment is an essential step for a better evaluation of its impacts and improving its management. We studied space use and habitat selection by French raccoons in a rural population in the Marne department and in a suburban population in Gironde department, respectively, by tracking 14 individuals with GPS collars between May 2019 and August 2021. We estimated the home ranges’ size using minimum convex polygon (MCP), adaptative local convex hull (a-LoCoH), and dynamic Brownian bridge motion model (dBBMM). Habitat selection was studied at the second and third order using Ivlev’s electivity index and integrated step selection analysis (iSSA) models, respectively. Our results show that raccoons of the rural population have home ranges twice larger than those of the suburban population. Habitats are selected differently according to the population, highlighting the great plasticity of the raccoon. Woodlands are the most used habitats for both populations; however, anthropized areas also appear to be very attractive for the rural population. Surprisingly, this is not the case for the suburban population, which tends to avoid these habitats in favor of the wetland.
ISSN:	1612-4642 1439-0574
DOI:	10.1007/s10344-023-01756-1