Application of GIS technology in the analysis of wolf Canis lupus L. behaviour and migration routes in the landscape

Mateusz Kulik, Dariusz Kamiński

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/EQ.2014.007

Abstract


The paper presents the results of tracking a pack of wolves carried out between January and February 2013 in the Forest Division of Solec Kujawski in Bydgoszcz Forest, which surrounds three cities – Bydgoszcz, Toruń and Solec Kujawski, and locally encroaches on their administrative areas. The behaviour of wolves and their migration routes were determined based on tracks left on snow. The location of tracks was recorded with a GPS receiver. Visualization and data analysis were performed with the software QuantumGIS. The pack consists of seven wolves and one, most likely rejected male following the close group. A total of 10.22 km of trails, including characteristic ground scratching, faeces and a prey killed by the wolf pack, were found on the snow over an area of ca. 100 km2. Forest roads are preferred landscape elements of the monitored pack, used for movement. Data analysis with GIS tools helps to determine the migration routes and behaviour of the wolf pack living in the study area.


Keywords


wolf; Solec Kujawski Forest Division; Bydgoszcz Primeval Forest; GIS; pack; territory; tracks

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References


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