Disciplines
Other Agricultural Sciences (30%); Biology (70%)
Keywords
BROWN HARES,
FECUNDITY,
FEMALE REPRODUCTION,
PREDATION,
STRESS,
MOLECULAR SCATOLOGY
Final report
The mere presence of predators may stress their prey and influence its behavior to an extent that impairs fecundity.
Hence, predators could affect the population dynamics of a prey species both directly by killing individuals and
indirectly by reducing the reproductive output of females. In the described project we examined whether the
reproductive rate of female European hares was influenced by the presence of a major predator, the red fox. We
found that reproduction of female hares was not impaired by the presence of foxes or intensive fox odour. Females
sensing or being actually exposed to a higher predation risk had no increased levels of cortisol excretion or reduced
rates of reproduction. If at all, foxes affect the dynamics of European hare populations only directly by killing
hares.