=actors influencing wild boar damage to agricultural crops in Sardinia （Italy）

Crop damage by wildlife is a frequent source of human-wildlife conflict. Understanding which fac-tors increase the risk of damage is crucial to the development of effective management strategies.The aims of this study were to provide a general description of agricultural damage caused by wildboar Sus scrofa meridionalis over a 7-year period in North-eastern Sardinia （Mediterranean Italy）,and to formulate a predictive model of damage risk. We recorded a total of 221 cases of wild boardamage, with economic losses amounting to 483,982 Euros. Damage events mostly involved vine-yards, meadows and oat fields, and were characterized by a peak incidence in summer and earlyautumn, and a minimum in spring. Damaged fields were characterized by an increasing presenceof permanent crops, a decreasing presence of woodlands, maquis and urban areas, and a reduceddistance from shelter areas （forests and shrublands）. The analysis of spatiotemporal variation ofboar-induced damage and the identification of factors that augment the risk of damage providesessential information for contributing to the development of a more effective plan for managingwild boar populations.

Species specialization limits movement ability and shapes ecological networks: the case study of 2 forest mammals

To counteract the negative effects of forest fragmentation on wildlife, it is crucial to maintain functional ecological networks. We identified the ecological networks for 2 mammals with very different degrees of forest specialization, the European badger Meles metes and the Roe deer Capreolus capreolus, by differentiati ng 4 agroforestry eleme nts as either no des or conn ectivity elements, and by defining the distanee that provides the functional connectivity between fragments. Species occurrenee data were collected in a wide agroecosystem in northern Italy. To test the role of hedgerows, traditional poplar cultivations, short rotation coppices, and reforestations as ecological network elements for the 2 species we applied the method of simulated species perceptions of the Iandscape (SSPL), comparing the ability of different SSPLs to explain the observed species distribution. All analyses were repeated considering different seenarios of species movement ability through the matrix. Model outputs seem to show that the specialist and highly mobile Roe deer has the same movement ability throughout the matrix (2 km) as the European badger, a smaller, but generalist species. The ecological network identified for the European badger was widespread throughout the area and was composed of woodlands, poplar cultivations and hedgerows as nodes and short rotation coppices as connectivity elements. Conversely, the ecological network of the Roe deer was mostly limited to the main forest areas and was composed of woodlands, poplar cultivations and ref o restat i ons as no des and short rotation coppices and hedgerows as conn ectivity elements. The degree of forest specialization strongly affects both species perception of habitat and movement ability throughout the matrix, regardless of species size. This has important implications for species conservation.

Wolf predation on wild ungulates: how slope and habitat cover influence the localization of kill sites

doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zox033 Advance Access Publication date:15 May 2017 The accepted manuscript of the above article was published twice in error.The correct DOI for this paper is https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zox031.We apologize for this error.