Artificial supplementary food influences hedgehog occupancy and activity patterns more than predator presence or natural food availability

Supplementary feeding for declining hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus)
populations is popular in Great Britain and has been suggested as an
important factor in explaining higher densities in urban areas compared
with rural ones. Occupancy modelling was used to test whether spatial
variation in supplementary feeding, natural food or predator presence best
explained patterns of hedgehog occupancy and activity across a rural urban
gradient. Supplementary food had a strong effect on hedgehog occupancy and
detection, with all supplementary feeding sites recording hedgehog
presence. Sites with supplementary feeding also detected hedgehogs earlier
in the evening and had different patterns of diel activity to those sites
without. Natural food availability and predators showed a negative
relationship with hedgehog occupancy. Natural prey availability and the
presence of predators was relatively higher in rural areas and had a
negative relationship with hedgehog occupancy. Although the strength of
these relationships was weak, they suggest that local hedgehog occupancy
and activity behaviour is greatly influenced by access to artificial
supplementary feeding in urban areas. This is the first study to show the
importance of supplementary feeding as a covariate of hedgehog occupancy
in relation to natural food availability and we recommend that future
studies quantify supplementary feeding in population and distribution
studies of urban mammals.